Key Competences and Training of Civil Drone Pilots

Abstract

The continuous growth of civil unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations signalizes a need for qualification and training concepts for civil remote pilots. After years of training-by-doing, increasing numbers of professional drone pilots in Germany are now sufficient for empirical analysis. Being part of the interdisciplinary UAM project City-ATM of the German Aerospace Center, this study for the first time evaluates remote pilot competences (RPCs) and training needs of professional, civil multicopter pilots in Germany. 38 RPCs involving knowledge, flight skills, cognitive abilities, interpersonal skills and personality aspects, were evaluated in an online questionnaire for multicopter pilots (N = 88) predominantly working for public authorities and organizations with security tasks. The competences were classified in training categories, that suggest which competences should be part of initial training or refresher trainings. Results highlight the importance of interpersonal skills and personality aspects for future remote pilot training concepts.