Drone University: Classes Starting Soon

In a disturbing sign of the times, the world’s first university dedicated solely to training drone pilots is up and running. The Washington Times reported on the university founded by retired Air Force pilot Jerry LeMieux.

Col. LeMieux’s school is one of several trying to get off the ground, literally and figuratively, with colleges and universities across the country seeking a piece of what is expected to be a business boom in the drone market in the coming years.

Unmanned Vehicle University received its international accreditation in July, and while it currently offers only online courses, Col. LeMieux envisions a sprawling campus in Lake Havasu, Ariz.

Larger universities, including the University of Texas at Austin and the University of North Dakota, have begun offering courses in unmanned vehicle engineering. The ultimate goal of these programs is to gain certification from the FAA in order to become official training centers for drone pilots. Col. LeMieux is anticipating students taking advantage of the growing popularity of drones.

“We’re looking to the future,” he said. “We are trying to develop the future leaders of this industry. When you graduate from this school, you will have a job. If you’re a fighter pilot, the war is winding down, so what are you going to do? You can go to a school, get 50 hours of flight training, and now you have a degree in unmanned aerial vehicle operations.”

With high unemployment and the growing popularity of domestic drones, it would not be all that surprising to see more Drone Universities opening in the future.

Read more: http://townhall.com/tipsheet/townhallcomstaff/2012/08/27/drone_university_classes_starting_soon