Granite Bay Flight Instructor Hoping To Cash In On Rising Drone Sales With Training Courses

GRANITE BAY (CBS13) — A business owner is hoping to cash in on the drone craze this holiday season by launching training for how to fly the unmanned aircraft safely.

Barry Morris is a licensed pilot and instructor from Granite Bay who loves just about anything that flies. He and his business partners launched Drone University USA in the last year.

Sales of unmanned aircraft are expected to move up 53 percent year-over-year to $105 million by the end of the year's holiday season.

"It's a very stable platform, very sophisticated so that is one of the top sellers over the holidays," he said.

The downside to the growing market, he says, is the possible safety hazard of skies cluttered with unskilled pilots. Some of the aircraft can reach speeds up to 100 mph.

"These things are pretty powerful and that's why we need to train them to make sure they can operate them properly," he said.

Some of the courses run between $1,000 and $5,000, and they're expanding beyond drone enthusiasts in hopes of teaching entrepreneurs and government agencies.

"The opening of commercial operations like real estate photography, search and rescue for law enforcement, fire fighting is these things that will help the public good," he said.