FAQ

Our Service

What is Wounded Eagle UAS?

WEUAS is a sUAS training program focused on mentoring and training students to become employment desirable FAA Part 107 licensed sUAS commercial remote pilots and FCC licensed radio operators.

1. Our program includes hands-on flight instruction with FAA Part 107 licensed pilots. This includes both stick and laptop piloting skills.

2. Our students learn the design concepts, construction, operation, maintenance, and repair of various sUAS platforms, both fixed wing and multi-rotor.

3. We also provides support for students interested in acquiring their FCC Technician’s Level license. This is a useful course for those requiring higher powered transmitters and frequency access for those requiring higher data transmission rates for low lag video streaming.

How much does the Wounded Eagle UAS Training Program charge their students?

The WEuas program provides tuition free training to wounded and disabled veterans. Their sacrifice and dedication to God and Country was enough, they’re already paid up.


What Training does Wounded Eagle provide?

The WEUAS Training Program provides a combination online tutorials, YouTube links, and off-line printable knowledge based material for the student’s consumption. Wounded Eagle also provides personal flight instruction and aircraft for students located in the Los Angeles area. Included with your course is a FCC Technician Level certificate course to cover frequency usage as a licensed radio operator.


Who qualifies for our training program?

To qualify, the veteran must have a minimum of a 10% disability rating from the Veterans Affairs administration.


How will training and advance flight skills for wounded and disabled Veterans provide necessary job skills in the commercial sUAS industry?

Any employer will tell you that finding a qualified candidate can be a challenging and time consuming process. WE students make that challenge less difficult to navigate.

1. FAA Part 107 licensed operator.

2. Above average knowledge of sUAS aircraft and their components.

3. Trouble shooting skills.

4. Repair experience.

5. Solid understanding of safe flight operations and risk management.

6. FCC licensed operator.

7. With their experience and knowledge of remotely piloted aircraft, their qualifications will stand out from their peers.


Benefits from our training.

Not only will our ship and teammates benefit from a new career in the sUAS industry, they’ll also discover the joy and therapy that flying can bring to them. Think about someone confined to a wheelchair and what this would do for their standard of living and quality of life? With today’s technology of head tracking cameras and 1080p resolution, we can turn a wheelchair into a pilot seat!


Industry and Job outlook.

The sUAS industry outlook is breathtaking, we are in the golden age of drone. The opportunities are limitless for careers, jobs, and start-ups for our veterans. Just about every industrial sector will be effected by the introduction of drones.


What’s the first thing I need to do to start flying drones?

Take the FAA TRUST exam. This is now required of all recreational pilots by the FAA. If you’re not flying commercially under your 107, then you have to take the TRUST test because you’re now flying under the recreational clause.


What should the first recreational drone be?

The best drone to start off with is what we fondly call a “Bash and Trash”. This is a quad-copter that is fairly inexpensive such as a Syma x5 class. It’s light, durable, and it can take a fall or impact and survive. The importance of training with a bash and trash model is that you develop a much better sense of reflex and muscle training/muscle memory when you’re challenged by any destabilizing effects with your aircraft. And when the bash and trash does finally fail, the expense won’t be as painful as learning on a more sophisticated drone that will spoil you with its inherent stability and safety features. You can’t go hands free with a Syma, it will drift all over the place and your job is to keep it stable and controllable. Once you have mastered that, you’re ready to move up to something bigger and better. (Don’t forget to pick up half a dozen batteries and a multi-port charger so you aren’t a one trick pony).


What should the first commercial drone be?

This is a tough question because there are several determining factors involved that need to be considered before your purchase. You have to research “what is the best “purpose-driven” drone that is available and affordable”. Will you be conducting orthomosaic photogrammetry missions or are you working an agro job? Which sensor is best? Do you need a high-resolution camera or multispectral sensor? What is your budget? What kind of flight time do you need? How big are the job sites you plan to map? These are just a few of the many questions you’ll need to ask yourself before you pull the trigger on that purchase of your drone.

With your first real drone, consider one in the prosumer level such as a Skydio 2, the Autel Evo, Parrot Anafi, or the DJI Air 2s and the Mavic 2 or 3 series. These are good quality drones that are workhorses and you’ll find very useful for most job applications in construction, real estate, or infrastructure inspections. If you need something for agriculture, then you’ll want a multi or hyperspectral sensor to provide you the actionable data you’ll need for your client. There is also LiDAR, but that might be a bit pricey for your budget. Also, try using some orange tape on the sides and belly of the drone to enhance its observational capability to increase your line of sight (LOS) operations. One other thing is the form factor. The larger the drone the farther you can see and fly it. One last thing, if you go with the larger models like the Inspire 2 or Matrice, then you’ll need 3 people to properly operate your drone. You’ll need a pilot, a sensor operator, and a visual observer. What a great opportunity to start a family business!


Where can I find a good drone comparison guide?

There are many consumer guides available to choose from, but the best guide is your own product research and YouTube. Look for endurance, flight time, and most importantly your sensor. Your sensor is the most critical part of your drone, the drone itself is just a platform to carry your sensor and that sensor is what’s going to make or break your data collection and business.


How do I insure my drone?

There are several ways you can insure your commercial drone operations. Depending on how many missions you’re providing, you may want to consider getting a 1 or 2 million dollar flight liability insurance which runs about $1000+ a year depending on things like hull coverage and basic liability. Another way is purchasing your coverage by the hour. There are several companies that provide hourly coverage, but be sure to do your due diligence when picking your provider. A few companies to consider for hourly operations are:

1.      Best for High Coverage Limits: BWI Fly

2.      Best for Flexibility: SkyWatch.AI

3.      Best for Hobbyists: Thimble

4.      Best for International Coverage: DroneInsurance.com

5.      Best for Weddings and Events: Avion Drone Insurance

6.      Best for Businesses: United States Aircraft Insurance Group (USAIG)

You should also check out the UAVCoach link for insurance below.
https://uavcoach.com/drone-insurance-guide/#Companies

If you are flying recreationally, then your best bet is to join the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA). They’ll provide you 2.5 million dollar flight liability insurance on and off AMA fields. I’ve been a member for many years and support their work in the recreational and hobby industry.

As of August 29th, 2016 the FAA now has a test certification (14CFR Part 107) for commercial sUAS operators (which does not require a pilot’s license) to conduct commercial flight operations of a sUAS in national airspace.