- Joined
- Apr 11, 2017
- Messages
- 318
- Reactions
- 175
- Age
- 59
Well I have been out of work (full time work) for about 9 months and had given up looking. I have been working retail at a local pet shop 3 days a week and doing some computer repair work when I can get it (last position was IT Manager, Senior System Admin and Software Development Team Manager for a College with 17 sites around the country).
After a discussion on here about what the licensing and legalities are around the world I did some investigations on the costs of formal training. I didn’t find anything that caught my interest so I let it be, especially since down here under 2kg does not require a license to fly commercially.
Thanks to Google and Facebook I started to receive training and drone adds in my Facebook feed. One caught my eye so I thought what the hell and sent in an enquiry form. A few days later I get a phone call from at 7.30 at night that I normally would not answer and low and behold it was that company! Had a good long chat as he was a really nice guy, talked about my long (40 year) obsession with RC aircraft etc, but decided in my current position I could not afford the course.
Two weeks later I get another call from him, this time asking if I would be interested in being a trainer or a commercial drone pilot based on my background! A few emails later they are asking for my resume and then a meeting with the head of the Education section.
Thinking it all sounded to good to be true, I set the meeting time and date and rocked up to meet for a coffee as agreed. Met and spoke for over an hour about the company, their business, their future, then me, my past etc etc.. with as it turned out one of the owners of the company. Company has been around for 10 years building commercial quality drones for individual specific purposes, doing most of the mine surveys, have government and military contracts and now are breaking into the secondary education system down here with formal Avionics training.
Meeting ended with being told I was exactly what they are looking for and would I be interested in initially doing contract training and commercial drone work, followed by full time later in the year as the training side increases and possibly replacing the chief pilot later on so he can work more on the engineering side of the business!
Needless to say I said yes! I will be trained up and qualified in night and Outside line of sight flights and in flying 25kg+ commercial drones in public. Am I excited? Maybe a little... just have to wait til after Christmas for the formal offer and had to share as I still can’t believe it myself!
After a discussion on here about what the licensing and legalities are around the world I did some investigations on the costs of formal training. I didn’t find anything that caught my interest so I let it be, especially since down here under 2kg does not require a license to fly commercially.
Thanks to Google and Facebook I started to receive training and drone adds in my Facebook feed. One caught my eye so I thought what the hell and sent in an enquiry form. A few days later I get a phone call from at 7.30 at night that I normally would not answer and low and behold it was that company! Had a good long chat as he was a really nice guy, talked about my long (40 year) obsession with RC aircraft etc, but decided in my current position I could not afford the course.
Two weeks later I get another call from him, this time asking if I would be interested in being a trainer or a commercial drone pilot based on my background! A few emails later they are asking for my resume and then a meeting with the head of the Education section.
Thinking it all sounded to good to be true, I set the meeting time and date and rocked up to meet for a coffee as agreed. Met and spoke for over an hour about the company, their business, their future, then me, my past etc etc.. with as it turned out one of the owners of the company. Company has been around for 10 years building commercial quality drones for individual specific purposes, doing most of the mine surveys, have government and military contracts and now are breaking into the secondary education system down here with formal Avionics training.
Meeting ended with being told I was exactly what they are looking for and would I be interested in initially doing contract training and commercial drone work, followed by full time later in the year as the training side increases and possibly replacing the chief pilot later on so he can work more on the engineering side of the business!
Needless to say I said yes! I will be trained up and qualified in night and Outside line of sight flights and in flying 25kg+ commercial drones in public. Am I excited? Maybe a little... just have to wait til after Christmas for the formal offer and had to share as I still can’t believe it myself!
