Air Force Civil Engineer Center Personnel Complete sUAS Training Course

Personnel from the Air Force Civil Engineer Center have completed a training course at San Geronimo Air Park, where they learned how to operate portable small unmanned aircraft systems collectively called Group 1 UAS.

During the course, the participants focused on three different sUAS systems and were taught how to navigate obstacle courses, support data collection and carry out pre- and post-flight operations.

The AFCEC personnel are now certified UAS operators and unit-certified initial qualification trainers, AF .mil reported.

The course was implemented by the Air Force GeoBase Program’s sUAS office, a component of the AFCEC’s planning and integration directorate.

According to Julio Toala, Air Force GeoBase operations manager and sUAS program manager, integrating drones into civil engineering operations could save time, money and potential injuries.

One area that could benefit from the use of drones is military construction, particularly inspections, which present logistical challenges and danger for human crews.

Jose Alfonsin, an sUAS capabilities developer for Air Force partner Woolpert, said having a drone for inspections gives MILCON project managers the luxury of being able to remotely collect accurate information.

With drones, Alfonsin noted that civil engineers would no longer have to compromise their safety by climbing up ladders and getting on top of roofs.

He added that drones are capable of performing inspections quickly and offer repeatable footage for documentation.

“The return on investment by utilizing sUAS instead of contractors for data gathering will improve our capabilities by providing data collection and processing of imagery and LiDAR tenfold,” Toala said.