UAS/Drone Technology: Mission Operations and Best Practices

This course focuses on the practical, day-of-mission skills that keep UAS (drone) operations safe, efficient, and professional from start to finish. You'll begin by applying general rules of thumb for safe and efficient UAS operation, including how to run effective pre-flight checklists, lead thorough crew briefings, and maintain accurate record-keeping. These are the everyday habits that separate professional drone operations from amateur ones. From there, you'll navigate the complexities of flying for live video, learning how to coordinate optimal viewing angles, manage obstructions in real time, and use your UAS platform's system capabilities to their full advantage, critical skills for missions like inspections, broadcast, and real-time surveillance. Finally, you'll plan for post-operation tasks, including how to deliver data to stakeholders, perform necessary maintenance, and identify opportunities for both system and organizational improvement ensuring every mission strengthens your team's operations over time. By the end of this course, you'll be equipped with the operational know-how to run UAS missions professionally from pre-flight to post-flight, with a sharp eye for continuous improvement along the way.