Drone Training in Michigan
Drone training in Michigan delivered at your facility, job site or farm by FAA Certified Flight Instructors who travel to teams across the Lower and Upper Peninsulas.
Drone Universities Courses
5.00 (20K+ Joined)
FAA Part 107 Training
Prepare yourself for the FAA Part 107 Knowledge Test. Learn to fly, how to understand industry-standard flight systems, and most importantly, safe and legal flying practices. If you do not pass the FAA Part 107 exam after completing our training, we will either refund your training fee or retrain you at no additional cost.
DJI Mini 4K included!
Duration
$2,500
4.79 (5.4K Joined)
Advanced Aerial Inspections and Cinematography
This one-day course teaches you advanced aerial photography and videography. All classes are taught by working professionals. Learn what it takes to get great shots for clients like Discovery Channel and National Geographic.
Duration
$1,000
4.96 (2.6K Joined)
This one-day course teaches you all about GIS. You will learn everything you need to successfully collect usable data on your flights. We’ll guide you through planning and flying successful operations, programing flight patterns.
Duration
$1,000
4.87 (1.6K+ Joined)
Drones in Agriculture
Join Drone Universities’ one-day Drones in Agriculture course. Learn precision flights, multispectral imaging, and field methodology to boost crop yield. Sign up now!
Duration
$1,000
4.82 (2.6K Joined)
Drones for Public Safety and Transportation
Learn to use drones for infrastructure inspection and planning. Our one-day course improves public safety and transportation by saving time, money, and resources.
Duration
$1,000
Michigan Drone Training for Automotive, Construction and Lakeshore Work
Flying for work in Michigan means planning for very different jobs. A crew in Wayne County may launch beneath the Detroit Class B airspace in the morning, while another team maps a field in the Thumb, documents a shoreline property on Lake Michigan or checks a communications tower in the northern Lower Peninsula. Lake-effect snow, gusty shoreline winds and short winter days all shape flight planning.
Our Michigan courses meet at the site your pilots fly: an automotive plant or supplier in Metro Detroit, a road project in Grand Rapids, an orchard near Traverse City or a utility corridor in the Upper Peninsula. The classroom block follows the Part 107 knowledge test and adds depth on the Detroit Class B airspace, the Grand Rapids, Flint and Lansing Class C areas, Great Lakes wind and winter weather, loading and crew coordination, followed by supervised flights at your location.
We train automotive and manufacturing companies, contractors and engineers, fruit and field crop growers, utilities and telecom crews, brokers and resorts, universities and Michigan public safety agencies. New pilots work toward the Remote Pilot Certificate, while experienced pilots add inspection, mapping or imaging skills. We also explain the Michigan UAS Act, local ordinance limits and DNR rules for state parks.
What Michigan Teams Get from Drone Universities
Hands-on courses since 2014
Drone Universities has focused on instructor-led remote pilot training since 2014, and Michigan groups benefit from that classroom and field experience.
Training at Michigan sites
Instructors travel to your plant, campus, orchard or job site, from Detroit and Grand Rapids to Marquette, so no one loses travel days.
Michigan courses taught by FAA Certified Flight Instructors
FAA Certified Flight Instructors teach the Detroit Class B and the state’s towered airports with the sectional chart, weather and decision-making methods used in manned aviation.
Fitted to Michigan operations
Practice matches your missions, from plant roof and facade inspections to orchard scouting, shoreline documentation and ice rescue planning.
Easy scheduling
Request training online or call 1.818.255.0406, and we will pick the course, dates and a suitable practice area near your Michigan site.
Michigan Cities Where We Train
Instructors schedule on-site Michigan courses in and near these cities:
Detroit
Detroit and the surrounding Wayne, Oakland and Macomb county communities, much of which lies beneath the Detroit Class B airspace.
Grand Rapids
Kent County and West Michigan, near the Class C airspace around Gerald R. Ford International Airport.
Lansing
State government, university and business clients in the capital region, near Capital Region International Airport.
Ann Arbor
Research, health care and technology organizations in Washtenaw County, close to Ann Arbor Municipal and Willow Run airports.
Flint and Saginaw
Mid-Michigan and the Great Lakes Bay Region, around Bishop International and MBS International airports.
Traverse City and Northern Michigan
The northern Lower Peninsula and Upper Peninsula communities such as Marquette, scheduled around travel and weather.
Working somewhere else in Michigan? Send us your Michigan location and we will plan training at your site. Organizations with sites across the state line can also see our Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin drone training pages. Request a course location »
Michigan Industries Using Drones
- Michigan automakers and their suppliers fly drones over roofs, stacks and large building exteriors and record plant layouts without lifts or scaffolding.
- Construction and engineering. Contractors and engineering firms track project progress, measure earthwork and stockpiles, and produce orthomosaic maps for road, bridge and site development work.
- Agriculture. Field crop, orchard and specialty crop growers use aerial imagery to scout fields and review drainage. Applying pesticides by drone in Michigan requires MDARD commercial applicator certification in Core and the Aerial category plus the matching agricultural category, along with an FAA Part 137 certificate.
