Fort Bend County HS&EMFort Bend County HS&EM

Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management

Unified Public Drone Operators Group

sUAS Tech 1&2 Classes Hosted by Fort Bend County: April 1-5, 2019

The Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management is hosting sUAS Technician 1 and sUAS Technician 2 classes back-to-back the week of April 1, 2019.

Borrowing from the model of HAZMAT Tech 1&2, these classes are taught by experts in disaster drone use and focus on gaining real-world knowledge, skills, and experience. This course will NOT prepare you for the FAA 14 CFR Part 107 test, and is intended for current sUAS pilots to sharpen their skills and help with disaster air operations, mission planning, communications, payloads, maneuvering, etc. Students will need to bring their own sUAS and hold an existing Part 107 pilot’s license.

The classes are offered for $1200 as taken together and registration links are below:

Space is limited and offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

For questions, contact Lach Mullen or Kristina Francis via email or at 281-342-6185.

The Unified Public Drone Operator Group group meets regularly to practice drone flights in a safe environment with other professional pilots in a judgement free zone. We meet at the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds (4310 Hwy. 36 South, Rosenberg, TX 77471) on Thursday mornings from 9:00-11:00 A.M. unless noted otherwise. The current schedule can be found on the coordination page for the Fort Bend County Unified Public Drone Operators Group: http://fbcoem.org/oem-support-groups/unified-public-drone-operators-group/

 

sUAS Training Flights CANCELLED today

Due to inclement weather, we will not be flying at the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds today from 0800-1100.

This is a group of Part 107 and Public COA drone operators within Fort Bend County which come together to share insight and support each other in disasters and meets regularly to practice sUAS flights in a safe environment in a judgement free zone.

If you’re traveling from elsewhere in the region and already on your way, just update Waze to 307 Fort Street in Richmond and we can review policy and procedures in the safe and warm confines of the Fort Bend County EOC.

Please plan to join us for later flights; for more information about this group and our flight schedule visit the Fort Bend County Unified Public Drone Operators Group page.

sUAS Flight Practice Tomorrow, Jan 16 at FBC Fairgrounds

Fort Bend County will be hosting drone flight practice tomorrow, January 16 from 8:30-11:30.

This is a group of Part 107 and Public COA drone operators within Fort Bend County which come together to share insight and support each other in disasters and meets regularly to practice sUAS flights in a safe environment in a judgement free zone.

Please plan on joining us if you’re free, and bring your sUAS with charged batteries. We’ll bring cones and other supplies. We will be meeting at the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds (4310 Hwy. 36 South, Rosenberg, TX 77471).

If you can’t make this flight, please plan to join us for later flights; for more information about this group and our flight schedule visit the Fort Bend County Unified Public Drone Operators Group page.

Wednesday Dec 5 sUAS Flight Practice Cancelled

Due to December 5 being designated as a National Day of Mourning and the closing of County offices in observance, sUAS flight practice is cancelled for this Wednesday.

Please join us on these other days in December:

 

  • Wed, Dec 12 – 0830-1130 @ FBC Fairgrounds
  • Wed, Dec 19 – 0830-1130 @ FBC Fairgrounds

For more information about our program and upcoming flight practice dates, visit http://fbcoem.org/oem-support-groups/unified-public-drone-operators-group/

 

 

December sUAS Flight School and FAA Part 107 Pilot Test Prep Class Hosted by Fort Bend County

The Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management is hosting a Part 107 training class at the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds on December 3-7. The class will cover all the materials on the FAA’s Part 107 exam (and includes the testing and licensing fees and all test-taking logistics) and is offered by world-class disaster-response professionals who do not just teach to the test. Each agency and department will need to fund the cost the class participants at $1200 per person.

Similar classes have been offered in the past and our staff enjoyed the hands-on approach, the time spent on complicated topics like airport operations and sectional charts, and the real-world emergency management experience of the instructors.

This class is being offered by the Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue and the Florida State University’s Center for Disaster Risk Policy.

Thursday and Friday are reserved for FAA testing and hands-on flight training, and on Thursday the Drone Operators Group will join the class at the fairgrounds for flight practice. You will complete the course with valuable knowledge, experience, and a FAA sUAS pilot’s license.

For more information about the class, view the flyer: Syllabus – UAS Part 107 Training (note: this is the syllabus from the last class, course will be same but the dates are as reflected above).

To register for the class, view the registration page on our website.

This class is capped at 16 participants and we have some per-registered; the remaining seats will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.