FAA Safety Team DronePro
B. Travis Wright is an FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam) DronePro, supporting the FAA’s mission to strengthen safety culture within the aviation community.
B. Travis Wright is an FAA-certificated Remote Pilot under 14 CFR Part 107 and serves as a volunteer FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam) DronePro supporting aviation safety education. Commercial drone services are offered independently of the FAA.
Aviation Without Shortcuts — Safer Skies Through Education
B. Travis Wright serves as a DronePro Representative with the FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam), supporting the FAA’s mission to strengthen safety culture across the aviation community—particularly within small unmanned aircraft operations conducted under 14 CFR Part 107.
According to the FAA, “DronePros are FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam) volunteers who work closely with the FAA to promote safety in their local area. These volunteers are interviewed and trained by the FAA and are provided with equipment and materials to help them plan events and give presentations. A DronePro may be able to come talk to your students or set up a flight demonstration. The FAASTeam has a roster of DronePros in most states.”
The FAASTeam’s mission is to reduce the nation’s aviation accident rate by conveying safety principles and best practices through training, outreach, and education, while building partnerships that reinforce a positive, self-sustaining safety culture throughout aviation.
As a DronePro, this role reflects a higher-than-average level of operational knowledge in UAS operations and a commitment to serving as a practical resource for pilots navigating regulatory, technical, and risk-management questions. DronePros help pilots resolve real-world operational issues, promote FAA safety programs, and increase awareness of tools such as FAASafety.gov and the FAA Drone Zone—ensuring compliance is approached as a professional standard rather than a reactive burden.
DronePros also participate in FAA-facilitated quarterly webinars reserved specifically for DronePro representatives, where emerging regulatory developments, enforcement trends, integration challenges, and safety initiatives are discussed in detail. Ongoing participation in these briefings reinforces current knowledge, strengthens coordination across regions, and ensures that outreach messaging reflects the FAA’s most up-to-date safety priorities.
“I am the first to admit that the FAA could improve our public outreach, visibility, and knowledge sharing related to UAS operations. However, the ultimate goal of regulation is that industry protect itself from the negative consequences of liable operation. You obviously understand this and are acting as a great ambassador to your community.”
— Federal Aviation Administration, Flight Standards District Office
FAA Safety Team DronePro Outreach
The hardest audience to reach is the one that does not know it needs to be reached.
The real challenge is not the educated remote pilot already attending webinars, reading FAA guidance, and asking better questions. It is the person who bought a drone yesterday, the real estate team trying to get a listing live, the visitor chasing a mountain view, the social-media creator chasing a clip, or the organization that still treats a drone as a camera instead of an aircraft.
Many drone problems begin before anyone realizes aviation rules are involved.
A drone may feel like a camera, but once it leaves the ground, it is operating in the National Airspace System. That is the point many people miss—and it is often the point where a small misunderstanding can become a much larger safety, regulatory, or reputational problem.
DronePro outreach has to meet people at that earlier moment—before bad habits harden, before a business builds a workflow around shortcuts, and before an avoidable mistake becomes the first time someone learns the rules.
Education is most valuable before there is a complaint, a shutdown, or a near miss.
That is the heart of the DronePro role: finding the people who are least likely to walk into an FAA seminar, yet most likely to shape what happens in the airspace. The work is part guide, part early warning system, and part bridge between public curiosity and aviation responsibility—helping people understand what they stand to lose before one careless flight turns access, trust, or safety into the lesson.
OUTREACH AND EVENTS SUPPORTED
As a volunteer FAA Safety Team DronePro, Travis supports regional aviation events by staffing an FAASTeam outreach booth, providing a friendly, practical resource for pilots, aircraft owners, airport managers, local law enforcement, airport visitors, and community members with drone-related questions. These conversations focus on drone registration, Remote ID compliance, airspace safety, responsible UAS operations, and the risk-management considerations that matter in Colorado’s high-altitude mountain environments. In addition to UAS-focused guidance, the booth also offers printed safety materials supporting general aviation, including FAA brochures, safety magazines, educational handouts, quick-reference cards, kneeboard inserts, and other resources intended to help pilots and remote pilots make safer, more informed decisions before they fly.
