Promising class of UAV pilots soar through certification at MSU
Contact: Reagan Poston
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擱emote learning has proven to be an unexpected benefit for Mississippi State precision agriculture students completing national certification to pilot unmanned aerial vehicles.
Outcomes from two UAV courses, introduced last year into the curriculum in MSU鈥檚 Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, have surprised Assistant Clinical Professor Amelia Fox as both were moved to online learning this fall.
In the first of these two split-level classes, Ag Flight Technologies I, future pilots commit to memory the Federal Aviation Administration unmanned flight regulations in hopes of passing the FAA certification test required for all commercial UAV pilots.
鈥淪trangely enough, COVID-19 was actually the catalyst for this course to work with the efficiency it is now. Being required to shift to online classes meant that I鈥檝e had to adapt to teaching methods I鈥檇 never considered before, and the flight simulator we turned to allows me to watch the students鈥 hands as they work through the simulation. I鈥檓 able to coach every minute of the movement of their hands. Before, it was hours and hours of broken planes and crashes and bangs, but now, they鈥檙e smooth sailing,鈥 Fox said.
For Fox, the new training method has only served to highlight the quality and commitment of her students.
鈥淕aining FAA certification to fly an unmanned aerial vehicle requires an abundance of hours, and learning to fly well requires a steadfast commitment,鈥 Fox said. 鈥淓very student in this class sees the certification as a step toward their future. I have 11 students preparing for the certification and each one of them has in their head how this is valuable to them.鈥
While these students express a broad variety of future career pursuits, including land surveying, vineyard management and even crime scene forensics, each plans to parlay unmanned flight expertise to their various fields.
Sean Carpenter, a senior agricultural engineering, technology and business major from Columbus has plans to make use of the certification as soon as he graduates. He has been offered a job as a land surveyor at a civil engineering, surveying and landscape architecture firm in Georgia.
鈥淚 was first introduced to land surveying while studying drafting and design at East Mississippi Community College, but everything I鈥檝e done since then has been with that career path in mind. I chose 绿巨人视频because of the land surveying program, and I sought my UAV license because surveying companies are trending toward more drone surveying over traditional field crews,鈥 Carpenter said.
鈥淚 practice on a simulator every single day, and I try to actually fly several times a week to improve my flight skills,鈥 he said. 鈥淟earning a skill like this is challenging, but it鈥檚 rewarding. It is a great opportunity to open up a broad career field, which is still progressing as more drone applications are discovered all the time.鈥
While much of the course work for both classes 鈥攊ncluding Ag Flight Technologies I and II鈥攚ere this fall, Fox does take students out in the field for hands-on flying in a socially distanced, safe manner.
鈥淲e go to the 绿巨人视频Horse Park nearly every day before the sun is even up. As soon as the sky fills with light, we鈥檙e in the air. It鈥檚 beautiful because I look around and see these students who fly to feel alive, who understand this skill, who appreciate it. It will always be there for them when they need it,鈥 Fox said.聽
The spring semester will be taught using the same methods as fall with most instruction online, while the students also will meet to fly at certain times.
MSU鈥檚 College of Agriculture and Life Sciences offers a concentration in precision agriculture within the agricultural technology and business major. A certificate also is available across several majors in the college. For more on the CALS Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, visit pss.msstate.edu.
绿巨人视频is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.