Denmark's First Approved Drone School
MyDroneAcademy became Denmark's first approved drone school on August 31, 2016. The first class of 8 pilots took their theory exam on September 3rd at Amager Fælled. We went on to train over half of all Danish drone pilots.
On August 31, 2016, MyDroneAcademy was approved by Trafik- og Byggestyrelsen as Denmark's first certified drone school. Two days later, on September 3rd, the first class of 8 drone pilots completed their theory exam at Amager Fælled in Copenhagen. Hans-Jørgen Krickhahn was our first certified instructor.
I co-founded MyDroneAcademy with Andreas Larsen. The timing was right: Denmark's new drone regulation ("Droneloven") had just been enacted, and suddenly every commercial drone operator needed a certificate. There was no school to get one from. So we built one.
The platform
What made MyDroneAcademy different wasn't the instruction. It was the technology behind it. I built a fully automated digital platform that handled the entire lifecycle:
Registration and booking. Students signed up online, selected a course date and location, and paid. No phone calls, no manual scheduling.
Compliance and reporting. The platform tracked every student's progress: theory hours, practical hours, exam results, certificate status. When Trafikstyrelsen (the Danish Transport Authority) needed reports, I could export everything in minutes. Our competitors took weeks for the same reporting.
Digital theory exams via iPads. This was the breakthrough. Students took theory exams on iPads through a custom iOS app. I could monitor each student's screen in real time, lock them to the exam app, and guide them through the educational material. Results were evaluated and logged instantly. Upon passing, students were automatically granted the option to book their practical flight test.
NemID integration. Every pilot needed identity verification tied to their CPR number. The platform integrated with NemID (now MitID) for authentication.
The scale
This automation meant I could run a profitable business with one full-time employee and a handful of freelance instructors. The platform did the work that would normally require an administrative team.
Over the years, MyDroneAcademy trained over half of all Danish drone pilots. Everyone sat on our school bench: private individuals, commercial operators, police, fire departments, the military, Rambøll, Siemens, Søfartsstyrelsen, University of Copenhagen, and dozens of municipalities.
We co-developed the DroneCertificate education program (later phased out and replaced by the EU drone certification framework). When the EU regulations arrived, MyDroneAcademy adapted and remains Denmark's leading drone school today under different ownership.
Ingenøren covered our first class: "Første hold dronepiloter modtager luftens kørekort" (First group of drone pilots receives the air driver's license).