ORLANDO, FL-- Unmanned Safety Institute (USI) announced today that they will be establishing the first-in-the-nation Unmanned Safety Institute - Center of Excellence, a remote pilot training and safety certification center, at Gulf Coast State College (GCSC) in Port St. Joe, Florida.
In 2019, Unmanned Safety Institute celebrates five years of implementing and promoting best-in-class aviation-based safety practices into the unmanned industry. The USI Center of Excellence brings exclusive leading unmanned safety and education training programs to a region dedicated to workforce development, specifically in aviation and unmanned technology skillsets. The commercial training site at the Gulf/Franklin Campus will enable organizations to obtain safety-based unmanned aircraft training with USI’s structured education, training and evaluation standards for competent and professional remote pilots. As automation of unmanned technology increases, the skillsets of remote pilots operating them must transform as well. The Center for Excellence offers real-world experience in safety best practices imbuing confidence and expertise in risk averse operations; fully automated or entirely remote pilot controlled.
“The USI Center of Excellence is the next step in the evolution of our company, demonstrating our commitment to promote professional and standards-based training in the unmanned industry, increasing aviation-based skillsets and developing a highly qualified and standardized workforce for Gulf County and the rest of the unmanned industry,” said Josh Olds, President of Unmanned Safety Institute. “This partnership gives learners a competitive advantage as they pursue or change careers while bolstering the unmanned workforce with truly professional remote pilots on all sizes and complexities of aircraft. It also enables USI to expand the scale and reach of our training capabilities, delivering our award-winning programs to remote pilots throughout Florida, the U.S., and the global UAS community.”
USI recently entered into a collaborative agreement with Textron Unmanned Systems to create an employment pipeline for college students, secondary students, exiting military personnel and adult learners interested in pursuing an unmanned career pathway. Qualified students will have the opportunity to participate in unmanned aircraft training in accordance with Textron Systems’ training standards, backed by more than one million UAS flight hours. Textron Systems and USI will be working together to ensure that the new program offers resources that support classroom and flight activity directly related to Textron Systems’ unmanned aircraft systems. The USI Center of Excellence will directly support this effort.
USI’s certifications are part of a three-tired safety program that demonstrate increasing levels of certification tied to training and education:
Safety Level 1: Part 107 low-risk operations for aircraft 20 pounds and under
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sUAS Safety Certification™ Level 1
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sUAS Safety Certification™ Level 2
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Visual Line-of-Sight System Operations (VSO™)
Safety Level 2: Complex operations with medium to high risk for aircraft greater than 20 pounds
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Advanced Unmanned Safety™ Level 1
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Advanced Unmanned Safety™ Level 2
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Advanced Unmanned System Operations (AUSO™)
Safety Level 3- Vetted education, training, and credentials for experience-based certification
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Professional Remote Operator Levels
