Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus began working with law enforcement partners in the area to offer a training course specifically targeted for first responders seeking to use unmanned aircraft systems (UAS or drones) for daily operations and safety procedures. Kurt Carraway, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel serves as the executive director of the Applied Aviation Research Center at Kansas State Polytechnic. The training course was developed based on feedback received from attendees at Kansas State’s Small UAS Commercial Pilot Training course –more than 40 percent were first responders.

The course will offer hands-on flight training in areas such as flight maneuvers, crew resource management, accident scene reconstruction, search-and-rescue operations, and night operations. Attendees will also learn best practices for drone operations, Federal Aviation Administration regulatory guidance for law enforcement agencies, and how to use software tools for extracting actionable data. Carraway said, “The search-and-rescue scenario will include training using full-motion video sensors and forward-looking infrared sensors.” The first training course is set to start in April.