Sporty’s Pilot Shop Partners with Unmanned Safety Institute to Provide UAS Training

Sporty’s Pilot Shop and Unmanned Safety Institute (USI) will now offer two online courses, the UAS Ground School Course and the UAS Safety Awareness Course, which provide comprehensive training for individuals involved in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).

The UAS Ground School Course is a comprehensive training program, perfect for commercial operators and pilots of larger UAS. More than 24 hours of training covers all the essential topics, including: parts of a UAS; responsible operations; concept of operations; human factors and crew resource management; identifying hazards; aeronautical decision making; and emergencies. Each segment includes a video introduction, followed by narrated slides with pictures, animations and key information. Following the lesson, assignments help apply the knowledge just learned, from reading relevant FAA documents to listening to live ATC. Then, assessments help review essential information with quizzes and essays.

The UAS Safety Awareness Course makes a great introduction to the world of UAS, ideal for operators of smaller aircraft or as a refresher course. Over three hours of training covers personnel; systems; environmental and operational hazards; preventing injury; airspace and flight planning; and a section dedicated to learning from mistakes. Each section is broken down into a series of brief lessons with narrated slides, animations and pictures. This lesson is followed by review quizzes to reinforce learning.

“The Unmanned Safety Institute UAS training courses are much more than ‘Drone 101’ videos; these courses emphasize good decision making and a safety culture. UAS flight instructors are even available to answer questions,” says President of Sporty’s Academy, Eric Radtke.

“Now that FAA Part 107 mandates a Remote Pilot Knowledge Test for commercial operations, these two courses, although not specifically test prep, provide the knowledge necessary to pass the written test,” says Radtke. “Drones are here to stay, and they provide a fascinating new community for GA pilots.”

USI President Aaron Greenwald remarked “USI is proud to partner with Sporty’s and offer our industry-leading UAS flight safety products to their many loyal customers. The importance of high-quality safety education and training is more important than ever with Part 107 now in effect. Our approach to UAS education is based on time-honored aviation safety practices, and we are thrilled to offer our digital education in partnership with Sporty’s”.

Both courses are compatible with Windows and iOS, with an internet connection required. The courses also come with a completion certificate, which meets some insurance requirements and may even make pilots eligible for premium savings.

The UAS Ground School Course is available for $399 and the UAS Safety Awareness Course is available for $199. Each course may be ordered at www.sportys.com.