Kansas State Polytechnic to offer first responder scholarship for sUAS training

SALINA — Kansas State University's Polytechnic Campus is offering $500 scholarships to first responders interested in attending the small unmanned aircraft systems, or sUAS, commercial remote pilot training course in 2019.

The available scholarships reduce the overall course cost by 50 percent and still cover the fee for the Federal Aviation Administration written exam at the completion of the course. The sUAS Commercial Remote Pilot Training includes three days of instruction and the FAA exam, with course topics including airspace, meteorology, weather, UAS performance, loading and center of gravity, and Part 107 instruction. The scholarships are available to law enforcement, fire and emergency management organizations.

"Approximately 35 percent of the attendees of this training come from the public safety arena. We do not want cost to become a barrier to providing access of this life-saving technology into the hands of our first responders and emergency managers," said Kurt J. Carraway, UAS research executive director of Kansas State Polytechnic's Applied Aviation Research Center. "K-State has offered this training since the inception of the FAA regulations for commercial UAS operations. We will continue to develop new courses, with an eye on further development of public safety relationships to help promote safe operations in our airspace."

Kansas State Polytechnic launched its initial first responder-specific programming in 2018 with a UAS Law Enforcement Training course. This four-day flight training course was developed in conjunction with law enforcement officials. A fire equivalent is planned to launch in 2019. Kansas State Polytechnic also hosted the First Responder Symposium in 2018 to provide networking and learning opportunities for the first responder community centered around UAS. The second First Responder Symposium will be in mid-2019.

First responder scholarships are available beginning with the Jan. 28-30, 2019, sUAS Commercial Remote Pilot course. The course schedule and online registration is available on the course website. A full schedule of 2019 UAS trainings can be found online. Individuals and organizations interested in UAS training should contact Professional Education and Outreach at profed@k-state.edu.