Long Island's Dowling College in Oakdale, New York, is offering a first-of-its-kind class in its School of Aviation to learn how to operate the hottest new thing in the industry - drones.
The school held a press conference last month at its Brookhaven campus to showcase a classroom setting of AER 1010N Introduction to Drone/UAVs. Topics covered in the course include the definition of drones as aircraft, and their uses and future in industry.
Media attending the press conference were treated to a flight demonstration of various training and commercial drones by the Dowling Drone Club's members in the Drone/UAV Flight Lab in the Brookhaven hangar, as well as a simulation of how air traffic controllers handle both jet aircraft and light aircraft operations at a typical airport and the impact drones/UAV's can have of traffic flow.
The impetus for the new class is the proliferation of drones and the new Federal Aviation Administration rules regarding ownership of such drones. Owners of drones will now have to register themselves. Anyone over the age of 13 who owns a drone that weighs between eight ounces and 55 pounds will have register their name and address with the FAA.
They then will receive a certificate of registration and a dedicated number, which they will put on their respective devices. (One number can be used on multiple devices since it traces back to the owner.)
Also, due to the rising number of incidents involving drones, particularly ones that have interfered with commercial airlines, the FAA is concerned the situation will get worse - making Dowling College's decision to offer a class a timely one.
Here's a video look at the drone program.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
