This Las Vegas company wants to certify you to fly drones — VIDEO

In the back of a warehouse in Henderson, Aerodrome is set up to be a place where those interested in jumping into the unmanned aircraft systems industry can start their journey by becoming a certified pilot.

Whether it’s flying a drone commercially or learning how to fix them, the company offers a fast-paced option for people who want to jump into the industry sooner than later.

“This is focused on people who want to get a job in six to nine months, not 12, 18, 24 or 36 months,” says Jonathan Daniels, president and chief compliance officer of Aerodrome. “It’s relatively intensive. It’s very compressed or intense.”

Aerodrome doesn’t just house a certificate program to train future pilots. It is also developing a drone airport in Boulder City.

“Essentially, we are a teaching airport,” Daniels adds.

Aerodrome was created on the notion that drones will provide future jobs, meaning people need to be ready for future employment opportunities.

Daniels has been working with drones since 2002, with most of his work being on the military side.

Over the next decade, he learned to fly various sizes and types of unmanned aircraft systems.

Daniels eventually made it to Southern Nevada and began teaching courses on unmanned aircraft systems at UNLV. He also runs Praxis Aerospace Concepts.

But it’s more than just students who have eyes on the industry.

Aerodrome started in December 2014 as a way to teach people from any background about drones, allowing them to earn multiple certifications that meet manufacturer and Federal Aviation Administration standards.

Even though the program is primarily designed to be a form of workforce development, people have participated in the program for recreational purposes, as well.

Seventy-five people have gone through the course, taught at facilities in Henderson and Boulder City. There is also a satellite campus in Detroit.

The certificate program at Aerodrome is a nine-week course — eight hours a day for five days a week.

Daniels says if people are looking to break into the industry immediately, this is an alternative to going to school for four or five years to get a degree.

“The funny thing is you could have someone who has a degree in engineering and can build an airplane,” Daniels says, “but it’s not flyable until a 20-something with an FAA certificate comes over and says, ‘Yes, you’re still good.’ ”

Some engineers who are frustrated by this have been drawn to the certification program as well.

Daniels can work with people with various levels of experience, regardless of background.

“Even if you took something like auto shop in high school,” he says, “I can take you and in a few weeks, you’re working with aircrafts.”

Part of the curriculum goes over the history of drones and their commercial potential.

“A lot of people think of drones as predators or reapers flying above them,” says Joanne Leming, the director of education for Aerodrome.

But there are numerous uses for drones, she said. Professionals from industries from real estate to photography have incorporated drone technology into their work.

“They can fly over the house and get views they weren’t able to get before,” Leming says, referring to Realtors who have used drones. “It brings the types of presentation they do to a whole new level.”

When people have completed the program, they have the potential of receiving multiple certifications.

“You have the green and the blue,” he says. “The green is for the maintenance side and the blue is for the flight side.”

The program has attracted everyone from Ph.D.s in engineering to retirees interested in the field; Daniels says he even has a lot of dentists who have gotten into drones as a hobby.

He adds many of the people who have been coming through the program are out of state.

“Which is funny because you’d think (Las Vegans) would take advantage of something in their backyard,” Daniels says.

To go along with the curriculum, Daniels says Aerodrome needed a place for people to fly drones. Under federal law, pilots are prohibited from flying drones within 500 feet of an airport.

With McCarran International Airport in the center of town — along with smaller airports in Henderson and North Las Vegas — it is hard to find a spot that works.

“We needed a permanent location,” he says. “And you don’t want to train someone (to fly drones) over a million-dollar house.”

Aerodrome is undergoing certification to turn a strip of land in Boulder City into a drone airport. The process began in December and the Aerodrome has already been able to overcome some hurdles.

“We have a 50-acre area designated as a droneport,” Daniels says. “We are allowed to fly in there. We’ve done the coordination with the airport. We are in the proper airspace.”

The company already has approval to allow hobbyists to fly, but that’s just the beginning. Daniels sees the droneport as being a smaller airport that companies could use commercially.

“But it is a long process to become an airport,” Daniels says.

As they work on overcoming hurdles, Daniels continues to get future pilots and other prospective students connected to Aerodrome.

“It’s a new career field and we want (Aerodrome) to be the gold standard,” Daniels says.

Contact reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5201. Follow @mjlyle on Twitter.