Don Wiley
Pilot and Videographer
An experienced drone pilot who's been flying drones for over four years and has accumulated over 500 hours and 5000 miles in the air with his aircraft. A retired Navy Chief Petty Officer responsible for the safe operation and maintenance of submarine nuclear reactors for over 20 years, he is no stranger to the challenges of new technologies and safety procedures. Combining the diligence and attention to detail acquired in his Naval service with 20 years in the construction industry as both a design engineer and a Construction Project Manager, Don brings to Gold Wingnut Productions a unique and highly qualified perspective to both drone operations and construction photography.
Don is the founder and current President of the Drone Flyers Club here in The Villages. If you're interested in drone flying and a resident of The Villages you can join the Drone Flyers Club every Tuesday morning at the Soaring Eagle ball field for practice every Thursday morning at the Hogeye Preserve walking trail near Edna's. The club meets the 3rd Thursday of each month at 6:30 PM at the Rohan Regional Recreation Center for our monthly meeting were we discuss current drone topics and provide training on drone related topics.
Most recently, Don has taken on the role as an instructor at The Enrichment Academy in The Villages where he teaches courses in Drone Basics, Flying DJI Drones with DJI Fly, and Advanced flying techniques using Litch fligh control software.
https://districtgov.org/departments/Recreation/enrichment-academy/
No stranger to the teaching podium; during his 20-year Naval career he served two tours as an instructor teaching Nuclear Physics, Nuclear Power Plant Operations for Supervisors and new propulsion plant operators, Electronic and Control Systems Advanced Troubleshooting Techniques, and Electronic Test Equipment Use and Operation. During his years in the construction industry, Don spent hundreds of hours teaching customers and technicians the intricacies of the programming and operations of advance electronic security and CCTV systems.
Working as a photojournalist for four years and submarine periscope photographer for three years, Don is familiar with both the technical and the artistic sides of photography and mixes these skills with his expert drone flying skills to provide quality aerial and ground based productions.
Don is a 14CFR107 Certified commercial drone pilot and a proud resident of The Village of Hillsborough in The Villages, FL.
You can reach Don at don@goldwingnut.com