2019 Workshops below. 2020 workshops are coming soon!
Tuesday, September 3
Sometimes a 60 minute session is not enough. For the professionals looking to take full or half-day deep dives into their field, InterDrone offers the preconference workshops as part of the 3-Day Plus Preconference pass package. We source the best instructors in the space to give you the soup-to-nuts tutorials that will make you mission-ready at the drop of a dime.
Specific Operations and Risk Assessment(SORA) Workshop
Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA) Workshop
If you’re trying to obtain a waiver from the FAA you should be looking into SORA. The Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA) guidance represents the consensus of various national aviation authorities on a common process to identify, qualitatively assess, and manage the safety risk posed by unmanned aircraft systems(UAS), when preparing the safety case required for regulatory approval to conduct certain types of operations. It is the de facto standard for assessing the risks of a UAS operation.
In this session, you will receive an overview of SORA 2.0, the most recent edition of the guidance and learn how to evaluate the safety risks involved with the operation of Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) of any class and size and type of operation (including military, experimental, R&D and prototyping). The instructors will guide you through the key concepts of SORA including the semantic model, the roles and responsibilities of key actors (eg. the operator, UAS manufacturer, etc.), assessing ground and air risk, identifying safety objectives and more.
Your Instructors:
Lorenzo Murzilli – Manager, Innovation and Advanced Technologies at Federal Office of Civil Aviation Switzerland
Lorenzo is a graduated aerospace engineer, innovation manager and specialist in aviation, system safety and drones.
Lorenzo co-leads the Swiss FOCA Innovation and Digitalization Unit creating cutting edge frameworks for seamless and safe integration of advanced technologies in the digital airspace of tomorrow.
Leader of the Joint Authorities for Rulemaking on Unmanned Systems WG-6 and Program Manager of the Swiss U-Space Implementation (SUSI) he oversights the risk management process and policy of all critical drones’ operations in Switzerland and works to improve the perception of unmanned aerial vehicles worldwide.
Lorenzo has been amongst the founding fathers of the Global UTM Association (GUTMA) where he is entrusted with the function of Treasurer and member of the executive board of directors.
Guest lecturer at the Zürich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), previously with Leonardo and Pilatus Aircraft, Lorenzo has developed a striking ability to boost innovation in safety critical environments and enjoys exploring the intersection of safety and disruptive technologies that can advance the human race forward.
Andy Thurling –
Andy Thurling recently joined NUAIR Alliance, technical manager of the New York UAS Test Site, as the Chief Technology Officer where he leads technical research on current and future UAS technologies, evaluates potential paths to implementation, industry standards for approval by regulators, and test techniques to verify compliance. Prior to NUAIR, Andy was Director of Product Safety and Mission Assurance at AeroVironment in Simi Valley, California. At AeroVironment, Andy led airworthiness, certification, and airspace access strategic efforts. He is active in standards bodies such as ASTM and RTCA and internationally with EUROCAE and as a subject matter expert to the JARUS working group developing the Specific Operational Risk Assessment process. Andy is a Distinguished Graduate of the USAF Test Pilot School. He has held several positions as a test pilot and as an instructor at the Test Pilot School. His career in the Air Force culminated as Commander of the Flight Test Squadron responsible for testing the nation’s newest unmanned aircraft. Andy has over 2300 hours of flight time in more than 35 aircraft types and was awarded the 2011 AUVSI “Operations Award” for leading the flight testing of the liquid Hydrogen powered Global Observer.
Videography Intensive
Drone videography and photography is used across all commercial markets, from real estate marketing to roof inspections and filmmaking. This full-day, preconference workshop will sharpen your skills as a professional drone pilot and show everything you need to know from capturing a stunning image to adding polish in post-production.
Learn how to optimize your field production time and build a plan to assure the required shots are captured with confidence. This intensive, 4.5-hour workshop will take you from the planning steps for unique shot styles through to editing techniques for the final video. This session will detail what it is you need for complete aerial storytelling, adding to ground footage and unique elements to best to convey your story and clearly communicate your message.
Part one of this session will include the following:
- Creating a flight plan
- Setting up the drone/UAV camera
- Filters (Polarizers, Neutral Density, Gradients)
- Avoiding pitfalls and weather
Part two of this session will dive into advanced flight techniques:
- Get these shots and you’ll be set!
Part three, we will close out this session with a focus on post-production practices for UAS, including:
- Filters, codecs, and stabilization
- Color-correction baselines
Taught by a veteran UAS operator/pilot, you’ll leave this session with a solid knowledge of how to approach creating the best drone footage (or sourcing it), know where to best begin the color correction process, and become aware of codec challenges for color correction, stabilization, and matching.
