Drone Pilot Jobs: Types, Schools, Requirements …

Drone pilot jobs are n’t just about buying one and starting to pilot it. You will need to have a certificate of airworthiness and a medical certificate, meet certain requirements, be insured … We review everything you need to know about the pilot’s license but also about what jobs there are for drone pilots if you have considered working as such and how you can to get it.

What requirements must you meet

Piloting a drone for leisure does not require any certificate as long as it is light. But if you want to dedicate yourself professionally, you must follow a series of instructions. Royal Decree 1036/2017 regulates the flight of remotely piloted aircraft in Spain (RPAs). According to this decree and the regulations of the State Aviation Safety Agenda, a series of regulations must be followed to be able to fly drones as a professional activity whatever the type of activity that you are going to carry out.

To pilot drones for recreational use we do not need a license if they weigh less than 25 kilograms. In the case of professional drone piloting, you will need a license regardless of its weight, as well as a series of requirements and rules. In addition, of course, you will need to be of legal age and 18 years old in Spain.

Pilot’s license

If you are going to use it professionally, you need to have a license. You will need to prove theoretical and practical knowledge and attach a medical certificate. In the case of drones weighing less than 25 kilograms you will need a LAPL medical certificate and in case of a higher weight you will need a class II medical certificate. You will have to be registered with the State Area Security Agency and have the aforementioned drone pilot license in force.

Have insurance for drones

It is mandatory to have drone insurance if you are a professional. Article 50 of AESA remote controlled civil aircraft requires all operators to have insurance. The price of the insurance varies but it can be around 200 or 400 euros a year for professionals and most policies cover damage to third parties with an insured sum of up to 300,000 euros in the case of drones weighing less than 20 kilos and usually cover from 300,000 euros to those who have a higher weight, although it will depend on the policy. Whichever you choose, it is mandatory to have it if you are a professional.

Enrollment

Professional drones require a mandatory registration or identification plate. It must be a fireproof plate recorded with an approved method and on which the data is legitimately recorded. Details about the type of drone, the exact model, the manufacturer’s name, the serial number, the operator’s name and the operator’s contact details will have to be included.

For someone else’s or own account?

You can work as a drone pilot for a specific company but you can also be a freelance drone pilot. Once you have the insurance it will cover all the devices that you are going to drive and all the related activities. If you have a license, you can work to carry out activities or work for companies that need it on time. It will always be easier to hire a specialized pilot for a specific job than having to obtain a drone license, learn the notions to work with them and pay for insurance.

Authorized pilot schools

In Spain there are around 60 or 70 schools authorized to teach drone work. For example, the University of Almería has a Master in Drones – RPAs with which you can get a license and whose requirements for access include being 18 years old and having a class 2 aeronautical medical certificate. A program with 80 practical teaching hours and theoretical with which to get the license and be prepared for this type of work to pilot drones. The Autonomous University of Barcelona also has a course to pilot drones and be accredited as an AESA pilot. A course with more than six editions already and with 56 hours of face-to-face work to train in a theoretical and practical way.

Beyond universities, there are private academies that will prepare you to pilot drones and that will grant you the official certificate that allows you to do so. For example, EagleDron is a School of Drone Pilots in Valencia that has options for face-to-face courses and online courses and is focused on drone management in emergency or security situations, so it is common for the academy to bet on State Security Forces and Bodies. EagleDron has prepared hundreds of students since its opening. Beyond the theoretical training, he has practices in Cheste that will help him to function on the flight.

Like EagleDron, many other academies throughout Spain. In Malaga, OneAir, a training organization approved by AESA and E-ATO certified. A pilot school at Malaga International Airport that offers courses for airplane pilots but among its offer we also find Drones Course – RPAs with AESA certificate and with a theoretical and practical part. How are you, many in Spain and increasingly where you can train and prepare. On the Security Area page you can check the list of organizations with ATOs approved training where you can prepare for drone jobs.

Drone pilot jobs

There are many jobs for drone pilots that have been increasing in recent times and job opportunities are increasingly diverse. Virtually any job you can imagine allows us to enjoy having an aircraft in our hands to achieve something creative, security, etc. Photography and video work

Photography and video

The photography and video works are some of the most demanded and satisfactory. Surely you have seen images from above in advertisements or corporate videos of companies or even institutions or municipalities. Tourism advertisements in a city often resort to this type of technique thanks to the possibility of recording the landscape from an almost unprecedented point of view. But beyond the institutional, there are many private companies that resort to these drones or even in celebrations such as weddings, baptisms, company meetings …

• Professional photography
• Aerial photography for companies
• Aerial photography for weddings, baptisms, communions
• Event Videos
• Photography for institutions
• Institutional videos
• Movie recording or advertising recording
• Videos for documentaries of all kinds
• Advertising photography
• Aerial videos for insurers
• Photos for photo banks

Emergencies

One of the most important uses as drone pilot jobs is for help and emergencies. Drones are not just as you imagine them for leisure, with photos and videos at parties. There are also larger and better features that are essential when helping in emergencies. Drones to assist in fire fighting, for maritime rescue or to supervise hard-to-reach areas to get an idea of what is happening and how.

In exceptional cases such as the state of alert in 2020 in Spain, drones are used for surveillance of streets and coasts, etc. But generally, under any circumstance they can be used for road surveillance and traffic control or even to help with the search for missing persons in a forest or on land where searching by vehicle or on foot is not simple.

• Firefighting
• Civil protection
• Civil security
• Help in emergencies
• Sea rescue
• Search for missing persons
• Traffic and road control
• Etc

farming

Agriculture has also seen drones represent a remarkable breakthrough that makes everything easier. For example, fumigation or crop control aircraft are common, one of the most common drone pilot jobs . They are also used to control the soil temperature or the climate in plantations. Drones can be used to control how irrigation works in certain plantations but they also allow us precise and continuous monitoring without having to control them on-site thanks to the fact that they are capable of sending real-time video or photographs so that we know what the state is like. current of the crop or if we must take measures. They also avoid pests or function as “scarecrows” thanks to the fact that their presence prevents many birds from approaching.

• Crop control
• Spraying through drones
• Temperature control
• Irrigation control
• Monitoring with videos and photos in real time
• Pest and bird control
• Etc

Maintenance and communication

Although they are rare, drones are already starting to do their work to deliver orders to other countries. It is not usual to see them leaving packages in the garden but it is very possible that in a matter of years they can replace some delivery men. Beyond salesperson-customer communication they also work for media communication or recording at mass events. For example, they are used by the media and the press to get images or to monitor sports events, getting a better perspective of what is happening. In these cases it is essential to have an authorization. You cannot record on your own at a sporting event or demonstration without permission.

Science and Technology

They may be less common or less well-known uses, but drones are a fundamental part of scientific advances or technology. They are used with thermal imaging cameras, for geology, for industrial inspections, for mapping … They are drones much more complex, in general, than those we use to record or photograph events or advertising and require specialized knowledge. Large-scale companies such as Iberdrola, for example, use drones to check windmills from the air and without the need for movement unless there is something wrong with them. It also occurs with other large companies such as Repsol that resorts to the use of drones to control its oil plants. There are many uses that can be made of complex and practical aircraft.