Drone Search & Rescue (DSAR Inc.) was founded in Jan 2019 by 3 commercial drone pilots who recognized the potential for modern commercial drones in Search & Rescue (SAR) operations, and desired to offer no-cost training for pilots as well as establish a national registry of trained commercial pilots willing to volunteer their services. We seek to be a national resource for SAR drone operations, offering training and our services as needed. While SAR is our primary mission, we also offer no-cost training to Law Enforcement on the effective tactical deployment of LE drones.

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What kind of drones do we use for Search & Rescue operations? Good starter drones would be something along the lines of a Spark, Bebop or Breeze. The higher end models would include something like a Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual or Anafi Thermal. A Grid Search is a Grid Search regardless of the specific drone. An FPV Search is an FPV Search no matter the model. We welcome just about any model of drone for training.

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In March 2019 we filed to become a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and were granted that status the following month in April.

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There are currently six members (all commercial drone pilots) on the Board of Directors:

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Bob Pratico (Read about Bob here)

Charlie Stone (Read about Charlie here)

Tom Leedom (Read about Tom here)

Allen Newland (Read about Allen here)

Mani Ravee (Read about Mani here)

John Cagle (Read about John here)

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We offer quarterly training at no cost (although there will be a minimal charge for food and any facilities we need to rent). Our training moves around the SE United States and is limited to a maximum of 20 pilots. All pilots are welcome to train with us regardless of experience. Drones should have the capability of at least a Spark, Bebop or Breeze. While any pilot is welcome to train with us, in the United States you must be a 107 FAA licensed pilot to fly real-world SAR.

 

We are open to travelling to other parts of the United States for training provided someone local organizes it and gathers enough pilots to make it worthwhile (at least 10).

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We maintain a National Registry of 107 pilots that have SAR training and are willing to volunteer their services. The Registry page has a map showing where the registry pilots are located. We do not make the registry list public to prevent spam; one must go through us to reach a volunteer pilot.

 

Use the contact page to reach us. Attached is a handout that summarizes DSAR.

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