Drone Training in Missouri
Drone training in Missouri delivered at your facility, job site or farm by FAA Certified Flight Instructors who travel to teams from Kansas City and St. Louis to the Bootheel.
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
Missouri Drone Training for Aerospace, Agriculture and River Logistics
Missouri stretches from the Kansas City metro to the Mississippi River, and drone work changes along the way. Crews in St. Louis and Kansas City plan around two Class B airspace areas, farm teams scout corn, soybean and rice fields in the Bootheel, and utility and survey crews work the hills and rivers of the Ozarks. Summer heat, severe spring storms and river fog all shape flight planning.
Our Missouri courses take place on your own ground, whether that is an assembly campus in north St. Louis County, a barge terminal on the Missouri River or a cattle operation in the Ozarks. The classroom portion tracks the Part 107 exam and spends real time on the St. Louis and Kansas City Class B shelves, Midwest thunderstorm forecasting, loading and performance, and how a pilot and observer talk to each other. After that, students fly supervised drills over the actual work site.
Students include aerospace and auto suppliers, river and rail logistics firms, row-crop and livestock producers, rural electric cooperatives, engineering firms and county sheriffs and fire districts. First-time pilots work toward their Remote Pilot Certificate; certificated crews often focus on roof inspection, volumetrics or thermal work. Missouri limits on flights over stadiums, critical infrastructure and correctional centers are covered in class.
Why Missouri Crews Book Drone Universities
Training pilots since 2014
We began teaching drone operators in 2014, and Missouri teams receive a curriculum refined through years of on-site classes.
We travel across Missouri
Instructors come to your location, from Joplin to Cape Girardeau, so you train with the terrain, wind and obstacles of your real jobs.
Your instructor is an FAA Certified Flight Instructor
Every course is taught by FAA Certified Flight Instructors who fly in the airspace around Lambert and Kansas City International and teach it from experience.
Exercises from Missouri jobs
We build drills around your work, for example plant roof surveys in St. Charles County, levee checks along the river or soybean field scouting.
Easy to arrange
Call 1.818.255.0406 or request training online, and we will set dates, crew size and an approved practice area at your Missouri site.
Missouri Metros and Towns Where We Train
We bring on-site drone courses to these Missouri communities and the regions around them:
St. Louis
St. Louis City and County and St. Charles County, beneath the St. Louis Class B airspace around Lambert International, with Class D airspace at Spirit of St. Louis.
Kansas City
Jackson, Clay and Platte county organizations beneath the Kansas City Class B airspace, with Class D airspace at Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport.
Springfield and Branson
Southwest Missouri clients near the Class C airspace at Springfield-Branson National and the Class D airspace at Branson Airport.
Columbia and Jefferson City
Mid-Missouri campus, government and industry clients near the Class D airspace at Columbia Regional and Jefferson City Memorial.
Joplin and St. Joseph
Clients in the southwest and northwest corners of the state, near the Class D airspace at Joplin Regional and Rosecrans Memorial.
Cape Girardeau
Southeast Missouri and Bootheel clients, near the Class D airspace at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport.
Working somewhere else in Missouri, such as Rolla or Sedalia? Let us know your Missouri location and we will plan a course on site. Organizations with sites in neighboring states can also see our Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Iowa and Oklahoma drone training pages. Request a course location »
How Drones Support Missouri Industries
- Manufacturing and aerospace. Aircraft and automotive plants in the St. Louis area, along with their suppliers, fly drones to check large roofs, stacks and exterior walls and to record plant layouts without renting lifts or building scaffolds.
- Logistics and distribution. Distribution operators around Kansas City and St. Louis use drones for roof inspection, yard planning and site documentation.
- Agriculture. Row-crop, rice, cattle and hay operations use aerial imagery to scout fields and review levees and drainage. In Missouri, aerial pesticide work with unmanned aircraft falls under Category 13 Aerial of the Missouri Department of Agriculture applicator rules (2 CSR 70-25.100), along with an FAA Part 137 certificate.
- Utilities and energy. Electric utilities, cooperatives and telecom providers inspect lines, substations and towers across wooded Ozark terrain where ground access is slow.
- Construction and engineering. Missouri contractors and engineers record project progress, measure aggregate stockpiles and build orthomosaic maps for highway work, levee repairs and commercial site development.
- Public safety. Missouri police departments, sheriffs, fire protection districts and emergency managers fly drones for crash and crime scene documentation, river and woodland searches and tornado or flood damage surveys. See our police drone training for agency programs.
