UAV course at Chattahoochee Tech this fall

Press

Marietta-based Chattahoochee Technical College will be taking to the skies this fall with its first Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Technology class.

A hot topic in today’s technology field, the UAV class will be held over two and a half days and feature lecture, simulation and application through actual flying time during October at Chattahoochee Technical College’s North Metro Campus in Acworth.

In addition to military roles, UAVs serve where traditional alternatives are dangerous, monotonous or too expensive. Some common roles include real estate marketing, commercial video production, utilities monitoring and missing persons search crews. Many are used by hobbyists for leisure and entertainment through first person view flights not practical before.

The UAV course will be hands on and limited to about 20 people. Course fees run $699 through Chattahoochee Technical College’s Economic Development Division. The first course is scheduled to take place on Oct. 16-18.

The course will be taught by Steve Cain, who has 25 years of experience with radio controlled aircraft, including design, construction, operation and pilot instruction. With a background in electrical engineering systems integration and complex project management, Cain is also the secretary and prior president of the Bartow County Model Aviation (AMA 2475). Scott Estes will also teach the course. Estes, who has more than five years of experience with radio controlled cars, aircraft and multi-rotor, is the executive director of Technology Advancement at Chattahoochee Technical College. He also has more than 10 years of photography experience, including aerial photography and videography.

“The course will give you an introduction to what you need to successfully fly UAVs,” said Cain. “We’ll be looking at safety and the basics of the technology. We’ll also look at where this fast moving field is going.”

While Cain says his interest in UAV comes as an extension of his experience with radio controlled aircraft since the 1980s, Estes said he is interested in the technology behind the device.

“I became interested in learning how it worked,” said Estes. “I wanted to understand how you could get it to do the things you wanted it to do. From there, I wanted to learn more.”

Both instructors agree it is not just the fun of flight or science behind the computer onboard that makes it interesting. Instead, it is the options and applications that are yet to be discovered.

A unit of the Technical College System of Georgia, Chattahoochee Technical College is the largest technical college in the state with more than 17,000 students enrolled in the past academic year. The college has eight campus locations serving Cobb, Bartow, Cherokee, Gilmer, Paulding and Pickens counties.

For more information, call (770) 528-4586 or email Cynthia.Holland@ChattahoocheeTech.edu.