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The ability company set up a drone to cross the track on the top floor.

●Dongguan’s first drone training institution settled in Hengli last June

●At present, there are two drone training institutions in the city that have trained more than 200 “flyers”

Recently, the Civil Aviation Administration of China announced: “From June 1st, my country will officially implement real-name registration for civilian drones with a mass of more than 250 grams.” Management, especially the sword refers to “black flying”. As early as last year, also in order to strengthen control, there were news in many cities in China that drone pilots needed to hold a certificate to “take jobs”.

In June last year, Dongguan’s first drone training institution settled in Hengli. In the same year, the only designated AOPA (China Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) UAV test center in South China, the University of Science and Technology of China, also set up a branch in Changping, Dongguan, to carry out UAV training services. At present, there are two drone training institutions in Dongguan.

What is the status of the training market for drone driver’s licenses in Dongguan? How is the application of drones in Dongguan? What are the job prospects for drone pilots? What are the effective restraint measures for “black flying”? Recently, the reporter walked into the drone training market in Dongguan with these questions.

Who is studying?

There are both enthusiasts and people who want to invest in the field and want to make a career in it

The Civil Aviation Administration of the People’s Republic of China stipulates that the industry associations conduct management assessments and issue driver licenses for drones other than miniatures operating within the line of sight. The two existing drone training institutions in Dongguan are professional drone cooperative training institutions certified by AOPA.

On the afternoon of May 23, at Dongguan Yifei UAV Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Yifei Company”) located in Hengli, due to the weekend, there were not many students who came to the class, and only one student was in the computer room. Simulated flight exercises were done on the computer, while another trainee practiced practical exercises in the indoor training ground.

Yifei is the first drone training company in Dongguan. According to the company’s chairman Li Jianjun, the company has been established in June last year and has been around for nearly a year. Nearly 100 students have studied here.

Changping UAV Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Yiliang Company”) is the UAV education branch of the University of Science and Technology of China. It has provided training services since September last year, and the number of “flyers” trained has now exceeded 100 million. There are slightly more Yifei companies, reaching more than 100.

“In addition to purely hobbies, there are probably three types of students who came to the examination.” Guo Binbin, director of the ability company, said.

One category is people who are interested, optimistic about the development of drones and want to invest in drone-related industries. One of the trainees in the company’s training site was a doctor. The doctor was optimistic about the prospect of drones, so he came to the training and research, and wanted to make some related investments after gaining a deep understanding of the industry.

“The second category is people who are dissatisfied with their current or upcoming jobs. They want to learn a new technology and use it as a career.” Guo Binbin said that drones, as a technology-led occupation, will The salary is relatively considerable, and there is no high threshold for the students’ academic qualifications. Generally, they are only required to have a junior high school degree or above under the conditions allowed by their physical health. This condition is relatively easy to achieve.

“The third category is students who come to study due to occupational requirements. For example, some students have large fields at home and want to use drones to spray pesticides after graduation.” Guo Binbin said.

How much is the tuition fee?

The tuition fees for multi-rotor pilots and captains are generally 8,000 to 12,800 yuan, and the tuition for aerial photography engineers is tens of thousands of yuan.

What does the training need to learn? How much does it cost? The reporter learned from two drone training companies in Dongguan that both companies offer training courses for drivers, captains and instructors including multi-rotors and helicopters.

The multi-rotor pilot and captain courses with a large number of applicants require about one month of training, and the tuition fee is 8,000 yuan to 12,800 yuan.

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In addition to ordinary drone piloting training, the Changping-based drone training company has also launched training courses for aerial photography engineers, plant protection engineers, and civil drone R&D engineers with a learning time of 4 to 6 months. The cost will also be relatively higher, reaching tens of thousands of yuan.

After all students sign up to study, they must first undertake theoretical study. The theoretical study of UAVs includes civil aviation regulations and terminology, aircraft principles and performance, UAV structure, communication links and mission planning.

After entering the practical training, students not only need to learn the flight and landing of drones, but also learn how to disassemble, maintain, repair and maintain the aircraft.

After learning, students need to pass the written test, practical operation, ground station test, etc. in order to obtain the civil unmanned aerial system pilot certificate, that is, the AOPA certificate.

With the popularity of drones, many industries need to use drones for operations, and drone pilots are becoming more and more popular. Due to the shortage of licensed drone “flyers”, the salary level in this industry is relatively considerable.

What did you learn to do?

At present, I do more surveying and mapping, aerial photography, and agricultural plant protection. The monthly salary of senior “flying hands” with various skills can exceed 10,000 yuan.

“Today, it has become more and more common for drones to replace traditional manual operations. At the same time, drone manufacturers will also have a large demand for talents.” Li Jianjun, chairman of Yifei Company, said that even novice test pilots now, The monthly salary can reach more than 4,000 yuan, and the senior “pilots” who know aerial photography, surveying and mapping and other skills can carry out corresponding operations, and the monthly salary can reach more than 10,000 yuan.

“At present, the use of drones is most familiar to the public in surveying and mapping, aerial photography and agricultural plant protection. Agricultural plant protection is in great demand in the north. In the past, pesticide spraying was done manually. With drones, you can take off with one click. And planning the flight route, the drone can spray 300 to 500 acres a day, and the efficiency is greatly improved. According to the market price of 1 yuan/mu, if you work 150 days a year, you will have an income of 60,000 yuan. And the market price of aerial photography is also It has reached 3,000 yuan every two hours.” Guo Binbin said that because drones are in the sunrise industry, they have also attracted many foreign tourists to come to train and verify, “A student from Jiangxi came to Dongguan to study a few years ago. You can save 50 yuan/mu of labor costs for your own tea fields.”

application

Drones are increasingly favored by law enforcement

According to reports, the practical application of civilian drones in Dongguan has been very extensive, and it has also entered the official vision of some law enforcement agencies.

For example, in addition to the use of drones in aerial photography, agricultural plant protection, land surveying and mapping, environmental law enforcement, power line patrols, etc., it will also be used in law enforcement and evidence collection by urban management departments or public security departments.

“For example, power grid inspections used to rely on people to check, and people needed to go to the top of the mountain. But by setting the cruise route by drones, power grid inspections save time and effort. Currently, there are nearly 260 drones in this area. ” said Chen Xiaohong, general manager of the company.

The reason why the application of drones can enter the official vision of some law enforcement agencies is that it meets the current law enforcement needs. Both the above-mentioned training institutions stated that the Dongguan public security department is currently negotiating with them to discuss cooperation matters, and also sent police officers to train the use of drones.

manage

One “black box” per person holding a “flying hand”

Although the use of drones has gradually become popular in major industries, the situation of “black flying” has to be taken seriously. According to data released by AOPA, as of the end of last year, AOPA has issued a total of 10,255 drone pilot certificates after training by training institutions and examination by examiners. According to the rough statistics of industry insiders, in Dongguan alone, the number of drone users has exceeded 10,000, while the number of licensed drivers does not exceed 1,000. “Dongguan licensed pilots may be less than 10% of the total number.” Li Jianjun said.

“Most enthusiasts may not have the awareness of certification.” Chen Xiaohong said that to obtain an AOPA license, the first thing to pass is the written test, so that the students can learn the laws and regulations on the management and application of drones in my country. Knowing the boundaries of the law and what to do and what not to do is also an effective way to effectively curb ‘black flying’.”

Li Jianjun said that the U-cloud system is currently being established by the Civil Aviation Administration, which means that every student who has obtained an AOPA license will have a “black box”. Flight records, flight declarations, and aircraft will be recorded in the system. The launch of this system will further Help curb “black fly”.