The UAS or Drone Industry is easily one of the hottest and most exciting industries today. Hardware and technology continue to advance at an amazing rate, creating numerous opportunities for individuals and organizations looking to become professional drone operators and make a real living doing what they love.
The first step is to prepare for and pass your Part 107 Knowledge Exam, and then depending on your level of interest, your piloting and or photography skills. As the exam carries a $150 fee at most knowledge testing centers, it may be best to prepare for it with either in-person or online courses depending on your learning style.
There is a multitude of organizations providing UAV pilot training across the country and online. In this article, we wanted to review some of the major training providers here in the United States in order to help you select the option best suited for your needs and goals.
Before we dive into the different providers and the services they each provide, let us first examine the criteria we used to examine, review, and rate them. For each training provider, we looked at the variety of services offered, the quality level of their services and how they’re delivered. We also looked at two other factors; their level and quality of support and the community each foster; listed in alphabetical order, with a star rating (0–5).
What we looked for:
Variety of Course Offerings
Learning Options
Online courses
In-person training
How we measured quality:
Training Production Value
Website UX
YouTube Channel Content
Social Media Presence/Activity
Other intangibles:
Support
Community
Training Provider Reviews
DART DRONES
Dart Drones was founded in 2014 by Abby Speicher and is based in Salt Lake City Utah. They provide nationally recognized Part 107 Test Prep as well as some additional advanced flight and photo/video training. We should also mention that if you’re a fan of the show “Shark Tank” you may have seen them there. They have over 40 employees across the country providing a combination of hands-on and online courses. They also have their own trusted pilot program called the DARTDrones Wings Program allowing pilots to differentiate themselves and showcase their abilities to prospective clients. DART Drones training curriculum is thorough and was actually developed by the same team that developed the US Navy’s UAS training program. Their Part 107 Online Course retails for $350 making it one of the more expensive ones we looked at. Here’s a link to their course curriculum brochure.
What We Liked: The quality of their training materials and the additional advanced course offerings.
What We Didn’t Like: The prices were a little high we felt, with some near $2000.
Overall Rating - 4.00 Stars
The DRONE U
By far the standout among the training providers we explored. The Drone U, based in Albuquerque New Mexico, was co-founded by Paul Aiken in 2014 and provides the widest selection of Part 107 drone certification and flight operation training with numerous different flight instructors. One of their most unique features is their “Ask DroneU” Video Podcast, where users submit questions and Paul (plus others) answer them live. This team just churns out great content.
What We Liked: Amazing value with their cancel anytime all-access monthly membership for just $47. An almost unreal amount of courses and learning modules, plus bonus training materials and downloads. High production value.
What We Didn’t Like: So much content it can seem overwhelming at first.
Overall Rating - 4.75 Stars
UAV COACH/DRONE PILOT GROUND SCHOOL
UAV Coach and Drone Pilot Ground School were founded by Alan Perlman and are based in Nashville Tennessee. Since 2015, they’ve provided Part 107 online training services (with a money-back guarantee if you don’t pass on your first attempt) to over 30,000 individuals. They do provide good 1:1 student support via phone and email if needed, but as a small team response times could be better. Aside from the Part 107 curriculum, their only other offering is in-person flight training (but in limited locations). At $299, their knowledge exam test-prep is fairly priced in the marketplace, and if you do a little bit of sleuthing you might find a discount for either $50 or $107 off your enrollment fee.
What We Liked: The course curriculum was thorough, and they have a fairly good size online community where you can get additional support, and they provide lifetime access.
What We Didn’t Like: The limited number of additional course offerings is disappointing if you’re hungry for knowledge and they unfortunately only have one trainer, so the lessons can get a bit monotonous.
Overall Rating - 3.0 Stars
In summary, out of the three major players in the FAA Part 107 drone pilot training space one clearly stands out as the best. We were so impressed with The Drone U’s sheer amount and quality of their training content we can’t endorse them enough and hope you find the same level of value that we did.
Disclaimer: No member of ProAerial Media was paid for our opinions by any of the providers we reviewed in this article. We simply tried and tested each’s materials and content (in some instances their free sample content), and are sharing our opinions to help others find the best provider for their needs and learning style. There are other methods available for studying and passing the FAA Part 107 Airman Knowledge Exam or to learn to fly a drone.
Now get started with your studying, and go pass the test and join the ranks of other FAA sUAS certificate holders who either get paid to fly or run their own drone businesses.
ProAerial Media provides aerial drone services for a wide array of industries across the southwest United States. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to see our video work, and our Instagram feed to view our photography (@proaerialmedia). If you’re ready to fly, you can always book a flight from the ProAerial Media Website.
Thanks for reading. Take Flight. Take Pics. Get Clicks.
