Subject and Course Guides: Drones at UTA Libraries: Home

Drone Club

Spring 2023: We meet (most) Tuesdays and Fridays at the following times:

4:00-5:00 Drone flying at the MAC, room 133

5:00-6:00 Drone building, repairing and programming at The Studios, Central Library room 122b

Drone Club Blog Posts
Get the latest updates on Drone Club activities on our blog.

Drone Lending

As of Summer 2021, UTA Libraries offers drones for lending. UTA faculty, staff and students may borrow one of our drones after completing a free training course and supplying a certificate of completion, a drone borrowing application, and a liability waiver.

We presently have three Snaptain S5C quadcopters available for borrowing. As new drones become available, they will be listed here.

Snaptain S5C FHD Quadcopter

Easy for beginner
80m control range
Voice control, 360 degrees flip, and Gravity Sensor control
720p Camera

10-minute fly time per fully charged battery (2 included)

Drone Lending Policy, Application and Liability Waiver
Drones are increasingly becoming part of everyday life, used in research, transportation, the arts, engineering, news reporting, law enforcement, entertainment, and much more. Drone piloting experience, as well as skills with onboard technologies like sensors and cameras, will become ever more in-demand as new possibilities for drone use emerge in the marketplace. University Libraries are exploring new ways to integrate drones into campus life and are considering possibilities for students, teachers and staff on campus to gain experience with drone piloting. Here at the UTA Libraries we want to be on the forefront of making drones accessible to students, especially those who would not normally have access otherwise. Through our lending program students can borrow drones for recreational purposes and gain experience piloting them. Various applications for drones are still being discovered and this lending program will inspire students to create new ideas and ways to use this emerging and developing technology.

Drone Training

At this time, UTA Libraries is not offering FAA-recognized drone training or certification. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launched it's own drone safety training network in June 2021, and all recreational flyers must complete their online training before flying their drones outdoors. UTA Libraries is not part of the network of official FAA training partners, but we will accept an official training certification from any of the official FAA partner sites. These trainings sites are listed in the link below.

We encourage anyone at UTA to come learn to fly during our drone club flying hours. You can bring your own drone, or fly one of ours! We provide hands-on drone flight training in a safe indoor gymnasium with high ceilings. Meeting times vary by semester, please contact librarydrones@uta.edu for the most recent drone club hours.

We are also available by consultation outside of drone club flying hours. Contact us for an appointment!

All of our activities are for recreational flyers and we adhere to the FAA guidelines for recreational flyers. We welcome the expertise of those with certification to join our meetings too!

The Recreational UAS Safety Test (TRUST)
All recreational flyers must pass an aeronautical knowledge and safety test and provide proof of test passage (the TRUST completion certificate) to the FAA or law enforcement upon request. The FAA's 2018 Reauthorization Bill (PDF) introduced new requirements for recreational pilots (see P.L. 115-254, Section 349 (PDF) – exception for limited recreational operations of unmanned aircraft).
FAA Recreational Flyers & Modeler Community-Based Organizations
Many people assume that a recreational flight is one that is not operated for a business or any form of compensation. But, that's not always the case. Financial compensation, or the lack of it, is not what determines if the flight is recreational or commercial. The following information can be used to help you determine what rules you should be operating under. Remember, the default regulation for drones weighing under 55 pounds is Part 107. The exception for recreational flyers only applies to flights that are purely for fun or personal enjoyment. When in doubt, fly under Part 107.

Commercial Pilot Certification and Licensing

UTA Libraries does not offer any training, certification or licensing for commercial UAV pilots. However, we do have commercially licensed staff members who can provide basic consultation on the certification and licensing process. For more information, please refer to the FAA website: https://www.faa.gov/uas/commercial_operators/become_a_drone_pilot. Contact librarydrones@uta.edu to schedule a consultation.

Support for Course Work

The UTA Libraries supports faculty by offering cutting edge creative technology for use in your courses, expertise to teach and train your students, and curriculum designers to help you integrate the technology into your assignments. We have a robotics and electronics studio with the equipment for circuit design, soldering and more. The CREAT Studio also features a 10' x 10' drop down safety cage for testing and troubleshooting drones and other robotics. Any faculty who wish to incorporate drone technology into their course work may contact librarydrones@uta.edu to schedule a consultation with an experiential learning librarian.

UTA Libraries offers Experiential Learning Faculty Fellowships to support course integration of our creative technologies, including drones.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Am I allowed to fly a drone for my UTA research?

In general, students may use drones (including those borrowed from UTA Libraries) for their course assignments by following the rules for recreational flyers. The only space for outdoor recreational flight on UTA's campus is the intramural sports fields on the corner of Park Row and Fielder, Monday - Thursdays: 6 p.m. - 11 p.m. or with permission during other times. Contact campusrec@uta.edu.

For funded research and programs, pilots require a commercial UAV license and permission from the University. Pilots may borrow our drones once those conditions have been met, otherwise they too must adhere to the rules for recreational flying. This is a matter of federal law and the libraries can not provide advice on which category your reasons fall under (recreational or commercial). Please read the full UTA drone policy and request permission for drone-related research activity on the UTA Environmental Health and Safety Website:

Full UTA Policy on UAVs (Drones) and Outdoor Flight Permission Form
UTA's Department of Environmental Health and Safety provide policy oversight and authorization for outdoor drone activities, including aerial photography, on UTA's campus.

Where is Allan Saxe Parkway?

If you have gone in search of UTA's intramural sports complex at 1100 Allan Saxe Parkway, but instead find yourself at the Arlington land fill, you have not gone insane. There are two things called Allan Saxe Parkway in Arlington. Drive yourself back to the parking lot of the intramural sports fields at the corner of Fielder and Park Row, and there you will see that the parking lot is also named Allan Saxe Parkway.

So then, where exactly am I allowed to fly?

Glad you asked! Please use the B4UFly app available in the usual places. It is the FAAs official app for recreational flyers to find legal places to fly.

All of Arlington is a no-fly zone for recreational flyers, but there are some nice parks to the west. I recommend Mallard Cove Park. There are plenty of places near Arlington, just not Arlington. Anyone who wants to fly a drone in Arlington must have a pilots license and permission.