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FAA deregulation translates into unmanned aerial business

Khristopher J Brooks
Norm Isler, instructor with SkyOp LLC, right, gives some pointers to Karen Wright, Webster, on controlling her drone during a class for teaching people how to get their drone-flying pilot's license from the FAA held by SkyOp at MCC in Brighton Monday, Oct. 10, 2016.
  • Canandiagua's SkyOp is teaching people how to fly drones and pass the FAA exam for getting a license.

Karen Wright isn't related to the flying brothers of Kittyhawk, North Carolina, fame; but she's about to launch an aviation career.

She hopes to start a business that uses drones to assist search-and-rescue missions. But first, the Webster resident is learning how to fly unmanned aerial systems; more commonly (and controversially) called drones.

Wright is among 13 local residents who have enrolled in a drone flying course. The course teaches them how to pass a new Federal Aviation Administration drone pilot exam and introduces them to the different industries that use drones.

The test costs $150 and can be taken only at an FAA-approved Knowledge Testing Center. The FAA doesn't publicly reveal a full practice test, but the agency recently released a few sample questions.

Each student has different goals in mind, but Wright's vision is set, even down to the company name.

"I'm hoping to name it Fly Wright LLC or something," she said with a grin.

Wright's ambition is exactly what local experts said would happen once the Federal Aviation Administration relaxed the rules that govern drone flying. In late August, new guidelines from the FAA made it simpler and quicker for anyone to become a sanctioned drone operator for business purposes. Now, getting a drone-flying license is more attractive than ever, local experts say.

"People are now saying 'Oh my goodness, we can really do this,'" said Brian Pitre, co-founder of Canandaigua-based SkyOp. "People knew before that there were impediments (put in place) by the FAA and those restrictions are basically lifted now."

In the past, the FAA allowed only someone with an airplane pilot's license to fly drones. Now, you don't need that certification. The new requirements include passing a different aeronautics exam, registering your drone online with the FAA and passing a background check, and operators are limited to drones that weigh less than 55 pounds.

Drone experts predicted that the new guidelines would mean more drone-based businesses like Wright's search-and-rescue idea. Larry Brinker, executive director for Syracuse-based NUAIR Alliance, said there could easily be 50,000 drones flying across America in the near future. An estimated 5,300 drones are flying today, Brinker said.

Pitre's company uses drones too, but not for taking aerial photos or examining bridges. He's using the systems for education.

SkyOp is a relatively new company that  offered its first class in November 2014. Since then, more than 200 people have taken a SkyOp class. The company now employs six part-time instructors in New York and has recently expanded to community colleges in Maryland, Tennessee and Pennsylvania.

Monroe Community College was the first college to offer SkyOp classes. MCC decided to offer the drone flying classes, one official said, because they fit the model for the type of classes that MCC Corporate College wants to offer.

"It was popular from the start," said Jim Gertner, projects and operations director for the MCC Corporate College, which offers professional development and training for people, businesses and organizations. "People certainly knew there would be commercial and non-commercial applications for drones."

Pitre said he co-founded SkyOp because people were having trouble seeing the potential of drones.

Pitre said he bought his first drone for $15,000 from a man living just north of Toronto. After tinkering with it, Pitre said, he set out on a 18-month speaking tour to tell people how drones could be used.

"After the end of the year and a half, I realized people just don't understand these," he said. "They need education more than anything else. But I was never intending to be an education company."

The new FAA guidelines have also forced Pitre to tweak the course curriculum and add subjects such as weight classification, radio frequencies, signage at airports and encoded weather reports. The three-week course also covers industry applications, aerospace classifications and more.

All about weather

In a recent class session, SkyOp instructor Norm Isler introduced students to the weather factors that can impact drone flights.

He explained barometric pressure, showed them how to read a terminal aerodrome forecast (or TAF) and explained that pilots use METAR as a pre-flight weather report.

"TAF is a forecast," he told the class. "METAR is an observation of what's happening right now."

The students stared at Isler and it was clear they weren't understanding the concepts right away. Isler tried to dive deeper into the material, but Wright raised her hand and asked perhaps the most pressing question.

"What percentage of the test is on weather?"

"Well, it's weather and forecasting lumped together," Isler said. "You might see four to six questions. But they're not going to ask you to decode 6 METARs."

The room went silent. Students stared down at their notes. Isler told the class that the weather information is complex, but vital.

"I don't want to scare you with these things, but it's important information for the test," he said.

Before her search-and-rescue business can get off the ground, Wright knows she must pass the test, and she's going to deepen her knowledge of weather and flying.

"I'm just going to read up on it," she said. "I know it deals with your altitude and you have field elevation, but like I'm still trying to get the concept of it."

Pitre, who has taken and passed the test, said the more studying someone does, the better.

"The exam is harder than you think," he said. "You gotta know all this stuff that relates to airplanes that doesn't have anything to do with drones."

Pitre wants to build SkyOp into a national company at which instructors are training people from different ages and backgrounds. Today, his company has taught teenagers as young as 16 and someone as old as 80.

The class of students watch as a drone clips the final obstacle course gate sending it cartwheeling to the ground during a class for teaching people how to get their drone-flying pilot's license from the FAA held by SkyOp at MCC in Brighton Monday, Oct. 10, 2016.

The ages may be different, but Pitre said all the students have one thing in common: They come to class with a rough idea on how they want to use drones. But then, the class sparks their imagination.

"Everybody comes into our classes with a preconceived notion," he said. "And when they leave our course, they go 'Oh my God, you showed me 10 businesses I could start'."