Blue whale survey| A trillion-dollar low-altitude economy has given rise to a craze for “flying hands”: the price is nearly 10,000, and some organizations want to expand the number of teachers by 10 times, with a career gap of one million

Photo source: Visual China

Blue Whale News, March 7 (Reporter Li Zhuoling)Behind the trillion-level low-altitude economic track taking advantage of the momentum, as a stepping stone to enter the industry, flying hand research has gradually become popular.

“Since the new pilot certification service was added in November last year, we have received more than 50 registrations and more than 20 have passed the exam. rdquo; A staff member at an established car driving school in Hangzhou who is doing drone driving training across borders told Blue Whale News.

Photo source: Provided by interviewees

In Guangzhou, more than a thousand kilometers away, Wen Chaoxiang, principal of Guangzhou Huangpu Flying School, who has been in the drone driving training industry for eight months, told Blue Whale News that“There are a lot of students enrolled this year, and the faculty team is currently being expanded. By the end of the year, the faculty will be expanded by about 10 times.”

It is reported that the official name of the pilot is unmanned aerial vehicle operator. According to data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China, as of June 2024, the number of drones registered in real names nationwide has reached 1.875 million, and the number of drone pilot licenses issued has exceeded 225,000. It is also estimated that the employment shortage for drone operators is as high as 1 million.

Behind the craze for textual research, Blue Whale News has recently gone deep into the front line to find out what is the current training cycle, fees, and supply and demand situation of pilots.

Training institutions flock to the crowd, and the difference in CAAC certificate training fees is thousands

Low-altitude economy refers to the economic form derived from low-altitude flying activities of civilian manned or unmanned aerial vehicles below 3000 meters, relying on low-altitude airspace. According to calculations by CCID Consulting, the scale of my country’s low-altitude economy is expected to reach 859.17 billion yuan in 2025, and it is optimistic that it will exceed one trillion yuan by 2026.

For most people, obtaining a CAAC license is the first step to entering such a large track. People from a number of training institutions told Blue Whale News that taking a CAAC license is similar to taking a car driver’s license. There are theoretical and practical examinations. Generally, you can get a license as soon as a month, but you have to come every day, which is much more difficult than taking a car driver’s license. My hands, eyes, and brain are tired, and the cost is more expensive.

Photo source: Provided by interviewees

It is reported that the CAAC license is a civil unmanned aerial vehicle operator license issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China and is applicable to drone control nationwide. According to the “Interim Regulations on the Flight Management of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles” that officially came into effect on January 1 last year, personnel flying small, medium and large civil unmanned aerial vehicles must have corresponding licenses.

Blue Whale News learned from multiple training institutions that there are currently multiple levels of CAAC licenses, mainly divided according to the weight and flight distance dimensions of the drone.

Classification according to the weight of the empty aircraft, one category is a micro drone, and the empty aircraft weighs no more than 250 grams; the second category is a light drone, and the empty aircraft weighs between 250 grams and 4 kilograms; the third category is a small drone, the empty aircraft weighs between 4 kilograms and 15 kilograms; the fourth category is a medium-sized drone, and the empty aircraft weighs between 15 kilograms and 116 kilograms. nbsp; Divided according to weight, there is no need to verify the first and second categories, and corresponding licenses are required for categories 3 and 4. In other words, if an empty aircraft weighs more than 4 kilograms, a license will be required.” rdquo; According to a staff member of a training institution told Blue Whale News.

According to the flight distance, it is divided into in-sight-of-sight flights (i.e. pilot’s license) and over-the-horizon flights (i.e. captain’s license). Among them, in-line-of-sight flight means that the operator can directly visually observe the position and flight status of the drone within a flight altitude of 120 meters and a flight distance of 500 meters; over-the-horizon flight means that the operator cannot visually directly observe the drone, usually requires relying on other technical means (such as cameras, sensors, ground control stations, etc.) to monitor the flight.

Wen Chaoxiang told Blue Whale News that based on weight and flight type, CAAC licenses are currently divided into four levels, including small in-range visual range, small over-the-horizon, medium in-range visual range, and medium over-the-horizon. At present, there are many people taking the medium-sized over-the-horizon exam in the industry. The license can be backward compatible, but not upward. For example, if you take the medium-sized over-the-horizon exam, you can control a small-sized exam, but not the other way around. rdquo;

In terms of fees, Blue Whale News survey found that there is no uniform standard in the industry, and various training institutions offer different prices, and the difference may be around several thousand yuan.Take the currently popular medium-sized over-the-horizon licenses as an example. Some offer 9800 yuan and include accommodation, while others offer tens of thousands of yuan.

The above-mentioned Hangzhou Driving School staff who conducts drone driving training across the border told Blue Whale News that after taking the captain’s certificate (i.e. over-the-horizon), you can also continue to take the instructor’s certificate. The latter is the highest level of license in CAAC and requires more than 100 hours of captain experience and more than two years of work experience. After becoming a teacher, you can train pilots and captains. You can apply for a job at our training institution. However, this license examination is the most difficult and costly one. The current registration fee is 24,000 yuan. rdquo; However, there are also training institutions offering prices of around 20,000 yuan.

