AI Nautics Partners with Fairfield County School District

The press conference at Fairfield Career and Technology Center (FCTC) recently introduced the 2020 Drone Program, and it was met with much excitement from education leaders, community leaders, and community members.

Taking place on Wednesday, January 15th, Dr. Cleve Pilot, FCTC 's Director, and Mr. Christopher Williams, Founder and Director of AI Nautics, shared the details of the program.

Students at FCTC now have what is a globally recognized opportunity to become an FAA commercial drone certified pilot.

Mr. Williams expressed, "When you’re thinking about drone commercial certification licenses, it expands to any and multiple industries: agriculture, construction, aerospace engineering, videography, a multitude of things. One of the things that we are so intrigued by about the model is that these scholars now have an opportunity to add onto their platform of success.If they choose to go to a two year or four year college, they can add this to their Computer Engineering degree or English degree, whatever their field is."

Right now, there are no documented certified pilots in the midlands area that are regulated by the FAA. The scholars at FCTC that go through this cohort will be the first. Companies that are looking for a pilot will be able to pull from this first pool of students in the program.

The other great thing about this license is that it is not just recognized here in South Carolina or in the United States; it is recognized as a global opportunity. There are major manufacturing companies, such as Audi, that are using drones to build and design their cars. FCTC scholars will be able to expand their scope and experience opportunities that take them out of their area code.

On average, these newly certified graduates will have the potential to make $21 an hour and up to $52,000 a year within in a 1-2 year time frame. After 4-10 years of experience, that average salary will be about $67,000 a year. In a sense, that is astronomical for young people turning 20-25 years old!

These young people will be entering a cutting edge industry. Companies like Amazon, Uber Eats, and FedEx are all doing testing right now on this innovative market. In 2015, Amazon was looking for drone engineers to come in and help test their delivery service. Again, the FAA license these young people will have is what will make them highly sought-after candidates.

According to Mr. Williams, this program is a "turn-key model," which means that the instructors of AINautics provide the services and insurance to run the program successfully. The goal is to increase the talent pipeline for students in Fairfield County. Students that go through this program do so at no expense to them. All the costs will be paid by the school. The exam is approximately $150.

Mr. Williams made sure to emphasize that the program is not just about flying a drone. Scholars will demonstrate expert critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, and project management skills--not to mention learning sophisticated mathematics, pilot systems, and radar detection techniques, just to name a few.

In preparing for this industry of wealth, AINautics employs hardware and software support, computer programming techs, and technical writers.

Program Supporting Data:

The widespread commercial use of drones is predicted to inject $13.6 billion in the U.S. economy over the next three years and create 70,000 jobs in both drone manufacturing and flight operations. Future drone pilots are already enrolling by the hundreds in UAV training programs at colleges like Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida and theUniversity of North Dakota

About AINautics:

AINautics is a premier provider of innovative drone-based solutions to support the needs of our clients. Our team of experts will oversee your implementation every step of the way, making full integration effortless.

As a Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned, Small Business, AINautics is committed to excellence and creating innovative and flexible solutions for county, state, and federal clients.