- Utilities and telecommunications. Electric, gas and telecom crews use drones to look over lines, substations and towers, including in wooded and lakeshore terrain where ground access is slow.
- Public safety. Michigan police, fire departments and county emergency managers use drones for scene documentation, searches and water and ice rescue planning on the Great Lakes and inland lakes. Our police drone training programs cover agency missions.
- Real estate, tourism and media. Brokers, resorts and production teams use aerial photography and video to present waterfront properties, campuses and events.
We can weight flight practice toward the Michigan industry your team works in. When several employees need certification, corporate drone training joins test preparation with exercises at your site.
Michigan Drone Laws, Local Rules and Airspace
- Detroit Class B airspace. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is the primary airport of the Detroit Class B airspace. In the Detroit Class B and the controlled airspace described next, Michigan pilots need FAA authorization before flying, usually requested through LAANC or FAA DroneZone.
- Grand Rapids, Flint, Lansing and towered fields. Gerald R. Ford International in Grand Rapids, Bishop International in Flint and Capital Region International in Lansing are surrounded by Class C airspace. Class D airspace surrounds airports including Coleman A. Young Municipal, Willow Run, Oakland County International, Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Ann Arbor Municipal, Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International, MBS International, Muskegon County, Cherry Capital in Traverse City and Sawyer International near Marquette.
- Unmanned Aircraft Systems Act. Michigan’s Act 436 of 2016 prohibits knowingly and intentionally operating a drone in a way that interferes with police, firefighters, emergency medical, search and rescue or corrections personnel (MCL 259.321), or to harass someone, violate a restraining order or capture images that invade a person’s reasonable expectation of privacy (MCL 259.322). Separately, MCL 324.40111c bars taking game or fish with a drone.
- Local ordinances. Under MCL 259.305, cities, townships and counties may not regulate the ownership or operation of drones unless a statute expressly authorizes it, although they may set rules for their own drone programs. A narrow exception lets communities that ban nonemergency motor vehicles restrict drone flights that interfere with commercial horse activity.
- State parks and recreation areas. The Michigan DNR prohibits flying over occupied beaches, campgrounds, equestrian facilities and restrooms, within 100 yards of a cultural or historical site, and over the Tahquamenon Falls and Palms Book viewing platforms. Commercial flights need prior written permission from the department.
- National Park Service units. Isle Royale National Park, Pictured Rocks and Sleeping Bear Dunes national lakeshores, Keweenaw National Historical Park and River Raisin National Battlefield Park are administered by the NPS. NPS policy prohibits launching or landing drones in these units without a specific park approval.
This summary of Michigan and federal drone rules is for training and is not legal advice. Before each Michigan flight, confirm FAA guidance, state law, local rules and TFRs, and obtain permission from the property owner.
Setting Up Drone Training in Michigan
- Contact us. Share your Michigan location, the number of pilots, their experience and preferred dates.
- Confirm the plan. We settle the curriculum and instructor and check nearby airspace, such as the Detroit Class B or Grand Rapids Class C, plus the open space at your site.
- Train at your site. Ground school and supervised flights happen at your Michigan facility in the weather and surroundings your crew works in.
Get Drone Training for Your Michigan Crew
From a Detroit engineering office to a Grand Traverse orchard or an Upper Peninsula county agency, our instructors come to you.
Courses in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Flint and northern Michigan. Call 1.818.255.0406, email info@droneuniversities.com or get in touch online.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is FAA certification required for commercial drone flights in Michigan?
Yes. Work flights in Michigan are governed by the FAA Small UAS Rule (Part 107), which requires the pilot in command to hold a Remote Pilot Certificate earned through the aeronautical knowledge test and the drone to be registered with the FAA. Read the FAA’s remote pilot certification guide; our Michigan courses prepare you for the exam.
Can a Michigan city or township ban drones?
Generally, no. MCL 259.305 bars political subdivisions from regulating the ownership or operation of drones unless a statute expressly allows it. FAA rules continue to apply, and taking off from or landing on private property requires the owner’s permission.
Can I fly in the Detroit area?
Often, with some planning. Much of Metro Detroit sits under the Detroit Class B airspace, and Coleman A. Young, Willow Run, Oakland County International and Selfridge have Class D areas. FAA authorization is required in controlled airspace, and facility map altitudes near airports can be very low.
Are drones allowed in Michigan state parks?
The DNR does not ban drones outright, but it prohibits flights over beaches in use, campgrounds, equestrian facilities and restrooms, near cultural or historical sites and over the Tahquamenon Falls and Palms Book platforms. Commercial flights require written permission from the DNR first.
What locations work for Michigan training?
At your Michigan site. We train at offices, plants, job sites, farms, campuses and public safety facilities. If you lack a suitable flight area or are close to a towered airport, we will help locate a practice area nearby.
How do I book a Michigan drone course?
Submit a training location request or call 1.818.255.0406 with your Michigan location, group size and dates, and we will reply with an instructor, an agenda and a schedule to approve.
