FlightSafety International will establish unmanned systems training centers in the Las Vegas area and Wichita, it announced yesterday, nearly a year after unveiling plans to enter this market. Its unmanned systems training catalog also will be expanded to include practical training in operating unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
The FlightSafety UAS Learning Center near Las Vegas will have operations in the suburb of Henderson, as well as at Searchlight Airport (1L3), about 50 miles south of Henderson. FlightSafety has not named a specific location for the training center in Wichita, though it will be established “before the end of this year,” FlightSafety director of unmanned systems training for commercial and government Nora Ann Mishler told AIN.
Both centers will be led by manager Clinton Strong, who has been with FlightSafety since 2008, starting as a Cessna Citation Excel instructor. He was most recently assistant center manager of the Wichita East Learning Center.
Mishler said the company’s unmanned systems flight training will be offered in partnership with Praxis Aerospace Concepts, which has a “wealth of UAS experience in military and commercial.” She added, “[The partnership] helps us move into this space and do it with the expertise and quality that people come to expect from FlightSafety.”
The first “hands-on” flight training course at Henderson, a 10-day-long Professional Remote Pilot Fundamentals course, will begin March 18. The course is designed to ASTM standards, Mishler noted.
Plans for FlightSafety’s unmanned systems training were announced in May 2018. It currently offers unmanned systems electronic learning courses in resource management, fatigue management, safety management system, and Part 107 exam preparation. Those will expand over the next few months to include remote pilot fundamentals, as well as courses in aerial photography, weather fundamentals, and basics on batteries, Mishler said.
FlightSafety International will establish unmanned systems training centers in the Las Vegas area and Wichita, it announced on February 20, nearly a year after unveiling plans to enter that market. Its unmanned systems training catalog also will be expanding to include practical training in operating unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
The FlightSafety UAS Learning Center near Las Vegas will have operations in the suburb of Henderson as well as at Searchlight Airport (1L3), about 50 miles south of Henderson. The public use airport located in Clark County is owned by the federal Bureau of Land Management and traffic there doesn’t interfere with flights at McCarran International Airport (LAS) or Nellis Air Force Base (LSV), FlightSafety director of unmanned systems training for commercial and government Nora Ann Mishler told AIN. “You can fly there any time without restrictions,” she said, describing it as “primarily a UAS airfield” with good weather almost year-round.
Wichita was chosen as the second site for a UAS Learning Center because FlightSafety already has the personnel in place to offer unmanned systems training. “We just have a wealth of our own internal experience in Wichita,” Mishler said. “If you look at the organization as a whole, the majority of those folks are kind of situated there.” A specific location for the Wichita site has not been identified, Mishler said, but will be before the end of the year. FlightSafety operates three centers there from four facilities: Wichita Cessna Learning Center, Wichita East Learning Center and Wichita Maintenance Learning Center.
Both of its UAS Learning Centers will be led by manager Clinton Strong, who joined FlightSafety in 2008 as a Citation Excel instructor and was most recently assistant center manager of the Wichita East Learning Center. He also has experience in commercial unmanned systems, previously owning and operating a UAS business.
Building on Military Experience
Unmanned systems flight training will be offered in partnership with Praxis Aerospace Concepts, which has a “wealth of UAS experience in military and commercial,” Mishler said. “[The partnership] helps us move into this space and do it with the expertise and quality that people come to expect from FlightSafety.” The first “hands-on” flight training course at Henderson, a 10-day-long Professional Remote Pilot Fundamentals course, will begin March 18. The course is designed to ASTM standards, Mishler noted.
FlightSafety entered the military unmanned systems training market about three years ago, Mishler said. But it wasn’t until May 2018 when it announced plans for commercial training.
“Our Unmanned Systems Training program will include a comprehensive series of remote-pilot ground and flight training courses designed to help UAS operators achieve the highest levels of safety and proficiency,” FlightSafety co-CEO Ray Johns said at the time of the announcement.
The aviation training company already had built-in demand for such training, Mishler said. “For several years our current customers were asking what we plan to do in this space and were really seeking professional training,” she said. “We think there’s obviously a business case.”
She added FlightSafety’s entry into the market now is ideal because of the expected development of new regulations by the FAA for large UAS contained as directed by Congress in the agency’s reauthorization bill that was passed late last year. “I think we’re entering it at just the correct time and hopefully we’ll help shape some of [the large UAS training requirements) too,” Mishler said.
On the commercial side, FlightSafety offers unmanned systems electronic learning courses in resource management, fatigue management, safety management system, and Part 107 exam preparation. Those will expand over the next few months to include remote pilot fundamentals as well as courses in aerial photography, weather fundamentals and basics on batteries, Mishler said.