Northwest Aerospace News August | September Issue No. 4 | Page 33

Operating the ScanEagle
Piloting or operating a
ScanEagle requires specif-
ic training. Tremain said,
“Trainees goes through an
intensive 10-week course
to learn how to operate
the ScanEagle. They are
taught emergency proce-
dures; aviation and air-
space rules; maintenance;
and how to best fly intel-
ligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance missions
to remain undetected.” He
said that those skilled in
operating the ScanEagle
are called Operators and/
or Field Service Represen-
tatives (FSRs). They have
an opportunity for growth
to specialize as a mission
commander — maritime
or land — overseeing all
operations that Insitu’s
ScanEagle can conduct,
including operations and
maintenance.
Managing ISR missions with the
U.S. Coast Guard
Tremain explained that with each of
the USCG ships, a team of four oper-
ators is sent (currently eight ships, 11
to be built). The team is deployed for a
year, which is broken up into segments
of one to six months at a time. “The
Coast Guard offers shorter deploy-
ments even though the commitment is
still one year. Our operators are from
the civilian sector and many have a
military background. They are trained
and deployed as personnel of Insitu.”
AUGUST | SEPTEMBER 2018 ISSUE NO. 4
33