Aviation Institute Pilots New UAS Course

Omaha – UNO Aviation Institute offered its first official Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) course during the Summer 2017 semester. The course was designed to provide an overview of the unmanned industry and to prepare students in the Aviation Institute's Air Transport Administration program--as well as certified pilots--to take the FAA’s Remote Pilot Certificate exam. The course provided hands-on training with a small unmanned aircraft.

Twenty-three students completed the course.

Scott Vlasek, lecturer, worked with Ryan Guthridge, chief ground instructor, to develop and deliver the course.

Vlasek said, "It was a fun and exciting class to teach because it was very different from our other classes. We got to fly small unmanned aircraft on campus, each student got to take images and video of the Maverick Monument. They got to see campus from a unique perspective."

The Aviation Institute is currently seeking approval for a concentration in UAS, which will complement the Professional Flight and Air Transport Administration concentrations that have been offered as part of the B.S. in Aviation. The UAS concentration will prepare students for a variety of career paths in the rapidly expanding UAS sector of aviation. Vlasek noted that when the UAS class operated the drones outside this summer, a number of passersby asked about UAS opportunities at UNO. He was pleased to tell them that a new concentration in this exciting new career field will be offered soon in Omaha.