Your Instructor:
Douglas Spotted Eagle – Sundance Media Group
Douglas is one of the highest-rated speakers at InterDrone, anchoring many of its videography offerings. Douglas is the Managing Producer for Sundance Media Group, Inc. and VASST, and serves as a trainer and consultant for videographers, software manufacturers and broadcasters.
Douglas is an accomplished aerial photographer who thrives in the adrenaline-filled world of fast-action videography. His love of everything aerial has his focus on everything drone and UAV, from best practices in UAV cinematography to ensuring pilots understand the FAA laws.
The full layout of the day is as follows and is a total for 4.5 hours of intense training:
| 9:00 am–5:30 pm | Registration & Badge Pickup |
| 11:00 am–11:05 am | Welcome Notes |
| 11:05 am–12:30 pm | Training Session |
| 12:30 pm–2:00 pm | Lunch Break |
| 2:00 pm–3:30 pm | Training Session |
| 3:30 pm–4:00 pm | Coffee Break |
| 4:00 pm–5:30 pm | Final Review |
Part 107 Training
This full-day training course will cover the major areas of the FAA Part 107 Aeronautical Knowledge Test. Course will cover Regulations, National Airspace System (NAS), Weather, Loading and Performance, and Operations.
Each participant will be provided an aeronautical chart and learn to identify location, airspaces, restricted areas, military operation areas and other special use airspaces. Each participant will understand the regulations with UAV operations including distance from clouds, registering aircraft, weight limits and more. Upon completion of this course, attendees will be well prepared with required knowledge and resources to complete the Part 107 Initial Aeronautical Knowledge Test.
Included in this course we will discuss real-world situations for commercial UAV pilots and mitigation of challenging situations. Examples are Police encounters, property owners, other UAV pilots, and state/federal government representatives.
Additional Learning Objectives:
- Establishing your Pre-Flight/Post-Flight procedures
- Follow-on testing material (online)
- Best UAS Practices
- FAA changes and directions
- Low Altitude Authorization Network Coordination (LAANC)
- Radio procedures
Your Instructor:
James Spear
UAS Instructor, SMG
James, has an extensive computer and electronics background. Starting at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards AFB, CA. in the Information technology department. After three years at NASA, James enlisted in the United States Air Force in Security Forces. Over his twelve-year career with the USAF, James assisted on establishing several installation uses for the RQ-11 Raven system. James has also been a member of the Civil Air Patrol, USAF Auxiliary since 1999. Recently, James was assigned as a Senior sUAS pilot and trainer for the Civil Air Patrol and is currently helping with developing a nationwide training curriculum for sUAS operations. James is also a Civil Air Patrol rated Mission Observer, Aerial Photographer and Ground Team Leader instructor in Nevada, and is a key collaborator and primary instructor with Sundance Media Group on various UAV training programs. James has received his FAA Part 107 and is currently working on achieving a private pilot, glider rating, with the ultimate goal of a Rotor CFII rating.
Mapping Intensive
This course is for those who seek to incorporate Drones/s UAS/UAV’s for Mapping and highly accurate results into their business portfolio. The course will instruct on how to increase accuracy using the latest technology and software as much as 1cm – 2cm horizontal and 2cm – 4cm vertically. We will incorporate into this program innovative workflows to help assure a top quality final deliverable for your clients. This training course will get you from the theory on photogrammetry, how sensors work both aerial and ground based to provide vital data for post processing, moving on to how acquiring data sets through automated missions on different platforms, and post processing software to produce very accurate 2D and 3D products. The use, proper application of GCP collection, and placement will bring a real value proposition to your clients by using your services. We show real use case study results and also touch on how lidar can be incorporated into the workflow and will demonstrate live lidar scan and review the results.
These important topics will covered during the workshop:
- Photogrammetry theory
- Photogrammetry accuracy
- Drone mapping/surveying planning apps, the online/cloud-based and desktop software aerial imagery processing applications.
