Rose State Partners With FAA To Host Drone Seminar Published April 9, 2018

Seminar to focus on safety and regulations for local drone operators

As the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), or drones, continues to grow globally, the issue of safety has become an important topic. In a measure to promote flight and operation safety between pilots and drone operators, The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Rose State College are partnering to host a free UAV safety seminar titled, “Sharing the Skies Safely: Aircraft and Drones in Central Oklahoma.” The April 13 presentation will bring the general aviation community together to discuss the safest way to operate within the airspace over Oklahoma.

According to the FAA, commercial (small non-model) drone registrations totaled 110,604 in 2017, with growth expected to exceed 450,000 by 2022. Additionally, the number of small hobbyist drones is expected to grow from 1.1 million in 2017 to 2.4 million by 2022. As UAVs become more commonplace in today’s airspace, it is important that drone pilots abide by the rules and regulations of drone operation, as well as knowing how to share the skies with other aircraft. This one-of-a-kind seminar hopes to provide new and experienced drone operators alike with the information to operate a UAV safely

The three-hour seminar will feature a presentation from Lt. Colonel Scott Denny from Tinker Air Force Base, a multi-pilot panel discussion titled, “It Matters to Me: A Low Flying Pilots’ Drone Perspective” that will include KOCO Channel 5 helicopter pilot Chase Rutledge, and a presentation by the FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam) on drone regulations for hobbyists and commercial operators, which will discuss the Part 107 Commercial Operator process. There will also be a brief presentation about the Oklahoma UAS Research Initiative, a joint research project between Rose State College and the University of Oklahoma for the purpose of developing curriculum for the purpose of training future workforce employees in UAV design, maintenance, and use.

“Sharing the Skies Safely: Aircraft and Drones in Central Oklahoma” will be held April 13 from 1pm-4pm in the Rose State College Lecture Hall. The seminar is open to the public and free to attend.

For more information or to register for the event, visit the FAA Safety website: https://bit.ly/2qhy2nu or contact Shawn Lynch (Shawn.C.Lynch@outlook.com).