LEDA NC Chapter Winter 2025 Training Day: A Model for Public Safety Drone Preparedness
By DRONELIFE Contributor Paul Rossi
Law Enforcement Drone Association (LEDA) NC Chapter wrapped up 2025 with a strong showing of capability and collaboration during its Winter Training Day, held December 2nd at Wake Technical Community College’s East Campus. The event brought together more than 40 public safety professionals from across the state, representing law enforcement, fire, emergency management, water rescue, and marine patrol units – all training side by side to strengthen mission-ready UAS operations.
Wake Tech’s indoor public safety simulation facility proved invaluable as cold December weather rolled in, ensuring training continued uninterrupted. The energy remained high throughout the day, with a focus on meaningful hands-on learning rather than passive instruction.
The success of the training reflects the ongoing commitment of the LEDA North Carolina leadership team, including Jon Denotter, John Mills, Walter Britt, and Kimberly Breeden. Their work continues to build one of the most active and professionally connected public safety UAS communities in the country.
Denotter shared after the event, “Our first training event went great today and we want to send a huge thank you to every agency that came out. Today was a perfect example of what teamwork looks like.”
Training Focus: Skills That Matter in the Field
Participants rotated through four structured instructional blocks throughout the day, each focused on developing a different operational competency.
The Drone Surveillance and Tactical Operations session led by Shadowline Training explored flight planning and execution in complex environments, including indoor and urban-style settings. Attendees practiced low-profile maneuvering, sensor alignment, and risk-based decision-making.
The Indoor Flight Operations and NIST Skills Track led by DroneRight and LEDA NC Chapter challenged pilots with standardized testing obstacles designed to measure precision and repeatability. Course layouts encouraged safe risk-taking while reinforcing the importance of consistent flight controls and situational awareness.
A 2D/3D Mapping and Workflow Module led by Propwash Drone Solutions focused on image capture fundamentals and foundational processing steps. Students discussed overlap, blur mitigation, and troubleshooting—key skills for agencies adopting mapping as part of routine response or investigative workflows.
Finally, a DFR and Mission Systems Familiarization Station allowed attendees to interact with a variety of platforms, command systems, and deployment tools. The station gave agencies a chance to assess platforms hands-on and understand how system-level decisions shape operational capability.
Collaboration and Industry Support
This event was made possible by volunteers who donated time, equipment, and expertise. Instruction and operational support came from Ben Poulin of Propwash Drone Solutions, Paul “Buck” Chambers with Heightened Senses, Gabe Patton and Officer Michael Rivers (Goldsboro Police Department) from DroneRight, Chris Lewis and Dan Madigan with Vets to Drones, and Nathan Drake of Shadowline Training, along with support from Nine Ten Drones.
Industry partners also played an important role. Skydio and Draxxon sponsored breakfast and lunch, ensuring participants stayed focused and energized throughout the eight-hour training cycle. Their support highlights the growing alignment between manufacturers and public safety end users as unmanned systems continue maturing into essential response tools.
Why This Matters
As the FAA works toward the next stage of regulatory evolution – including the proposed Part 108 framework – and drone technology rapidly advances in autonomy, detect-and-avoid, sensor fidelity, and deployment infrastructure, continuous training is now mission-critical for public safety UAS programs. The era of one-time training and occasional practice flights is over.
Public safety agencies increasingly rely on unmanned aircraft for real-time decision support, incident command augmentation, tactical response, and evidentiary workflows. Programs must remain informed, connected, and engaged to ensure operations remain safe, legal, and effective.
Nathan Drake of Shadowline Training summarized the day well saying, “What an incredible day of training. The attendees’ energy, questions, and teamwork made the training a [huge] success.”
With strong participation, skilled instruction, and unmistakable momentum, the LEDA NC Chapter Winter 2025 Training Day demonstrated what coordinated public safety drone advancement looks like when agencies, training organizations, and industry unite around a shared mission: building safer, smarter, more capable response ecosystems.
More information on Law Enforcement Drone Association, chapter activities, and future events is available at:
https://www.ledauas.org/about/what-we-do
https://www.ledauas.org/nc