Engineering dreams take flight in our Drone Pilot Program!
Drone technology is rapidly advancing and creating many possible career options.
Drone pilots are required in areas such as:
- Aerial photography
- Shipping and delivery
- Geographic mapping
- Disaster management
- Precision agriculture
- Search and rescue
- Weather forecasting
- Wildlife monitoring.
The Year 10 Drone Pilot elective gives students the opportunity to build, code and fly their own drone and learn about the science of flight and meteorology. Students will also learn some of the safety considerations around flying drones. The Year 10 Program can lead into a Certificate III Remote Pilot qualification (CASA approved course allowing you to work as a Drone Pilot in Australia). John Wollaston Anglican Community School works in partnership with an external provider to deliver this qualification using trained teaching staff. Students will complete the Remote Pilot License (RePL) in Year 11, which will qualify them to fly drones commercially. An additional qualification of a Certificate III in Aviation (Remote Pilot) can be obtained over two further days but will not be offered through the School. The RePL is offered in Year 11 and the course is for the duration of one year only.
To achieve the RePL, participants will need to achieve competence across a number of units. These units may include the following topics:
- Aviation Knowledge for RPAS
- Pre and Post flight checks and hazard mitigation
- Operational Rules and Air Laws
- Airspace, Charts and Aviation Publications
- Mission Planning
- Aeronautical Radio Operation
- RPA Components and Modes
- Meteorology
- Electical and Electronic Systems
- Automated Flight Management Systems
- Human Factors in flight safety
- Practical Flight
