Drone Flight Training
On March 29th, 2025, our CPMentorship drone training group gathered at the Hera School in San Jose for an afternoon of hands-on UAV flying and FAA Part 107 prep..
We flew inside of a warehouse with a moderately high ceiling, ideal for practicing indoor flight maneuvers. Because one of the DJI drones had been broken earlier that day, we started with the basic amazon drones. These drones were functional, but they had a nasty tendency to drift off to the side when hovering. Trying to counteract this drift made flying with precision a daunting task.
Eventually, Billy, our instructor, got the DJI drones for us to use. They were far steadier, but the controls were more sensitive and the batteries were not fully charged. The propeller guards for the DJI drones had greater coverage than the cheap amazon ones, but were also harder to install. You had to take great care not to twist the propellers or bend the guards while trying to connect the attachment points to the flight motors.Our flying followed a pattern: around ten minutes of flight, followed by a battery swap, before taking off again.
We began with practicing weaving in and out of a line of poles. It’s like a soccer dribbling drill, but with drones instead of balls. This was quite tough, as if you moved too fast or too slow, you would either hit a pole or zoom too far past it. After we got a good grip on that, we then focused on circling a pole with the front of our drone facing it at all times. This was far more difficult because trying to fly in a circle while keeping the front facing a fixed point had many different variables that were hard to manage. For example, if you didn’t turn fast enough but kept the same horizontal speed, the drone would orbit outwards. If you turned too fast and kept the same horizontal speed, the drone would hit the pole.
After practicing our flying skills, we headed into the office to review our FAA Part 107 knowledge. We made it through the second training video, covering topics such as the difference between waivers and authorizations and what civil twilight and sunset were. We also reviewed the process of getting different permits and licenses, such as how LAANC could be used to get permission to fly in controlled airspace, like near airports.
Overall, the session was a fantastic combination of technical practice and theoretical review. Despite the challenges, everyone walked away more confident in both drone handling and airspace knowledge - one step closer to FAA certification and applying UAVs for social good.
