It’s a tough time to be a professional drone pilot. A few short years ago, collecting aerial data, photos and videos was an incredibly lucrative gig. In part that was because professionals had little choice but to develop their own custom platforms. More expertise was required to operate them as a result and clients paid accordingly.
But now, pretty much anyone can fly a drone. The hardware is coming down in price while moving on up in terms of capability. A race to the bottom has ensued, with most drone pilots struggling to make a decent living and a flood of new pilots competing to offer drone services across a variety of industries.
Which brings us to PolarPro’s recent launch of an education program, PolarPro EDU, which aims to provide aspiring pilots with one-to-one tutorials with established professionals in the industry. These personalized training sessions cost $149.99 per hour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-neT1bfsgi8
Read more: PolarPro Expands Post-Production Tools
Now, that may seem steep. Maybe it is. We haven’t had a session, so we can’t speak to its value for money. But the concept is appealing. Especially when you consider that nobody comes into the aerial photography business an expert. Usually drone pilots are keen photographers who bought a drone but are novices behind the controls, or keen pilots who bought a drone but want to make the most of having an aerial camera.
The point is this: everyone stands to improve from a few words of wisdom.
PolarPro EDU differs in that, unlike a generic online course, the student leads the way and sets the agenda. As you’d hope for $149.99 a pop, the personal flight instructor covers only what you want to learn. And that could be anything, from flight fundamentals and software basics, equipment prep and travel tips, to technical aspects such as manual flight control, using camera filters and understanding advanced camera functions and techniques.
“As we have continued to develop our solutions-focused product lines, we interact with content creators of all skill levels, and we found that pilots of every skill level are eager to learn from the industry’s best,” said Jeff Overall, Co-founder & CEO of PolarPro. “The work interactively with a professional drone pilot is usually reserved for apprentice pilots trying to get into the industry, with our PolarPro EDU sessions, this access is available to anyone.”
How to book a PolarPro EDU session
To book a PolarPro EDU session, all you have to do is select an instructor and choose a date and time. When the moment comes, you’ll join your chosen instructor for a live video conference call.
The PolarPro EDU platform will be expanding soon to offer specialist one-to-one tutorials dedicated to wedding photographers, real estate and the like.
We anticipate that these sessions would be a great gift for the drone pilot in your life, as well as being an obvious way to improve your professional output and nail down some extra skills.
Malek Murison is a freelance writer and editor with a passion for tech trends and innovation. He handles product reviews, major releases and keeps an eye on the enthusiast market for DroneLife.
Email Malek
Twitter:@malekmurison
Subscribe to DroneLife here.
[…] Read more: PolarPro Launches One-to-One Aerial Photography Tutorials: PolarPro EDU […]