The Media team have recently passed their GVC with A2 CofC drone training examinations and are now qualified, commercial drone operators. The course required us to undergo theory and practical training, each requiring separate examinations to achieve accreditation. Drones are now utilised in a great many fields, including, security, agriculture, search and rescue and in the our case, video production. The team has been passionate about completing the training necessary to bring these skills into our department.

Alongside our own studying, we received two full days of theory training. After this was completed, we arranged to carry out a theory examination, Which consisted of 8 separate modules. The topics of these modules were varied, ranging from general flight knowledge to meteorology, navigation and Air Law. This was carried out under closed book conditions and monitored by an invigilator. The questions were multiple choice and each module had a 75 percent pass mark. This training has been very beneficial, out with learning how to operate drones safely within the law, the training on navigation and reading meteorological charts, has a lot of real world use.

We also received a days practical flight training, with the purpose of teaching us safe piloting protocol and to prepare us for what the practical flight exam would require. The training consisted of various manoeuvres, designed to evaluate how much control we had over the drone and various techniques of recovery, in the event of a technical issue with the drone. This prepared us well for the practical flight exam, which on the day, suddenly decided to become very windy, for a little added challenge. The practical training helped to improve our drone handling skills and allowed us to better visualise the necessary safe distances that must be maintained from dangerous areas and the general public.

We worked with trained professionals, from varied backgrounds (our theory examiner was an ex policeman and our practical trainer was an active commercial airline pilot), all of  which were able to give us the benefit of their extensive real world experience, allowing us to complete the course with a well rounded set of skills.

I personally feel I have benefitted a great deal from this training and although I have previous experience in drone operation, completing this course has given me the knowledge, skills and confidence to operate safely and with professionalism. I look forward to being able to use these skills to bring increased production value and scale to future MOOCs.

OCP Media Team Drone Training / Educational Design and Engagement by cmacphai is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0

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