“We lack pilots for drones.” Francis Duruflé, delegate of the Professional Civil Drone Federation, discusses the regulations in force in this new sector.
When was the profession of drone pilot born?
FRANCIS DURUFLÉ. In 2012. That year, the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) published the rules governing the professional use of drones. To exercise the profession of remote pilot, you must declare your activity to the Civil Aviation Safety Department (DSAC), have professional insurance and a drone equipped with all the required safety equipment. And for a year (decree of May 18, 2018), it is also necessary to follow specific training: a theoretical examination which sanctions knowledge of regulations, aerology, aerial maps and practical training. In 2012, there were around fifty drone operators. Today there are 7,470 of them. The Federation estimates that between 2012 and 2018, 11,000 remote pilot jobs were created in France.
How to become drone pilot ?
You must be at least 16 years old and have followed the theoretical and practical training. It lasts from 5 to 20 days depending on the training center. The 1162 existing organizations are not approved. It is therefore useful to inquire with our federation to gauge their seriousness. Equipped with these two skills, the remote pilot is then either hired by a service provider who will in turn train him in the specifics of the job. If his main clients are farmers’ associations, for example, the remote pilot must know their needs and the uses they make of the aerial shots and data collected. Either the remote pilot works within a construction company or from an architectural firm to inspect the progress of a construction site, to the SNCF to take views of the state of the railway tracks, in an audiovisual production company, etc.
Can you practice as an employee?
The price of drones having fallen sharply, companies that use them regularly have acquired them. They have created positions internally. The gendarmerie thus trained soldiers in the profession. It is not a task that is added to the original job, it is a full-time function.