Course drills can focus on whichever of these industries your team works in. Missouri employers training a full crew can choose corporate drone training, which combines test preparation with flights at the company site.
Missouri Airspace, State Drone Laws and Park Rules
- St. Louis and Kansas City Class B airspace. St. Louis Lambert International and Kansas City International are the primary airports of Missouri’s two Class B airspace areas. Inside either Class B area, or any other controlled airspace in Missouri, a pilot needs FAA authorization before takeoff, typically requested through LAANC or FAA DroneZone.
- Springfield-Branson and other towered Missouri airports. Springfield-Branson National has Class C airspace. Class D airspace surrounds Spirit of St. Louis, Charles B. Wheeler Downtown, Branson, Columbia Regional, Jefferson City Memorial, Joplin Regional, Rosecrans Memorial, Cape Girardeau Regional, Whiteman Air Force Base and Fort Leonard Wood. Several Missouri towers are part-time, so check the Chart Supplement for the hours each Class D surface area applies.
- Open-air venues and critical infrastructure. Under RSMo 577.800, it is an offense to fly within 400 feet above the grounds of an open-air sports or entertainment facility with a capacity of 500 or more, or within the boundary of a critical infrastructure facility, unless an exemption applies. The section does not apply to commercial operators flying lawfully with FAA authorization in that airspace.
- Correctional centers. RSMo 217.850 bars flying within 400 feet above a correctional center’s secure perimeter fence, or letting a drone contact the facility, without written consent of the chief administrative officer or another listed exemption.
- State parks and conservation areas. Missouri State Parks asks pilots to keep to main, open day-use areas, and photos for professional use or sale go through an approval process. The Missouri Department of Conservation requires a special use permit to launch, land or operate a drone at a conservation area.
- National Park Service units. NPS units in Missouri include Gateway Arch National Park, Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, Ste. Geneviève National Historical Park and George Washington Carver National Monument. Under NPS uncrewed aircraft policy, drones may not launch or land in them without a specific park approval.
Our summary of Missouri and federal drone rules is for training purposes only and is not legal advice. Before each Missouri flight, review NOTAMs and temporary flight restrictions, current FAA guidance and state law, and confirm the landowner or site manager has given permission.
Planning Your Missouri Drone Course
- Send your details. Give us your Missouri location, the number of pilots, their experience and the dates you prefer.
- Finalize the outline. We settle the curriculum and instructor and check the airspace at your site, such as the Kansas City or St. Louis Class B shelves, ahead of time.
- Train on your property. Classroom work and supervised flights take place at your Missouri site under the conditions your pilots normally fly in.
Book Drone Training at Your Missouri Facility
Whether your team works at a Kansas City distribution center, a St. Louis plant or a farm in the Bootheel, our instructors come to you.
Training teams from St. Louis to Kansas City and Springfield. Call 1.818.255.0406, email info@droneuniversities.com, or contact Drone Universities online.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is an FAA certificate required for Missouri commercial drone pilots?
Yes. Business drone flights in Missouri are governed by 14 CFR Part 107, which requires the remote pilot in command to hold an FAA Remote Pilot Certificate after passing the aeronautical knowledge test. Drones over 0.55 pounds must also be registered. See the FAA page Becoming a Certificated Remote Pilot for the process; our Missouri courses prepare you for the exam.
Which Missouri statutes affect drone flights?
Yes. Missouri restricts drone flights over large open-air venues, critical infrastructure facilities and correctional centers. Written consent is an exception, and lawful FAA-authorized commercial flights are exempt for venues and infrastructure. FAA rules continue to govern the airspace over Missouri.
Can I fly near St. Louis or Kansas City?
Yes, with FAA authorization in controlled airspace. Lambert and Kansas City International are each surrounded by Class B airspace, and Spirit of St. Louis and Charles B. Wheeler Downtown have their own Class D areas. Maximum altitudes on the FAA facility maps get lower near the runways, so we show students how to read them and file LAANC requests.
Can I fly at Missouri conservation areas or the Gateway Arch?
Missouri Department of Conservation areas require a special use permit for drones. At Gateway Arch National Park, National Park Service policy prohibits launching, landing or operating drones except in limited, approved cases.
Where are Missouri courses held?
At your site or a location you choose. Recent Missouri classes have met at manufacturing plants, farms, college campuses and fire district training grounds. If your property is too small or sits close to a busy airport, we will help you find a nearby practice field.
What is the best way to request training in Missouri?
Submit our request-a-course form or call 1.818.255.0406 and tell us your Missouri location, how many pilots you have and which dates suit you. We confirm the curriculum, instructor and schedule before booking.
