French drone pilots will train online with Dokeos

The European Commission is requiring that all drone pilots undergo mandatory online training, and Dokeos has stepped up to meet this need.

On December 19, 2018, more than 100,000 passengers were stranded at London’s Gatwick Airport because of drones on the tarmac.

On December 21, two residents of the nearby village of Crawley were arrested and charged with attempting to endanger the lives of others. After an investigation, it appeared that the two drone pilots had acted without malicious intent… but not without ignorance of the basic air safety rules. This could just as easily have happened on the tarmac at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Each year, pilots report nearly a hundred high-risk approaches involving unmanned aircraft. Since the 2018 incident at Gatwick, the European Commission has issued a regulation that requires training for all pilots of unmanned aircraft. The regulation found its way to the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC), who issued a call for applications for drone pilot training. The contract was ultimately awarded to the digital learning expert Dokeos, who would go on to offer training through the Fox-AlphaTango application.

“Developing responsible practices”

The new European regulation on drone operations will take effect in 2021. Its aim is to develop responsible practices for recreational drones by making drone pilots mindful of the need to protect the privacy of third parties on the ground.

Knowing the rules for the proper use of a recreational drone is essential. Outside of authorized model aircraft flying sites, the maximum allowable flying height is 150 meters by default. In addition, it is prohibited to fly over certain sensitive or protected sites and their surrounding area. These include nuclear power plants, military sites, nature reserves, and national parks.

For more information, the French Civil Aviation Authority has developed a code of conduct, which can be found on the French Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition website: Ten Rules for Using Recreational Drones

What can we expect in the next drone operating regulations?

Training varies depending on the drone’s weight and category. However, for any drone purchased from a retailer like Darty, Fnac, or an online store, training is required if the user is at least 14 years old.

  • For drones that are lighter than 800 g (ex. Bebop 2 Parrot or DJI Mavic) the drone’s pilot must complete online training and pass a 40-question multiple-choice test.
  • For drones weighing between 800 g and 25 kg (ex. Phantom 3 and Phantom 4), the pilot must be qualified through online training and, in some cases, a test taken at a DGAC center (for France).

This online training is designed for drone pilots using their UAV for recreational purposes, as specified in the regulations. Operators without training face punishment of one year in prison and a fine of €75,000, under Article L. 6232-4 of the French Transport Code.

Dokeos expertise in online drone pilot training

The Dokeos team is the definitive leader for online drone pilot training in Europe and has been creating online training for Belgium’s Mobility Ministry since early 2019. “From her design studio in Bordeaux, our instructional designer Nelly Troisfontaine has worked to disambiguate and understand all the directive’s subtleties. Her challenge was to develop a simple and fluid training course that the general public could immediately understand,” explains Loïck Muteba, head of the instructional design unit at Dokeos.

Dokeos has developed online drone training for the Belgian government.

The online training features interactive instruction with an explanatory voiceover and slideshow.

The expertise that Dokeos developed in Belgium will make it easier to roll out training more effectively in France. And why not in other European countries? Dokeos has a network of experts in Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany. The Dokeos LMS offers all the necessary functionalities (quizzes, certifications, GDPR compliance, etc.) for regulatory training.

For more information so that you can be ready when the regulation takes effect: contact us!

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