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Aerospace Week 2024 was a resounding success, uniting industry leaders, educators and enthusiasts of all ages to share a collective vision for the future of aerospace in Oklahoma.

Join Grayson Ardies, Oklahoma's Aerospace and Aeronautics Director, and Carly Collins from the OKCID as they discuss Oklahoma's First Aerospace Week, AeroOklahoma, workforce challenges, and industry initiatives.

Education professionals are discovering that drones are ideal platforms for teaching problem solving, critical thinking, and a variety of technical skills. Aimed at learners in grades 6 – 12+, as well as at participants in clubs and competitions, the UAV offers features that make it adaptable to a number of educational applications. 

Schools are providing comprehensive training on uncrewed systems to enable agriculture students and farming professionals to learn how to fly a drone, how to collect and analyze drone-derived data, and how to adapt to the technology to improve spraying, crop monitoring, and other applications.

As the demand for skilled drone pilots continues to soar, opportunities for success continue to expand, and, in this article, we'll explore five key opportunities to build drone pilot success. However, before we dive into those opportunities, there are a few topics that need discussion.

NASA Aeronautics has released a new STEM toolkit focusing on Advanced Air Mobility for educators and students of all ages. The toolkit, comprised of numerous educational activities, is a free resource for anyone who is interested in learning more about the Advanced Air Mobility mission's goal of enabling the use of drones and other new aircraft in our skies.

The new Commercial UAV News guide, "Building Your Drone Program: Defining Your Scope, Choosing the Right Systems, Workforce Development, and More," can help.

This report provides an overview of the workforce dynamics in the UAS/AAM industry in Oklahoma. It highlights several key challenges and opportunities in this emerging sector, with a focus on addressing the workforce gaps and opportunities.

Recently, Representative Frank Lucas (R-OK) introduced the National Drone and Advanced Air Mobility Initiative Act. The legislation aims "(T)o provide for a coordinated Federal initiative to accelerate unmanned aircraft systems civilian and advanced air mobility research and development for economic and national security, and for other purposes."

The U.S. aviation regulator said on Wednesday it was proposing comprehensive training and pilot certification rules for flying taxis, electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL), which have been touted as the future of urban air mobility.

Today, innovators like Airbus, Volocopter GmbH, and Urban Aeronautics are making headlines with their unveiling of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and vertical take-off and landing vehicles (VTOLs). Although still in its infancy, the global urban air mobility (UAM) market is projected to reach $15.54 billion (USD) in revenue and achieve a 29.9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) by 2030

The North Carolina Wing has been at the forefront of the Civil Air Patrol small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) program that culminated in the first locate and save within CAP in August of 2021. On May 6th, the program introduced an increase in training and equipment at the NCWG headquarters.

If you work in the drone industry, you probably know what a "commercial" drone is. It's a drone used for business, a drone used to make money.

If you are looking for the best value drone training in Texas, it's here.  Drone professionals at every level have the opportunity to expand their skills, learn from leading industry figures, and network with other businesses during the two day Texas Drone Workshop, sponsored by AUVSI Lone Star.

P3 Tech Consulting Presents 2nd Annual Law-Tech Connect™ Workshop for UAS/AAM Industry at AUVSI XPONENTIAL '23!

Drone industry evangelist and author, Brian Pitre, has just launched a new e-book entitled, "The Ultimate Drone Professional Guide." Pitre was an early adopter of commercial drone technology in the industry's nascent years and, as the CEO of SkyOp, LLC, has designed one of the first comprehensive drone education platforms in the market.

It's one of the conundrums of the drone industry: autonomy is necessary to maximize the benefits of uncrewed systems.  Anyone who has watched a science fiction movie or read the news, however, understands that a high level of autonomy comes with a level of risk: risk that the decisions made by a computer may, someday, be incorrect.
That was the topic of a session at the AUVSI NE UAS and AAM Summit October 26.

Rising Aviation High School will host a Ribbon Cutting and Open House at their Addison campus on Thursday, April 21st, 2022, from 11AM-2PM. A first of its kind, aviation and aerospace centric high school in North Texas, Rising Aviation's mission is to educate the next generation of aviation and aerospace professionals in a real-world environment right on the tarmac.

The Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue (CRASAR), the world leader in robotics for disasters, is partnering with Women and Drones for 3.5 days of drone pilot training. The purpose is to introduce female pilots to the missions, skills, and regulations applicable to different types of disasters and enable them to work with local agencies. The training will take place during the highly realistic Public Safety Interoperability Institute (Interop 22) exercise with Texas emergency management agencies, Texas National Guard, and other groups at Disaster City® and surrounding facilities.

BRINC Drones to Sponsor Leading Robotics Summit offering critical drone training for public safety personnel.

CAE will demonstrate a new Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) desktop simulator based on the company's Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Mission Trainer at the Dubai Airshow from November 14 to 18, 2021. 
 
Increasing advanced air mobility (AAM) and UAS operations over the next decade will create a surge in demand for pilots, which by some estimates could be close to 60,000 pilots needed by 2028. However, training solutions geared specifically towards VTOL operations are currently limited.

In the three months since Paragon VTOL Aerospace announced its move from California to Brownsville, the company has assembled a new management team, scouted sites at the local airport for the testing of vertical takeoff autonomous aircraft, begun talks with the community college on workforce training, and set course with plans to build a massive redundant microgrid energy network.