Events supported include:
- Saturday, July 6, 2024—Annual EAA 1267 Fly-In and Pancake Breakfast, Granby Airport (KGNB)
- Saturday, May 3, 2025—Mountain West UAS Club Monthly Meeting, Buena Vista/Central Colorado Regional Airport (KAEJ)
- Sunday, September 22, 2024—Regional & Vintage Aircraft Fly-In, Steamboat Springs Airport (KSBS)
- Monday, September 8, 2025—Panel Discussion: “It’s Everyone’s Business: UAS Evolution and the Private Sector” | 2025 UAS Roundup Conference, Buena Vista
- Saturday, September 20, 2025—Regional & Vintage Aircraft Fly-In, Steamboat Springs Airport (KSBS)
AVAILABLE FOR PRESENTATIONS & SAFETY OUTREACH
As a volunteer with the FAA Safety Team, B. Travis Wright is available to support aviation safety outreach through presentations, workshops, and guided discussions tailored to a wide range of audiences—including schools, universities, real estate professionals, public agencies, community groups, certificated pilots, and new drone owners. An award-winning historian and experienced presenter whose work has informed regional and international audiences, Travis brings the same discipline to the stage that defines his flight operations: clear, accountable, and grounded in real-world outcomes.
For many, a drone begins as a gift—something received at Christmas, a birthday, or a milestone event. What’s often missing is the realization that the first flight is not just recreational—it is participation in the National Airspace System, with real responsibilities to people, property, and other aircraft.
All instruction is grounded in active, FAA-compliant flight operations conducted under 14 CFR Part 107, where every decision carries real regulatory and safety consequences. These sessions meet audiences where they are, whether they are flying under Part 107 or operating under the recreational exception outlined in 49 U.S.C. § 44809 and related FAA guidance.
Topics may include:
- “Got a drone—now what?”: first-flight considerations, registration, and basic rules
- Understanding the difference between recreational use and Part 107—and when that line is crossed
- Airspace awareness, visual line of sight, and collision avoidance responsibilities
- Common early mistakes that lead to enforcement actions, invalidated insurance, or loss of flying privileges
- The downstream consequences of “cutting corners,” including safety, legal, and reputational impacts tied directly to the operation
- Practical risk mitigation strategies that preserve operational capability while protecting people, property, and other users of the airspace
Drone operations are integrated into the same airspace system used by crewed aircraft, requiring the same discipline in see-and-avoid, situational awareness, and aeronautical decision-making. Most unsafe operations do not begin with bad intent—they begin with incomplete understanding. In aviation, that gap is where risk lives. For new drone owners, that risk may mean loss of flying privileges. For businesses, it can extend to regulatory exposure, invalidated insurance coverage, or reputational damage tied directly to a project. At a community level, repeated unsafe or noncompliant operations can lead to increased restrictions that affect all operators—not just the individual flight. Especially for students and first-time operators, early habits often determine whether a pilot remains compliant—or unknowingly drifts into unsafe practices. These sessions are designed to build that foundation correctly from the outset.
These presentations focus on safety, compliance, and operational decision-making—they are not flight training or certification courses. If your organization, classroom, or team is operating—or planning to operate—drones, a safety briefing now can prevent avoidable risks later.
Requests for presentations or safety briefings are welcome. Contact me.
POLICY, COORDINATION, AND PUBLIC SAFETY OUTREACH
I regularly comment on Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRMs), agency proposals, and related federal actions where unmanned aircraft policy, aviation safety, land management, or public-sector operations are at stake. My comments are grounded in Part 107 experience, FAA safety culture, and field operations across Colorado’s complex terrain and airspace—helping agencies evaluate how proposed rules may work in practice before those decisions become permanent.
