Remote Pilot Qualification – small (RPQ-s) reaches 300 student milestone
Resource Group’s Unmanned Aviation Services division, based in Cwmbran, South Wales, has reached a significant milestone with the attendance of the 300th student on the RPQ-s Ground School since the award of UK CAA National Qualified Entity (NQE) status in August 2013. Over 160 Flight Assessments, including night and Extended Visual Line Of Sight (EVLOS) assessments, have also been conducted on a wide range of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS). 
Craig Lippett, Head of Unmanned Aviation Services for Resource Group said, “It is a very exciting time for Resource Group UAS at the moment – our projections were for 200 students by this date but market factors and our increasing reputation for quality and customer care have brought much more interest than we had anticipated. The trend suggests an exponential increase in our courses for 2015 and with the RPQ-s positioning for introduction in several countries in Europe and globally the UAS business is set for expansion”.
The RPAS used by the students have been all shapes and sizes and with a range of launch and recovery methods, flight profiles and payloads. There have been some interesting applications for RPAS such as wildlife conservation, environmental monitoring and the inspection of utility infrastructure as well as the ever popular aerial photography. What has been consistent is the enthusiasm and excitement of the students as they enter this new and dynamic sector of the Aviation industry. An increasing number of the students are from non-Aviation backgrounds having realized the benefits that RPAS can give to their existing business. For many the RPQ-s training and assessment path has proved to be challenging but Resource Group staff continually work hard to shape the process to cater for all. Consequently, feedback on the course has been universally positive.
Craig Lippett continues, “The RPQ-s Flight Assessment is the culmination of the pilot training process and can be an anxious time for the candidate as they prepare to demonstrate all that they have learned. The candidate is required to simulate an actual flying task, demonstrating the full planning and risk assessment process, setup, flying and response to emergencies, all the time being questioned by the assessor on their supporting knowledge. For each candidate it requires preparation, practice and commitment at a high degree. For the assessors, it is an immensely rewarding process when that commitment enables them to say: “Congratulations, you have been successful in the RPQ-s Flight Assessment” to one of their students.”.
With the RPQ-s as a solid platform for the future, Resource Group is well positioned to support the RPAS industry in the UK and beyond in a wide range of areas such as training, airworthiness, certification, consultancy and service delivery.