There is no standard for large-scale drone license certification, and some institutions are targeting eVTOL companies to outsource training business.

However, according to industry insiders pointed out to Blue Whale News, for eVTOL (Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing Aircraft), an important carrier of low-altitude economy, there are currently no standard for obtaining licenses for large (more than 150 kilograms) drones, including manned and carrying. Nothing.

He Xiaopeng, chairman and CEO of Xiaopeng Automobile, also recently suggested that the Civil Aviation Administration should carry out relevant research as soon as possible to supplement and improve existing regulations and procedures related to pilot management to prepare for the safe and smooth operation of the aircraft. Specific measures include establishing a new eVTOL aircraft pilot classification and grading certification system, adding eVTOL aircraft driver license category levels to existing licenses, etc.

According to Blue Whale News, reviewing the current eVTOL product parameters, it is found that the maximum takeoff weight of Yihang Intelligent’s EH216-S aircraft reaches 650 kilograms; Yufeng Future’s M1 eVTOL reaches 2.5 tons; Fengfei Airlines ‘V2000CG has a maximum takeoff weight of 2 tons, etc.

When Blue Whale News interviewed a number of eVTOL companies, it was learned that the route they used was basically unmanned. Although they did not require a pilot, they still needed a pilot to monitor the aircraft.“Currently, we are very concerned about the cultivation of drone pilots, especially large and medium-sized ones.”。

Regarding whether the CAAC certificate training promoted by the above-mentioned training institutions is suitable for the eVTOL industry, a leading eVTOL executive said,“This is a certificate for consumer-grade, industrial-grade, and industry-grade drones. It is not the same thing as our manned aviation, and the difference is very big. rdquo;

As for the current eVTOL pilot requirements, the executive pointed out that a complete set of personnel training system and professional talent recruitment standards will be established based on the commercial operation certificate obtained by the company, which is based on the commercial operation certificate we have obtained, and the supporting certificates issued by relevant pilots; generally, the recruitment will be completed and the company will arrange for overall verification. rdquo;

“Since there is no standard for obtaining certificates for large-scale drone licenses, the current plan is to let (eVTOL) companies train themselves and issue certificates themselves. Several leading eVTOL companies plan to outsource training. We have also been making preparations before, but the policy changes quickly and we have to wait for the opportunity.” rdquo; Wen Chaoxiang revealed to Blue Whale News.

Is there a million gap yet? The principal of some institutions said that most people’s research is based on the wind outlet

The craze for textual research has brought development on the supply side, and the scale of pilots with one certificate has continued to grow. So, on the demand side, what is the current employment situation and direction of pilots?

According to many training institutions, the current popular employment directions of CAAC certificates mainly include agricultural plant protection, power inspection, film and television aerial photography, emergency rescue, geographical mapping, logistics and distribution, etc.However, since the industry is still in its early stages of development, the current demand is not particularly large, and some people will choose to take a teacher’s certificate to train institutions to find employment.

At the same time, textual research is only the first step, and more depends on follow-up work experience. On a certain recruitment platform, although you can find many recruitments for positions related to drone pilots, the salaries range from several thousand to tens of thousands of yuan, and many positions require several years of relevant experience.

From the industry’s perspective, taking a CAAC license is like taking a car driver’s license. Getting a license can only prove that you have the basic ability to go on the road. However, in actual flight, you will face various complex situations, which will test the skills of the pilot. In other words, there is still a long way to go before getting a certificate to find a good job and getting considerable labor remuneration.

Taking the above-mentioned teacher certificate as an example, a person in charge of a training institution revealed to Blue Whale News that this certificate is expensive and tiring. After obtaining the certificate, the work intensity is high, but the income is actually not high. It can only be said that the job is stable.“Generally speaking, the initial salary after obtaining the highest-level teacher certificate starts at 6,000 yuan, and the salary will increase to about 8000 yuan after about a year. rdquo;

Regarding data predicting that the employment talent gap in the drone operator position will be as high as 1 million, a leading eVTOL company executive told Blue Whale News that this gap is equivalent to the future, and when this time point will come I can’t say.

Wen Chaoxiang also pointed out to Blue Whale News that its training institutions currently recruit a large number of people in Guangzhou.“Among the students who came for the research, about 10% had employment needs and needed certificates to work. Most of the remaining people mainly took a fancy to the low-altitude economic outlet and were optimistic about the development prospects of the low-altitude economy. They hoped to enter this area by obtaining a license. Emerging areas. rdquo;

However, in the eyes of industry insiders, although the craze for textual research has driven the establishment of training institutions, at the current growth rate, there may be a wave of closures at the end of the year, calling on consumers to improve their discernment ability when registering for textual research. According to Wen Chaoxiang’s estimates, there are currently more than 1700 relevant training institutions across the country, with the number increasing by two to three hundred per month. By the end of the year, there may be almost three to four thousand training institutions. It is estimated that by the end of this year, there may be about 10% of the institutions will find it unsustainable. In this context, we are also self-guarding against business risks and hope to lead the self-discipline development of the entire drone training industry. rdquo;