Teaching a FAA Part 107 UAS (Drone) Certification Course to First Responders

VerticalGeo had the honor of teaching a FAA Part 107 UAS (Drone) Pilot Certification Course to First Responders in Effingham County, Georgia October 24-28, 2022. We spent 4 days teaching academics and leading the First Responders through Hands-On flying experience with small drones. We capped off the course with an end of course Search and Rescue exercise where we helped the First Responders use drones to locate a missing family with an injured family member.

Our course included 20 hours of academics and 10 hours of Hands-On drone familiarization training. We also provided each student with a copy of the training documentation, which included several hundred FAA Part 107 Exam Practice Questions.

Part 107 Certification Course Academics

Public entities, including municipalities can choose to fall under the Part 107 regulation, but they are not required to. It is up to them to determine if they want to fall under the FAA Part 107 Certification guidelines or to work with the FAA to create their own Certificate of Authorization (COA) to operate as a Public Aircraft Operator (PAO) and implement their own FAA approved program to train public employees to use drone technology in Public Works, Emergency Management Services, Parks and Recreation, Assessors Offices, and other departments. For many municipalities and counties, choosing go the Part 107 Certification route is the easier option. We provided the Effingham County, Georgia, Emergency Management Services branch with a course that covered a detailed overview of all topics within the FAA Part 107 Certification Program and ensured the students understood both what is on the Part 107 Certification Exam and how to use the information in the field after they complete the test. When we complete the course all students have the information needed to pass the FAA Part 107 Certification Exam .

Hands-On Flight Training with the Drone

As mentioned earlier, we completed the week of training off with an in-the-field search and rescue exercise that helped the First Responders understand how to use drones to aid in the search for a missing person or persons. The pressure filled exercise environment helped bring some realistic experience to the end of the course.

Search and Rescue exercise to cap off the Part 107 Training Week

The FAA allowing public entities to choose to either use Part 107 regulations or develop their own regulations brings some opportunities for public entities to create their own Drone certification program for their employees that reflects their unique requirements and capabilities. If you would like the Part 107 Certification Course to be taught to your employees (public or private), or if you would like a consultant to help you develop your own drone certification program we would be happy to help.

We taught the Part 107 Certification Course two weeks ago and the Monday after we completed the course one of the Effingham County First Responders took the FAA Part 107 Exam at a testing center and passed with flying colors. We enjoyed creating and teaching this course and look forward to more in the future

Our Students from the First Responders Course