Learning to fly is only one part of becoming a capable drone operator. Training can also cover airspace, mission planning, weather, emergency procedures, payloads, maintenance, regulations, crew coordination, and data workflows. This section focuses on the knowledge and practice needed to move from basic aircraft control to consistent, mission-ready operation.
Topic
Drone Training: Skills, Practice and Professional Development
Latest topic news
Colorado high school team flew a rescheduled 300-drone community show
Reporting published 9 November describes St. Vrain Valley Schools students flying a 300-drone show on 28 October in Holyoke, Colorado, for a Make-A-Wish recipient. Bad weather had shifted the event from the preceding Sunday, requiring a midweek deployment by the student team.
Read newsMultiGP records PrincessJ and Virginia Tech as 2026 collegiate drone-racing champions
MultiGP's 2026 Collegiate Drone Racing Championship event results list Joshua 'PrincessJ' Lizee at the top of the individual standings, while its champions record names Virginia Tech as the university winner. Recent race coverage describes a finish reviewed on video.
Read newsArduPilot SITL UART proposal prevents shutdown hangs with unread serial data
ArduPilot PR 34977 reports that SITL's UARTDriver:: flush() can wait forever during reboot if the SERIAL0 client stops reading or closes, or if baud limiting is enabled. It proposes bounded shutdown behavior.
Read newsAdelaide FPV Racing schedules its ninth open-class round for 8 November
The Adelaide FPV Racing Club listing schedules Round 9 at Robert Haigh Reserve, Woodville North, on Sunday 8 November, with 5-inch racing, a 30-pilot limit and a published starting-channel process. The page provides timing and results links, but the event listing is not proof of completed racing.
Read newsArduPilot SITL Plane model tests thrust reduction from battery sag
ArduPilot PR 35062 says the simple Plane SITL model reported voltage and current but did not limit available electric thrust as voltage fell until a low-voltage cutoff. The proposal couples voltage to a thrust ceiling.
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Flying a drone at night in the EU: the green flashing light, when night starts and what changes on a DJI drone
You can fly at night in the EU open category without any special permission. The extra legal requirement is one line in Regulation (EU) 2019/947, added by Regulation 2020/639 as point UAS.OPEN.060(2)(g): when operating at night, the remote pilot must ensure that a green flashing light on the unmanned aircraft is activated. Poland's civil aviation authority ULC lists the same duty among the remote pilot's responsibilities in the open category. Everything else stays as it is in daylight: visual line of sight, 120 m, the A1/A2/A3 rules and, in Poland, reporting the flight in DroneTower beforehand.
Read articleDJI obstacle avoidance: Bypass, Brake or Off, and where the sensors cannot see
On a DJI camera drone obstacle avoidance is one setting with three choices, but the setting alone does not decide whether the drone stops in front of a branch. Flight mode, light, speed, the direction you are flying in and the kind of obstacle matter just as much. The details below come from DJI's manuals for the Mini 4 Pro, Mini 5 Pro and Mini 3 Pro. Other models have different sensors and limits, so check the manual for yours.
Read articleBetaflight flight modes: Acro, Angle, Horizon, Air Mode and how to put them on switches
Betaflight's mode list has close to fifty entries, and most pilots use a handful. Only three of them decide how the quad answers the sticks: Acro, Angle and Horizon. Air Mode sits next to them in the Modes tab, but it is a mixer feature, not a flight mode. Below is what each one does in current Betaflight, which settings change how it feels, and a simple way to put them on switches.
Read articleDJI compass and IMU calibration: when it is needed, how to do it and what interference warnings mean
On a DJI drone the compass is not a nice-to-have. The Mini 4 Pro manual lists a working compass as one of the conditions for Failsafe RTH, next to a recorded Home Point: if the compass is in trouble when the signal drops, the drone cannot count on flying itself home. Interference can also push it into ATTI mode, where it no longer holds position. Calibration fixes some of these problems. Others it cannot fix, because the trouble is the place you are standing in, not the sensor.
Read articleFlying a drone in wind: what the wind rating means, why it is stronger up high and how to plan the way back
The usual windy-day mistake goes like this: it feels calm at the takeoff spot, the drone climbs above the trees, and suddenly it is leaning hard just to hold position. Usually the wind did not pick up at all. It was stronger up there all along. The examples below come from DJI's manuals for camera drones with GPS and return-to-home, but the parts about wind at height and the way back apply to any drone.
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