With so many Predators deployed to hotspots overseas, the U.S. Air Force is having trouble keeping up with the increasingly high demand for drone support staff because they have few aircraft available for training. In 2009, officials brought a proposal to the Civil Air Patrol, the all-volunteer branch of the Air Force that provides support through education, training, and emergency services. Could the Patrol offer up some of its Cessna fleet as surrogate Predators in live training exercises—at least until the real thing returned from war?
Category Archives: Training
UMS Skeldar Trains Indonesian Operators on Rajawali
Swiss-based developer of unmanned aircraft systems UMS Skeldar has begun training personnel from the Indonesian Army (Tentara Nasional Indonesia – Angkatan Darat, or TNI-AD) to operate the fixed-wing Rajawali-330 surveillance and reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle.
Flying Training Squadron Doubles RPAS Pilot Class Size
The 558th Flying Training Squadron ramped up efforts to double the remotely-piloted aircraft pilot ranks with the start of its first 24-person class Jan. 11 at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph. The larger class sizes are part of on-going initiative announced by the Air Force in 2015 to increase the number of career remotely-piloted aircraft pilots across the service.
US Army to go Universal with UAS Operator Training
The US Army is working toward a universal control interface for unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS, that will help operators pilot more than one type.
L-3 Link to Build 34 Predator Mission Aircrew Training Systems for US Air Force
L-3 Link Simulation & Training (L-3 Link) has announced that it has been awarded a contract option from the U.S. Air Force to build 34 new Predator Mission Aircrew Training System (PMATS) simulators. The contract was awarded by the U.S. Air Force’s Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
US Army Builds Gray Eagle Training Facility
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District teamed with officials and contractors at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, to break ground for the MQ-1C Gray Eagle Unmanned Aircraft System facility construction project Jan. 12. Continue reading
Eldorado Droneport Under Construction Near Las Vegas
The Aerodrome and its partner, the City of Boulder City, NV, announced today the world’s first commercial droneport and teaching facility in Boulder City, NV. A droneport is a facility tailored specifically to Unmanned Air Systems (UAS). Unlike other planned droneport projects previously announced, The Aerodrome’s Eldorado Droneport has already broken ground, is fully funded, permanent and currently operational. This history-making project by Aerodrome and the City of Boulder City has the full support and approval of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
UK Retailer Becomes CAA Recognised Trainer
UK drone retailer Heliguy has announced that it has obtained National Qualified Entity Status (NQE) from the Civil Aviation Authority. An NQE entitles the company to train and examine drone pilots who want to become commercial operators and to use their aircraft for business purposes. Continue reading