our capabilities
There are dozens of UAS training programs out there - but the vast majority of them are not tailored for emergency management or public safety operations. Our courses are different. They are designed with emergencies and disasters in mind and focused on how to safely and effectively use unmanned aircraft in all kinds of incidents.
CDRP is part of the Florida SERT, and has utilized and managed UAS in a variety of scenarios, from small missing person searches to working recon and air operations on Mexico Beach after Hurricane Michael. Let us teach you how to fly and operate effectively in these environments.
2024-2025 Pricing
Pricing has been set for the 2024/2025 calendar years - a week long class in Tallahassee is as little as $800 per person, taught by instructors with over a decade of real-world UAS experience. This value is impossible to beat.
Courses
UAS Response Technician
The UAS Response Technician course was developed to deliver the quality of training necessary for UAS teams to operate in disaster environments.
Introduction to UAS Operations
Our introduction course is two days of classroom and hands-on training designed to get new pilots up to speed. This course is an excellent precursor to the UAS Response Technician class.
Disaster Mapping and Remote Sensing
Rapid mapping post-disaster is one of the key use cases of UAS in emergency management. Accomplishing this safely and effectively, while working with other resources, can be a challenge.
Additional Subjects
We also offer custom Part 107 Courses (in one, three, and five day versions), Night UAS Operations, and custom offerings. Let us know how we can help.
UAS Response Technician
Training Program Based on Real-World Experience
The UAS Response Technician certification program is a 38-hour curriculum taught over five days. At the end of the course, students will complete a practical exam to earn the course certificate.
The program is designed to take existing UAS pilots and create safe, effective, professional operators prepared to work on incident scenes including major disasters. Coursework includes safety management systems, crew coordination, hands-on scenarios, and best practices for a variety of missions including search and rescue, law enforcement support, night operations, fire fighting, hazardous materials, recon, basic mapping, and damage assessment. Each course includes homework, teachback modules, and a course workbook.
The training curriculum and materials were developed by the professionals at the FSU Center for Disaster Risk Policy, the Texas A&M Humanitarian Robotics and Artifical Intelligence Laboratory (HRAIL), and the Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue (CRASAR). This team of responders, researchers, and educators have led the way in integrating UAS into emergency and disaster operations operations worldwide.
UAS Response Technician
Duration: 38 Contact Hours
Delivery Method: Classroom and Hands-On Scenario Based Flights
Base Price: $800 per student (in Tallahassee)
Learning Objectives
- Recognize all Federal regulations regarding operation of UAS in the National Airspace System, including 14 CFR Part 107, 14 CFR Part 91, 14 CFR Part 61, and Section 333 and Section 336 of Public Law 112-95
- Recognize all state statutes and regulations regarding operation of UAS in public safety.
- Identify the components and purpose of the Incident Command System as well as the Air Operations Branch at the incident and State levels.
- Determine personal minimums in regards to risk, including drug and alcohol effects, weather, and mission requirements utilizing a PAVE checklist.
- Analyze issues with and risks to UAS operations created by conditions such as terrain, weather, obstructions, manned aviation, and airspace classification.
- Evaluate all conditions for a UAS flight and make an appropriate "go/no-go" decision.
- Distinguish the need for jurisdictional and organizational policies regarding the operation of unmanned systems for public safety and emergency management.
- Identify appropriate locations and conditions to conduct UAS operations based on launch/recovery needs, airspace and regulatory factors, obstructions, terrain, and weather.
- Plan a UAS sortie to accomplish a specific set of mission parameters given available resources.
- Perform safe and effective UAS operations as part of a designated UAS crew.
- Identify typical payloads of UAS and methods for integration into the UAS environment, including maximum takeoff weight and the impacts of payload on flight characteristics.
- Determine appropriate UAS airframes, payloads, and communication systems based on mission requirements and conditions such as weather, traffic density, and terrain.
- Determine an effective communications plan to include two-way communication as well as monitoring for situational awareness.
- Describe procedures for obtaining emergency authorization to fly in controlled airspace or other FAA restricted locations.
- Formulate plans for multiple unmanned aircraft and crews to operate simultaneously over or near an incident scene.
- Apply techniques to effectively operate a UAS in the following public safety mission types: damage assessment, route clearance, search and rescue, firefighting, law enforcement support, and surveillance/reconnaissance.
- Apply techniques to effectively operate and apply UAS in nighttime conditions.
UAS Disaster Mapping and Remote Sensing
Mapping the Disaster Safely and Effectively
One of the biggest advantages of unmanned aircraft is the ability to quickly develop situational awareness and scene assessments using video, still images, or orthomosaics stitched from dozens of vertical photographs. In the past five years, the ability to quickly capture data and develop map and GIS products based on current conditions on the ground has exploded. Orthographic processing software such as Pix4Dmapper, Agisoft MetashapePro, and Pix4Dreact can take UAS imagery and create standardized format maps and layers for use in a variety of existing technologies. This course provides the student with the knowledge and skills to quickly and safety create these products while integrating into the response and recovery operations.
Disaster Mapping and Remote Sensing
Duration: 16 Contact Hours
Delivery Method: Classroom and Hands-On Flights
Base Price: $400 per student (in Tallahassee)
Introduction to UAS Operations
Basic UAS Operations Training
CDRP offers several options for Introduction and Part 107 operations training. Ranging from single day boot camps to 40 hour courses combining regulation knowledge and scenario based training, these courses cover all the material required to pass the FAA Remote Pilot in Command written exam. All 107 courses (except the one day) include hands-on flight segments as well as all course material, including textbooks. These courses are offered on request.
Basic UAS Operations Training
Duration: 8 to 40 Contact Hours
Delivery Method: Classroom and Hands-On Flights
Base Price: Contact us for a quote.
Nighttime UAS Operations
Night UAS Operations
Flying at night is often a requirement for the public-safety or emergency management UAS operator. While provisions exist under 14 CFR Part 107 and Public Aircraft Operations for night operations, additional training is required (and always advisable). This course will familiarize students with the regulations requirements surrounding nighttime operations, as well as demonstrate techniques for mitigating risk to the aircraft and operator.
This course is eight hours long and includes both classroom and practical instruction. Students will fly UAS in daylight, evening, and nighttime conditions, and learn the hazards of nighttime operation as well as methods to mitigate those risks.
The training curriculum and materials were developed by the experienced professionals at the Texas A & M Humanitarian Robotics and Artifical Intelligence Laboratory (HRAIL), the Center for Disaster Risk Policy, and the Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue (CRASAR). This team of responders, researchers, and educators have led the way in integrating UAS into emergency operations worldwide.