BMCC prepares to fly
By Terry Murry on Tuesday, May 18th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – Blue Mountain Community College is working with partners from the unmanned aircraft systems industry to meet the rapid demand for workers in that industry. BMCC is offering its first non-credit training program for a professional pilot certification.
To celebrate the start of what college leaders have said will be a growing new course of study at BMCC, there will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday at 5 p.m. at the old World War II hangar at the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport.
BMCC’s certification program will include hands-on learning with both Pixhawk and Piccolo autopilot software. After 60 hours of instruction the average graduate is on par with professional pilot training and can expect a starting salary of $45,000 to $65,000.
“Using technology from UAS has many benefits to society from maximizing the efficiency of agriculture to increasing the safety of emergency services personnel by sending the technology into harsh conditions such as wildfires and floods to gain a better view of the situation,” Precision Agriculture Instructor Drew Leggett said. People interested in attending the ribbon cutting can pick up tickets via the Pendleton Chamber of Commerce at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/uas-event-and-ribbon-cutting-tickets-153852891139.
Precision Ag Instructor Drew Leggett (left) works with a student in the photo provided by BMCC.