- Flight plan/deployment
- Importance of SMS/SOP/Risk Assessment/Checklists/Maintenance Plan & digital logbook • ground control points layout
- Practical module with multi-rotor and fixed wing drones mapping a site
- Mapping data upload
- Processing data
- DSM , DTM whats the difference between the two
- Data analytic and reporting tools
- Incorporating Drone Imagery Tile Services into your organization’s base-maps
- Integration of Ground based Lidar data for enhanced deliverables
Your Instructors:
Marc Langley Owner / CEO of Advance Service LLC / Airborne Works & NPS-DDP
He partnered with leading industry leaders like FLIR and Leica Geosystems Impossible Aerospace to provide custom UAV solutions for clients. He founded Advance Service LLC. 2000 providing advanced telemetry monitoring solutions for IVF laboratories across the country. Marc holds patents for IVF product design. He founded Airborne Works in early 2015 holds Title 14 CFR Part 107 commercial drone certificate from the FAA. Closely supports Public safety agencies nationwide with UAV technology. Airborne Works has been called on high profile mapping and modeling projects for aerial and ground-based lidar deliverables including insurance, archaeology and surveying interest. He has Partnered with industry professionals within the GIS and surveying industries. October of 2018 he founded the “National Public Safety Drone Donation program” NPS-DDP.org to provide free Drones to underfunded public safety agencies across the country. To help put “eyes in the sky for every department in need” TM
Christopher Kahn/ Drone Imagery Lab
Christopher is a Geospatial expert with over 17 years of experience focused on advanced spatial analytics, GIS, GPS (GNSS), and UAV. Mr. Kahn earned his undergraduate degree in Geography at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J., and Master’s degree in Geographic Information Systems from Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa. Chris was awarded Certified GIS Professional (GISP) by the GIS Certification Institute in 2011, and also holds a current Title 14 CFR Part 107 Commercial Drone Certification from the FAA. Chris is the proud recipient of an ESRI Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) award in 2014, and has had three maps published in the annually released ESRI Map Book. Chris has also developed custom workflows that enhance mapping accuracies and speed productivity.
Frank John Hahnel III / Wood
Frank has been working in Geomatics since 1995, and is the Business Development Manager with Wood. Mr. Hahnel is an expert in the use of 3D laser scanning systems and has worked on a wide variety of scanning projects. Some of them include petrochemical facilities, wall deformation surveys, scans on piles to determine volumetric calculations as well as assisting multiple law enforcement agencies across the United States to scan, process, and reconstruct active accident and crime scenes. Mr. Hahnel, a Native Floridian, assisted in laser scanning the exterior of the H.L. Hunley Civil War submarine in 2000. In 2001, he worked with the Army Corps of Engineers at “Ground Zero” four days after the 09-11 terrorist attacks. In December of 2001, he scanned the exterior of the Pentagon for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In the winter of 2002, he worked with the New York Police Department, New York Sanitation Department, and the FBI to laser scan the World Trade Center debris piles at the Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island. His personal photographs, scan data, and story were published in Professional Surveyor Magazine in a three-part article in 2011. In June of 2016, Mr. Hahnel worked alongside the Orlando Police Department to forensically map the Pulse Nightclub Terrorist attack that killed 49 people in Orlando, Florida.
Mr. Hahnel’s enjoys educating people on the time and cost saving benefits available from the utilization of remote sensing services on their projects. Mr. Hahnel is a member of the International Association for Identification and the International Association for Counterterrorism & Security Professionals. He is also a volunteer with the Orlando Police Department’s Crime Laboratory since 2017.
Construction Intensive
Drones are an innovative and cost-efficient augmentation to any construction project. The benefits to firms and companies such as Architects, General Contractors, Sub Contractors, Investors, and more.
We will be discussing everything from personal protective equipment, software, data acquisition, and tools your client may utilize to make decisions based the data delivery.
Join Brady for a deep dive into what it takes to get the job done.
Part 1 (Basics)
- sUAS Operation
- Physical equipment
- Digital Software
- Pre-Req’s
Part 2 (Data)
- Actionable Data
- What does the client need
- How are they going to use the Data
- Acquisition of Data
- How are you capturing actionable data
- Automated vs Manual flight
- How are you capturing actionable data
Part 3 (Modeling)
- Techniques for 2D/3D mapping/modeling
- Automated VS Manual
Your Instructor:
Brady Reisch
UAS Instructor, SMG
Kevin Brady moved to Las Vegas to pursue a career in architectural drafting and quickly incorporated aerial photography into the architecture firm and discovered his passion for sUAS (drones). In order to combine his love for videography, cinematography, and sUAS, Prone to Drone was brought to life. As the owner/operator of Prone to Drone, Brady is an sUAS field service provider and proudly holds a class B-authorization for the Las Vegas strip; a distinction in its own right as it’s one of only a hand full currently issued.
Beyond being a field service provider, Brady also trains and educates other sUAS pilots to safely and legally operate in the National Airspace System (NAS). Brady is committed to risk mitigation, safe sUAS flight practices, and legal flight requirements and is excited to share his knowledge and experience with others.