Ready to fly your drone confidently?
Enroll in one of our Basic Flight Training classes in San Diego
Walk away with the skills to become a safe drone pilot in our one day Basic Flight Training course taught by our expert instructor.
Trusted by Top Organizations Across the Nation
Why over 4,000 drone pilots have completed this course:
“I don’t want to crash!”
“I want to fully understand my equipment.”
“I need to know how to respond in an emergency.”
“I want to be confident I am doing everything right.”
TRAINING
FLIGHT SESSIONS
MAXIMUM
TRAINED
Your guide to drone success:
Meet our San Diego instructor
Matt Bettencourt
Navy UAS Instructor PilotMatt is a contract UAS instructor pilot for the U.S. Navy as well as a helicopter pilot in the Navy Reserve. He has 13+ years of aviation experience and over 3,900 hours piloting military aircraft, including over 1,900 hours instructing on unmanned aircraft systems. Matt is currently the Navy’s lead Contract Instructor Pilot for the MQ-8 Fire Scout, the Navy’s first rotary wing UAS. He also instructs in the Navy’s MH-60S multi-mission helicopter. He has helped train over 900 students in both the MH-60S and MQ-8. He holds his Commercial Pilot Certificate with single engine airplane, rotorcraft, instrument and sUAS ratings. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy with a B.S. in Systems Engineering and a focus in robotics and computers.
Curriculum designed to ensure success
- Film, Photography, and videography
- Infrastructure
- Inspections
- Emergency services
- Mapping and surveying
- Precision agriculture
- Drones 101 review
- Primary drone types
- DJI overview
- Phantom / Inspire / Mavic specs
- Standard DJI systems
- Power system
- Propulsion & maneuvering system
- Command & control system
- Positioning & navigation system
- Imaging payload
- Downloading the app
- Connecting your device
- Performing firmware updates
- System status / flight mode
- GPS / link quality / battery level
- Camera settings
- Map / flight telemetry data
- Verifying system settings & status
- Performing a compass calibration
- Startup & takeoff
- In-Flight stick commands
- Landing & shutdown
- Flight logging
- Multiple flight modes
- Beginner mode
- Return to home altitude
- Maximum flight altitude
- Aerial photography and film
- Structural inspection
- Aerial mapping
- Loss of control link
- Fly away
- Disorientation
- Low battery
- Accessing intelligent modes
- Course lock
- Home lock
- Point of interest
- Follow me
- Waypoints
- Active track
- Tap fly
- Draw
- Gesture
- Tripod
- Terrain follow
- Exiting intelligent modes
- DJI GEO System
- Battery management
- DJI Academy / Flight Simulator
- Flight records
- Precision landing
- Landing during inclement weather
- Re-orientation
- Medium / long-range exercises
Join over 4,000 accomplished pilots
Just got back from the Basic Flight Training class with instructor Kevin Coughlin. It was phenomenal! Kevin was very well prepared and explained, EVERYTHING!! with plenty of time for questions. When it was time for the flights, he just took time to ensure everyone was 100% comfortable with the drones we were using (Mavic 2 Pro and Phantom 4). SAFETY was priority 1!! So happy I took this hands on class, I will be back for others! Well done DARTdrones, well done!
Select a weekend that works for you in
Want to buy now and pick a time later? You can always purchase DARTdrones Training Credits for you or a loved one.
Our curriculum was designed by drone experts to make you successful.
You’ll walk away feeling confident on your equipment.
You'll learn about and fly one of our drones:
DJI Mavic
DJI Phantom
DJI Inspire
Students get 3 outdoor flight sessions
First Flight
Ensure a successful first flight with our expert instructor at your side.
Emergency Procedures
This flight session will equip you with the tools to appropriately navigate equipment failure and other in flight emergencies.
Intelligent Navigation
Fully utilize your drones capabilities by learning to take your current drone skills to the next level with intelligent flight modes like orbit, follow me, and point of interest.
You’ll get hands-on time with the instructor during each flight session, but your true skill development will come when you log your 10 flight hours after class utilizing our proven flight exercises.
This class is best suited for those:
- Are flying a drone for the first time
- Already fly, but want to take their equipment knowledge and skills to the next level
- Don’t want to crash their hardware
- Want to take full advantage of their drone's capabilities
- Want to join the thousands of DARTdrones Alumni across the country
WHY DARTDRONES? We have a proven track record for training pilots in dozens of industries.
INSTRUCTORS
Our instructors have manned aviation experience flying airplanes and helicopters and have gained the highest drone piloting recognitions in the industry. Many own successful UAS businesses themselves.
NATIONWIDE
As featured on ABC's Shark Tank, we are the nation's leading drone training company with an extensive network of alumni and partners throughout the country.
MATERIAL
Created and refined by UAS training experts, our curriculum is the best in the industry and has been tried and tested by clients in dozens of industries.
TRAINED
With a community of over 65,000 drone enthusiasts across the US and internationally, DARTdrones is at the forefront of UAS technology.
Expert Instructors
Learn from our specialized team of instructors, comprised of manned pilots and drone business owners. Our classes are engaging, dynamic, and extremely informative.
Advanced Training Courses
We don’t just train our students on the basics. We also offer extensive advanced training courses to help our alumni succeed in mapping, inspections, disaster response, aerial photography, night operations, search and rescue, and more.
Industry Certified and Vetted Curriculum
DARTdrones’ curriculum is vetted and certified by AUVSI, the leading UAS industry association, to ensure professional quality.
Frequently Asked Questions
Many students that complete our Basic Flight Training course are brand new to drones and flying for the first time. The course starts with the basics for beginners, but also dives into more advanced processes. We receive great reviews from advanced drone pilots.
We have had many students who already fly drones say that during the course they learned new aspects of their drones. Although some people in the class will be complete beginners, the course is great for a more experienced pilot too.
This course is designed to allow students to try before they buy. Many of our students have not purchased a drone prior to class. Although the class materials cover the Mavic and Inspire, flight training is typically conducted on a Phantom that we provide.
Yes. The course rotates from indoor to outdoor training. You’ll experience 3 one hour flight sessions during Basic Flight Training.
For insurance and liability purposes, students cannot fly their own equipment during the course unless they provide proof of liability insurance with DARTdrones LLC named as an additional insured prior to the course. Any insurance company that offers coverage for sUAS flight is sufficient for this course. Many students have used Verifly as their provider. Verifly is available in most states and allows for coverage to be purchased by the hour.
Our Basic Flight Training course capacity is set to 8 students per class to ensure a well balanced student to instructor ratio.
DARTdrones’ schedules a few classes per year in each city about 3 months in advance of a class. If your city is completely sold out, we recommend checking a nearby city, organizing a private group lesson (priced for 8 participants), or submitting a contact form as we do often have last minute cancellations.
We truly care about the safety of our students. If travel becomes dangerous, we will postpone the course to a later date and you can always select a date that works for you. If travel is not dangerous, we will still hold the indoor portion of the class and attempt to work around the weather to make the outdoor flight sessions possible.