Overview

Drones create a wide variety of opportunities for research, recreation, and commercial purposes. However, flying drones on university property can introduce many different challenges in privacy, security, and safety.

For these reasons, Virginia Tech has established an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Policy to support safe drone operations. This policy also facilitates compliance with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and state and local laws.

According to the policy, those wishing to fly University-owned UAS or fly any UAS on University property must adhere to one or more of the following protocols:

The Blacksburg Campus
VT Drone Park
Kentland Farm
Agricultural Research and Extension Centers
Other university property
University-owned UAS flown outside university property
Third-Party Commercial Operations
Special Circumstances

All of the location-based protocols except the Drone Park protocol requires the Pilot-in-Command to hold a current FAA Part 107 certification and to complete the Virginia Tech UAS Training Course.

Note that while there are other requirements, this specific training may not be required for Third Party Commercial Operations, Special Events, and flights at the Drone Park.

Completion of this module and the associated quizzes, along with a pilot proficiency demonstration satisfy the requirements of the VT UAS Training Course.

This module is broken down into three main sections:

Part 107 Regulations
Drone Safety
VT Policies

In order to complete the course you must pass the Part 107 Regulations and Drone Safety quizzes as well as the quiz pertaining to the location or circumstance for your flights. You may take the quizzes more than once, but must pass with a 100% in order to complete the module.

Once you have passed the quizzes, contact the VT Drone Park (vtdronepark@vt.edu) to schedule your proficiency flight in order to complete the training.