Dutch Drone Academy makes basic A1/A3 drone training free of charge

Drone pilots who, for whatever reason, have not yet completed basic drone training for Open Category A1/A3 can join Dutch Drone Academy (DDA) for free online self-training starting April 1. The training provider reports this in an announcement. The training previously cost 59.90 euros. Students still have to pay for the final exam.

Easily accessible

According to DDA founder Parcival Hofland, the decision to make the basic training free was prompted by the motivation to make informed drone flying as accessible as possible. "Because DDA considers it of great importance that everyone who buys a drone should be able to do drone training as accessible as possible, we have decided to start offering the European Certificate of Flight A1/A3 training for free starting next April 1. So we will cover the cost of the training," said Hofland.

The accompanying exam, however, is not free. For that, the trainer will charge 29.95 euros. This is in connection with the costs for the supporting infrastructure. It is not possible to take the course without also ordering the exam. "The reason we from DDA do like to see students actually take the exam after the course is because we want drone pilots to not only fly safely, but also legally," explains Hofland.

Drone license mandatory

In the Netherlands, since 31-12-2020, it is mandatory to have at least a European drone license A1/A3 to operate in the Open category, unless one is flying drones weighing less than 250 grams. For flying heavier drones, one must additionally have the A2 certificate. There are several training and exam providers in the Netherlands. The cost of training + A1/A3 exam varies between 50 and 100 euros.

The free A1/A3 training can be ordered from Dutch Drone Academy starting April 1. Existing relations of the drone school have already gained access to the offer.

(source: Dronewatch.nl)