Aeon Unmanned

CONGRATULATIONS to our January drone license class and first class of 2026! Our ten students came from many backgrounds - electric utility, Dept of Energy, excavation, construction, project management, solar and college. They dug into the two-day course, and on the day after, they ALL passed the FAA drone exam with the highest class average score we've ever had! By the end of this week, they will be ten new drone pilots! Are YOU ready to join us to earn your drone license?

Nice work! We kicked off 2025 Drone License Ground School with this successful team; they all passed the FAA drone exam the day after class and applied for their licenses (FAA usually approves temporary licenses within a week!)

A big class at the University of Tennessee kept us busy with a drone license course in a campus office. 20 graduates! It was the first week of student classes and the sound of the marching band practicing could be heard everywhere. Looks like a big football year for the "Vols!"

Thank you, 9News Denver! They reached out to us on the Fourth of July to help them report a story on how the Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Police Department was planning to use drones to spot illegal fireworks in their city. In an interview with the reporter, I listed both the legal requirements for flying drones and the challenge of finding a fireworks location at night. We believe that experimenting with new applications for drones is both essential and inevitable law enforcement and other industries. Watch the story which aired at 6 PM on July 4. https://bit.ly/4cvSiqp

More challenge coins! This year we've hosted teams and students from several agencies from Douglas County, CO, who handle county safety, communications, and law enforcement. A recent sheriff's deputy graduate and S.W.A.T. team member shared these souvenirs with us after completing the course and earning his drone license. Almost time for a trophy case!

Are you a volunteer for one of Colorado's 29 vital Search & Rescue teams? Does the team need to add a drone pilot - you? We recently reached out to the member teams of the Colorado Search and Rescue Association with this offer: to enable them to take advantage of drone technology, we are offering any documented SAR volunteer or participant a $200 discount on our Drone License Ground School tuition through August 2024. That should make it easier for funding-constrained SAR teams to sponsor the training of team drone pilots. For more information, contact us at [email protected].

We've got an addition to our "Graduates' Trophy Case:" a challenge coin from the Red Feather Lakes Volunteer Fire Department, NW of Ft. Collins. It was given to us by their volunteer firefighter Daniel, who earned his drone license after taking Aeon's drone license ground school this January to expand the department's drone capabilities. The back of the coin commemorates the Cameron Peak Fire, August 13 to November 2, 2020, the first Colorado wildfire to burn over 200,000 acres. 12 fire agencies were involved in the many weeks of fire suppression.

New year, new adventure! We started 2024 with an invitation to present the Drone License Ground School to the Eddy County Fire and Rescue Department based in Carlsbad, New Mexico. This department, with both full time staff and volunteers, is responsible for fire management for 4200 square miles in southern New Mexico and a slice of Texas to the south. The Fire team was joined by Carlsbad city firefighters and and Eddy County sheriff's deputies. Each department is integrating drones into their operations. Bonus for us: visiting Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Definitely a bucket list visit for anyone!

THE DEAL: We got this call: "It's Cyber Monday! What's your deal on the Drone License Course?" OK! Here it is: get 10% off of the tuition for the upcoming December 6-7 Drone License Ground School course when you use the discount code "2023" at checkout! That's just about an $80 savings! AND - you can earn your drone license THIS YEAR! The offer is good through Sunday, December 3! (OK, Caller. There's your deal. See you in class?)

Our monthly drone license class is keeping us busy! Here's our September class graduation. And we were honored to be invited to present an on-site training at Mountain Rescue Aspen, Pitkin County's volunteer search and rescue team, teaching members to earn their drone license so they can operate the MRA drones that have already been used successfully in search operations. We did manage to get 3 members of that busy crowd to stand still for a photo!

Our July Drone License Ground School class included our first attendee with four legs. For most of the class he was on service animal duty. I did see him sleeping through the airspace lesson. But he worked really hard to bone up on the weather lesson. And of course he got a participation certificate! I know all his classmates passed their FAA knowledge exams but I heard he got distracted playing with the computer mouse. Can't promise he'll be back for our August (9-10) or September (6-7) classes. But if you have a well-behaved guest, let us know so we can put out the water bowl!