The Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Indoor Flying Pavilion was completed in 2015 and was designed to support Sinclair’s UAS programs. Sinclair’s UAS Indoor Flying Pavilion was the world’s first custom built indoor pavilion. The building was named to honor Senior Vice President for Workforce Development and Corporate Services, Deb Norris, for her contributions to making the custom-built flying facility. The facility is used to support initial flight training in unmanned aircraft operations courses, as well as for research and development efforts.
Clay Pittman, the Aviation Technology Department chair, is responsible for Sinclair’s UAS academic programs. He was able to give more insight into the programs offered at Sinclair and some of the different careers available in the UAS field.
“One of the most popular UAS applications is for aerial photography and mapping,” Pittman said. “Other applications include First Responders and Precision Agriculture.”
The First Responders Program is used for things like search and rescue operations, such as the building collapse that recently occurred in Florida or finding survivors from natural disasters such as Hurricane Ida.
Precision Agriculture uses UAS to aid farmers in taking care of their fields, such as locating bugs in crops or if a certain area is lacking in water.
New things are happening in the field of UAS programs at Sinclair starting for the Spring 2022 semester.
“Our new program is the UAS Entrepreneurship certificate,” said Pittman.
This program is designed to help students combine UAS technical skills with entrepreneurial and business knowledge. Students completing this certificate will be prepared for success as they seek to establish and grow their own ventures.
In 2018 Sinclair was granted the opportunity to offer bachelor’s degrees in UAS and Professional Pilot.
“Last year we had our first graduates of the UAS and Professional Pilot bachelor’s degree programs,” Pittman said. “There were a total of six graduates in May 2020, three from each program.”
UAS is a growing field and over 100,000 new jobs are expected by the year 2025, according to Sinclair’s information page on the bachelor’s program. Currently the department is looking to develop articulation agreements with other colleges and universities for UAS bachelor’s degree graduates to enter Master’s degree programs.
Non-college credit courses are also available through Sinclair’s National UAS Training and Certification Center which is directed by Dr. Andrew Shepherd.
The UAS Indoor Flying Pavilion is located beside Building 13, but don’t be surprised if you see UAS flying around outside on nice days!
Sara Collins
Reporter