I also meet with FAA personnel, sheriff’s offices, land managers, airport managers, and other stakeholders to discuss current UAS issues, operational risk, airspace coordination, public safety, and responsible drone integration. Those conversations are built around a simple principle: early coordination preserves options, reduces preventable conflict, and helps communities avoid safety, legal, and reputational problems after the fact.
FAA SAFETY TEAM DRONEPRO NATIONAL MAP
Map of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) DronePro volunteers across the country who have been interviewed and trained by the FAA to answer the public’s drone-related questions.
AVAILABLE TO PRESENT ON STUNNING VIEWS, STUNNING LIABILITY
Stunning Views, Stunning Liability: Cutting Corners in the Sky Will Cost You on the Ground
B. Travis Wright, MPS – CO/WY FAA Safety Team DronePro
This fast-moving presentation delivers a clear-eyed examination of the risks and responsibilities that accompany drone operations—making explicit that compliance is not optional, regardless of purpose, platform, or profession. Whether flying recreationally, commercially, or in support of public-facing work, remote pilots are accountable for unsafe or unauthorized operations under federal aviation regulations.
Every drone flight leaves a footprint—through imagery, telemetry, flight logs, or other traceable data—allowing operations to be evaluated long after the aircraft has landed. As enforcement tools mature and public scrutiny increases, the margin for informal or assumption-based flying continues to narrow. This session focuses on how to operate in a way that protects people and airspace while also preserving the credibility of the work, the client, and the community beneath the flight path.
The presentation runs under an hour. Most drone operators never receive this level of operational context—and that gap shows when things go wrong. For realtors, content creators, and small business owners, it’s an opportunity to avoid preventable mistakes that can jeopardize compliance, contracts, and reputation before those risks ever materialize.
DRONE SAFETY DAY
Drone Safety Day is a valuable reminder that safe drone flying is built on more than technology—it rests on preparation, judgment, and a clear understanding that every drone operation takes place within the National Airspace System. Whether flying recreationally or under Part 107, responsible pilots should evaluate airspace, weather, temporary flight restrictions, people, property, and local conditions before every launch, then carry that same discipline through the entire operation. That matters because safety is not just about avoiding a bad outcome in the moment; it is what protects public trust, preserves access, and helps ensure the continued freedom to fly.
Find Drone Safety Day events near you!
B. Travis Wright, MPS, submitted Part 107 drone imagery that was subsequently selected by the Federal Aviation Administration for inclusion in its National Drone Safety Awareness Week 2021 media campaign. His aerial photography was deployed nationwide across FAA digital platforms, incorporated into official Zoom backgrounds and smartphone displays, and adopted as the agency’s PowerPoint presentation template for the campaign—positioning regulation-compliant imagery within the FAA’s national safety outreach.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR THE COMMUNITY
Flying in the National Airspace System requires more than knowing the rules—it requires understanding the environment you’re operating within. The resources below span FAA guidance, airspace tools, aerospace forecasts, and operational references that inform real-world decision-making before and during every flight. Whether you’re planning a mission under Part 107 or flying recreationally, these inputs shape where you can fly, when conditions are workable, and how to anticipate changes that aren’t obvious from the ground. The FAA’s framework is built on informed operators making disciplined, data-driven decisions, not assumptions. When these resources are overlooked, what’s missed isn’t just information—it’s the context that keeps a routine flight from becoming a preventable problem.
- FAA UAS Facility Maps
- FAA Aerospace Forecasts
- FAA ADIP (Airport Data and Information Portal)
- FAA DroneZone
- FAA Aviation Weather Center
- FAA UAS Data Delivery System (UDDS)
- FAASafety.gov
B. Travis Wright, MPS • The Wright Flyer • FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot • FAA Safety Team DronePro (CO/WY)
