In just a few short weeks, professionals and thought leaders from throughout the commercial drone industry will come together for the annual Commercial UAV Expo, being held at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas, September 2-4. As always, this year’s event will include a robust conference program featuring insightful panel discussions around the most important industry trends, along with educational presentations with leaders showing how they are leveraging drone technology for their workflows. Along with the typical offerings, this year also marks the first of an official partnership with Pilot Institute, which will be offering its own track of content and paid workshops.
Founded by Greg Reverdiau and Johann Beishline, Pilot Institute offers a variety of online courses and free updates of the latest news around the industry, and this year will expand its presence at Commercial UAV Expo thanks to the new partnership. Attendees will have access to Pilot Institute’s paid workshops, free (with an exhibit hall pass) conference content, and access to a demonstration on the exhibit hall floor. Jillian Benbow, Pilot Institute’s head of community, told Commercial UAV News that their users had asked for the institute to do more of these types of events, and the partnership with Commercial UAV Expo just made sense.
“People were saying to us, ‘You’re a huge name in the business, and you teach so much. We’d love to hear more from you,’” she said. “So it was between that and us just wanting to be a part of [Commercial UAV Expo], because it’s the premier drone show worldwide. I think we have very aligned values; we believe in drone safety, we want the industry to move forward, and we believe in having access to all of the equipment and technology that you should be able to use. It just made sense to partner together and have both forces help the drone industry. Forward.”
Pilot Institute’s offerings begin almost as soon as the conference itself does, starting with a Tuesday workshop, Cutting Edge Industry Insights: Essentials for Every Drone Pilot. This five-hour workshop is a fit for those at any level of experience within the industry, and will “cut through the red tape,” in Benbow’s words, giving attendees all of the tangible information they need to know about today’s drone industry. Featuring a panel of experts including Reverdiau, Amy Wiegand, Jared Janacek, and Vic Moss, the workshop will include both presentations and a panel discussion. Additionally, those in attendance will receive a VIP lunch and networking opportunities with the four panelists and other experts in attendance.
In addition to that opening day workshop, Pilot Institute has workshops available each of the following two days of the event as well, with each building off of online offerings of theirs. On Wednesday, they will host a workshop entitled Drone Business Made Easy, focusing on best practices for building and maintaining a strong drone business. On Thursday, Drone Mapping, Modeling, and Surveying will provide how to get started in the surveying and mapping sector as a drone pilot.
In addition to these interactive workshops, Pilot Institute is also going to be offering a series of presentations and discussions as part of its conference program track at the Pilot Hub. All of these talks will take place on the exhibit hall floor and are available to anyone with an exhibit hall pass. With five total sessions, Pilot Institute will have sessions covering a myriad of topics that are relevant to drone pilots everywhere. Some sessions are particular to certain industries, like mapping and photography. And others are more general, including a session focusing on aviation safety and another diving deep into the particulars around the recent Part 108 NPRM.
Benbow told CUAVN that this track of programming will appeal to all attendees of this year’s event. Of course, the general sessions around safety and Part 108 are going to be relevant to everyone and a great opportunity to catch up on these critical topics. Even the industry-specific sessions, though, are great to attend for everyone. In today’s commercial UAV sector, pilots would be wise to keep up with trends across other sectors, sometimes applying those to their work or even opening the possibility of exploring these other areas. Someone who works in public safety, for instance, could find an interest sparked by the photography session, opening an avenue to more offerings and a larger potential market of customers.
There is one additional session at the Pilot Hub, and that is the follow-on to a demonstration Pilot Institute will be putting together at this year’s Indoor Airspace. Led by Kyle Nordfors from Mountain Rescue Association and Weber County Search and Rescue, the demonstration will show first-hand how heavy-lift drones can deliver life-saving equipment, speeding up response times in emergencies and ultimately saving lives. Attendees will have a chance to see how these operations work live, and then head over to the Pilot Hub, where Nordfors will follow up the demonstration with a presentation about these types of operations.
Regardless of your specific sector or any specific topics you’re interested in, Pilot Institute has something to offer during your experience at Commercial UAV Expo. They will also be at booth number 423 on the exhibit hall floor, ready to answer any questions about their online offerings or just to have a conversation about the industry. Don’t miss your chance to experience all Pilot Institute has to offer in Las Vegas - register today!
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