[mbrameld]

The map reading should be useful for a drone pilot. The "map reading" in a PPL course is mainly focused on identifying airspace, which is critical for a drone pilot. There are apps that help, but you should be able to reference a sectional or TAC and know whether you're legal to fly or not. I would call it a fundamental drone pilot skill. The fact that is disregarded by so many drone pilots is one of the reasons why the license is needed.

[prostoalex]

> identifying airspace, which is critical for a drone pilot

Depends. If you work out of Los Angeles, it’s critical, if your drone business helps the farmers in Kansas or Iowa, there’s not that much airspace variation.

[godelski]

You definitely don't have to know as much about weather for a drone pilot. You aren't flying that far. Sure it doesn't take much distance for weather to become important, but you learn it in a PPL because you have to do cross countries. And if you don't do your weather planning for one of those you can get yourself killed.

[zrobotics]

Plus, all the navigation I learned for my private would be useless for a drone pilot (hard to do much cross country with line of sight). Learning to check notams and read a sectional shouldn't take a reasonable person more than a few hours.

[godelski]

Do you even need to read NOTAMs for drone flights? I figured you just do the rock test https://i.imgur.com/cKqDhPW.jpg

[rascul]

We need more weather rocks in the world.