Five universities will share $2.8 million in funding for drone research from the FAA, the agency announced Tuesday.
The universities that will share the funding are:
Mississippi State University
Wichita State University
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
University of Kansas
University of North Dakota
The money will be used for research, education, and training. The focus will be on:
Advanced material
Right-of-way rules
Flight data recorder requirements

Wichita State University will receive $684,000 from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for three programs aimed at increasing safety measures for the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

"THE drone revolution is happening right now, " declared Poladrone founder and chief executive officer Cheong Jin Xi.
"Many industries are realising that modern drones, which excel at precision automation and efficient data collection, are able to simplify many dirty, dangerous and difficult tasks."

To meet the growing demand for drone use in business, the University of Wyoming Board of Trustees this past summer approved the launch of geospatial information science and technology programs. New programs, which began this fall, are offered in the areas of geographic information system, remote sensing and UAS, better known as drones.

Rose State College in Midwest City, Okla., in collaboration with Total Defense Resource Strategies, recently demonstrated the use of a drone to disperse a COVID-19 disinfectant at the newly constructed student union that opened last month.

The unmanned aircraft systems flight and operations program at Kansas State University Polytechnic has been selected for the Federal Aviation Administration's Unmanned Aircraft Systems-Collegiate Training Initiative.

Gulf Coast State College plans to use a new $7 million grant to expand its drone program and address lessons learned in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael.

Visitors from the Lone Star UAS Center of Excellence & Innovation at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and HSU Educational Foundation are forming a master research partnership to develop the HSU Unmanned Aircraft System Center of Excellence in Okaloosa County, Florida.

With mass layoffs at US air carriers expected this fall, airline pilots like Michelle Bishop are anticipating the unwelcome reality that pilots like herself may soon be left without stable work. One opportunity piqued her interest: Piloting drones.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced 26 schools from 20 different states have been selected so far to participate in the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Collegiate Training Initiative.

 Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus's Applied Aviation Research Center has received a new waiver from the FAA that permits K-State Polytechnic to fly unmanned aircraft beyond visual line of sight in all Class G airspace nationwide

If you are lost in a rural area or simply attempting to hide from police, the Moose Jaw Police Service now has new technology to find you either way.

Drones helicoptering down and with gifts is another sort of sci-fi scenario that's been reified and seems poised to grow into big business over the next few years. Flytrex is a pioneer in the field, having achieved a series of firsts in pursuit of urban package delivery via drone.

Drone consumers include both avid and casual fans whose understanding of their new toy varies widely. With this varied knowledge, coupled with evolving laws and technology and increasing demand, the challenges surrounding Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) are likely to increase. Transportation Resource Board's new Standing Committee on New Users of Shared Airspace will offer guidance on the topic, helping research stay ahead of the curve.

New drones, new staff and continued partnerships are helping further Northrop Grumman's role in the North Dakota UAS ecosystem.

Here's a new category for the drone industry: therapy drones.  Could learning to pilot a sUAS be a new and effective form of adaptive therapy?

The Alliance for Drone Innovation, in coordination with the Drone Operators Federation, is launching the "Drone Operator Insight Series" to highlight America's growing small business drone economy.

Amid the adversity of COVID-19, but just in time for the holidays, Aquiline Drones – America's fastest-growing drone technology company- launches its new and exciting jobs initiative dubbed Flight to the Future.

Navatek, an aerospace and defense contractor that performs research and development services for the Department of Defense, NASA and other government agencies, awarded a $25,000 research grant to support up to 12 Oklahoma State University student internships that will run through Aug. 15.

The American National Standards Institute announced this week the publication of the Standardization Roadmap for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Version 2.0). The roadmap was developed by the Institute's Unmanned Aircraft Systems Standardization Collaborative.

Aquiline Drones, the first black US-based drone and cloud technology company, offers a new drone training program, Flight to the Future, which they hope will help Americans who have lost their jobs due to Covid-19.

The unmanned industry, like nearly every sector, suffered from the economic and operational effects of the social distancing and a global shutdown from the pandemic. But like in many innovative industries, some UAS companies quickly adapted to the new situation and succeeded in turning the situation around and leverage it

The Air Force is facing an alarming shortage of pilots and sensor operators needed to fly its remotely piloted aircraft, the Government Accountability Office said in a recent report .

Kurt Carraway has been named department head of the unmanned aircraft systems flight and operations program at Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus.

The College of Aeronautics and Engineering at Kent State is procuring a new Air Traffic Control (ATC) simulator for fall 2020 from UFA Inc., a world-leading provider of cloud-based, advanced ATC simulation.

To estimate the impact that collegiate training initiatives will have on the nation's UAS educational community, this government-funded study researched and mapped educational institutions that currently offer certificate and degree programs in UAS, and classified them by their institutional characteristics (2-year vs. 4-year) and area(s) of focus.

Mississippi State University's Raspet Flight Research Laboratory was recently designated as the FAA's UAS Safety Research Facility, placing the research center as the helm of studying and developing safety and certification standards as UAS become increasingly integrated in the U.S. airspace.

Kansas State Polytechnic is offering a one-week unmanned aircraft systems program called UAS Virtual Academy, an online, hands-on introduction to the world of drones. It will run from June 22-26 and will explore multiple facets of a growing industry.