Today is the FAA’s Drone Safety Day and a lot will be going on throughout the U.S. to educate, inform, and promote drone safety and the capabilities of drones. This year’s theme is fly R.I.G.H.T., which stands for:
- Register your drone
- Interact with others
- Gain knowledge
- Have a safety plan
- TRUST and Train
I connected with Adrian Doko, President of the AUVSI Lone Star chapter in Texas, to get his take on drone safety and how we can promote drone safety 365 days a year.
Danielle: This is an important event, but it is only as good as we make it. How can we ensure that Drone Safety Day makes a difference in educating drone users about proper drone use?
Adrian: By hosting more entertaining outreach events all year, we can engage all groups on the importance of drone safety and keeping the National air space safe.
Drone Safety Day is a day dedicated to drone education, but education needs to be ongoing. What are some key resources everyone should be aware of to continue their education and learn from and connect with our community?
Some of the best resources I have found to benefit drone operators are:
– Your local drone users’ group
– The TRUST test
– The B4UFLYapp
– FAASAFETY.GOV site, and
– Pilot Institute has some great YouTube videos and online resources.
Any other takeaways that everyone should be thinking about in terms of Drone Safety / Drone Safety Day / the future of drone safety?
We need to lead by example whenever we are operating drones and be empathetic to peoples’ concerns and more inclusive to folks that are interested in exploring aviation.
Let’s fly RIGHT for the advancement of our community!
There are several ways to join a local drone user community, but a great way to start for many is to seek out your local AUVSI chapter and even consider becoming a member. There are also several Facebook and hobbyist groups that meet regularly, as well as competitive FPV (first person view) drone racing and Drone Soccer that can get you started on a path to becoming part of our vibrant drone community.
There are going to a be a slew of events that you can attend in person or virtually, too many to name in one article, but here are several events that are happening today:
- 8 AM PT/ 9 AM MT / 10 AM CT / 11 AM ET: Full Crew Special Announcement
- 10 AM PT / 11 AM MT / 12 PM CT/ 1 PM ET: Drones – Know B4UFLY – Virtual Event
- 1 PM PT/ 2 PM MT / 3 PM MT/ 4 PM ET: Drone Club “Drone Safety Day” Hosted by Adrian Doko
- Anytime: Women and Drones shares FAA Drone Safety Day Fly RIGHT
To find out more on what is happening locally or online check out the full list here.