Professional drone flight skills

Professional Drone Flight Skills Course

Hands-On UAS Training for New and Developing Drone Pilots

Build the hands-on skills you need to operate today's drones—and adapt to tomorrow's platforms.

Our instructor-led flight training gives you practical experience with aircraft controls, flight planning, emergency procedures, precision maneuvering, and safe operating practices.

Hands-on training using professional DJI aircraft.

Learn Skills. Not a Brand.

The drone industry is changing rapidly.

Manufacturers, regulations, software, and aircraft platforms are changing. DJI remains widely used by existing operators, while regulatory restrictions are creating uncertainty around future foreign-produced UAS. Meanwhile, companies such as Skydio are concentrating increasingly on enterprise and public-sector applications rather than the consumer market.

Your flight skills shouldn't become obsolete when your aircraft changes.

Our course focuses on the fundamental skills that transfer between platforms:

- Aircraft control
- Takeoff and landing
- Hovering and orientation
- Precision maneuvering
- Flight planning
- Camera orientation
- Obstacle awareness
- Emergency procedures
- Battery management
- Preflight and postflight procedures
- Operational risk management

Why Do We Use DJI Aircraft for Training?

DJI aircraft have been widely used by professional drone operators for years and provide an excellent platform for teaching fundamental flight skills. Our training aircraft allow students to gain hands-on experience with GPS-assisted flight, manual flight controls, camera systems, flight modes, automated functions, and emergency procedures.

However, 3rd Rock Air's training is not dependent on DJI.

The objective is to teach you how to become a competent UAS operator whose skills can transfer to other aircraft and manufacturers.

Concerned About DJI? Here's What You Need to Know.

The drone industry is experiencing significant regulatory change.

The FCC's Covered List restrictions have created uncertainty surrounding the introduction of new foreign-produced UAS and critical components into the U.S. market, and additional regulatory action remains possible.

But there's an important distinction:

Your flight skills are not tied to your aircraft.

Learning to:

- - control an aircraft
  - maintain orientation
  - maneuver precisely
  - recognize hazards
  - manage batteries
  - respond to emergencies
  - plan a safe flight
  - maintain situational awareness

is valuable regardless of whether your next aircraft is manufactured by DJI, Skydio, or another manufacturer.

That's why we teach flight skills—not brand loyalty.

What You'll Learn

Core Flight Skills

1. Aircraft Control

Learn coordinated control of the aircraft using the transmitter and understand how flight inputs affect aircraft movement.

2. Orientation

Develop the ability to maintain aircraft orientation and position when the aircraft is operating at varying distances and headings.

3. Precision Flight

Practice controlled climbs, descents, turns, lateral movement, figure-eights, orbits and precision positioning.

4. Camera Operations

Learn to control the aircraft while simultaneously managing the camera and maintaining situational awareness.

5. Flight Planning

Learn how to evaluate the operating environment, identify hazards and establish a safe launch and recovery area.

6. Emergency Procedures

Practice responses to loss of GPS, lost communications, low battery, abnormal aircraft behavior and other operational emergencies.

7. Operational Safety

Learn the procedures that professional operators use before, during and after every flight.

What's included in this course.

- 8 hours of training -
  - split between live online classroom and hands on flight instruction at our flight field
- Hands on flight training at our air field
- Student workbook with 125+ pages of material

Drone Flight School