Drones in Consulting Forestry
Over the past decade or so, small, unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS)–popularly known as “drones”–have become indispensable tools for forestry field work. (I wrote about some of the ways I used drones in my forestry consulting business in this 2021 Western Forester article.) One barrier foresters face to using drones in their own practice is getting certified to fly them legally for work under the FAA’s Part 107 rules. I’m putting together an eLearning course to help with that, using what I know from working as a forester, flying professionally, and designing pilot training courseware for a major airplane manufacturer. I hope to test the course with a small group of aspiring drone pilots this summer, with a rollout of the full course sometime in late 2025.
