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    © 2020, M3 Drone Training Zone. All rights reserved.
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    About

    M3, your partner since 2015
    1. Home
    2. About

    M3 Drone Training Zone's team is comprised of highly skilled, educated, trained, and experienced RPAS pilots, all holders of Transport Canada Pilot Certificates.

    01.

    Safety

    M3 believes in and promotes safe flying habits. It starts in the classroom to ensure it's applied in the field.

    02.

    CRM

    We believe in reducing human errors by applying crew resource management principles.

    03.

    Professionalism

    We pride ourselves by leading by example. Professionalism starts within our team and we hope to spread this with everyone we come in contact with.

    Our Advanced RPAS Ground School programs are offered all across Canada.

    Our home office is located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, but we prefer to stay on the move! We have held courses in all the following cities, and counting:

    VancouverYellowknifeLondon
    WhitehorseIqaluitFredericton
    EdmonstonMedicine HatMoncton
    CalgaryGrande PrairieCharlottetown
    SaskatoonReginaHalifax
    LethbridgeBrandonQuebec City
    WinnipegKingstonSydney
    KenoraOttawaSt. John’s
    Thunder BayMontrealGoose Bay
    M3 Courses Map

    We currently hold $5MM aviation RPAS liability insurance.

    We believe in flying safely and insurance helps to make sure that no matter the situation, we are covered. This insurance is available to clients upon request. Contact us now for more details!

    Cathedral

    M3 Aerial Productions will provide specialized aerial imaging services, and RPAS Pilot Ground School Training that is considered to be of the highest standards in Canada. Our program will educate pilots to be responsible and proficient RPAS operators and prepare them to write the Transport Canada RPAS Pilot Exams. We will deliver affordable services to help our customers integrate aerial data collection in their operations.

    Matthew Johnson, President of M3 Aerial Productions Inc. is a former member on the board of directors for the Manitoba GIS User Group; a community of dedicated GIS professionals looking towards increased understanding and use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for spatial data management, analysis, and visualization.

    We are members of Unmanned Systems Canada, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting public awareness, education and appreciation for the Canadian unmanned vehicle systems community to itself, to Canadians and worldwide.

    We are members of CARAC (Canadian Aviation Regulation Advisory Council), helping to assess and recommend potential regulatory changes through cooperative rule-making activities in conjunction with Transport Canada.

    We are members of Prince’s Trust Canada, Operation Entrepreneur. Thank you for supporting veteran-owned businesses! Follow Prince’s Operation Entrepreneur @POEMilitary

    RPAS Pilot
    Presenting at Crop Day

    The M3 story starts in 2015, after Matt Johnson, President & CEO, discovers the drone industry and falls in love. In 5 years, M3 has transformed itself from a drone imagery service provider to the industry leader for all things RPAS.

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    Hours of flight between all M3 instructors

    Since the first course, M3 has succesfully trained countless RPAS pilots. On September 22nd, 2019, the first milestone was achieved: 1000 students.

    0
    Number of students who have attended our RPAS Ground School!
    • January 23, 2015

      Discovery of Drones

      Discovery of drones during video editing seminar. Instantly hooked by amazing perspectives.

    • August 1, 2015
      DJI Phantom 3 Pro

      First Drone

      Purchase of DJI Phantom 3 Pro – first drone. The beginning.

    • August 7, 2015
      First Drone Photo

      First Drone Flight

      First drone flight, first picture ever taken from a drone.

    • September 2, 2015

      UAV Ground School

      Graduated from UAV Ground School.

    • September 4, 2015

      Business Name

      Register business name M3 Aerial Productions at companies office.

    • October 30, 2015
      First Tweet

      First Tweet

      First Tweet. Beginning of social media presence.

    • December 30, 2015
      M3 Flying RPAS

      The Fleet Expands

      Purchase AgEagle fixed-wing agricultural drone and DJI Inspire 1.

    • January 30, 2016
      First Winter Flight

      First Winter Flight

      First winter flight

    • March 3, 2016

      First SFOC

      Issued first Special Flight Operations Certificate from Transport Canada.

    • May 19, 2016

      Interview with CBC

      Interview with Caroline Barghout from CBC about Drones revolutionizing Manitoba farming.

    • June 2, 2016

      First International Media Recognition

      First international media recognition by the Commercial UAV News (USA) about using Drones in Precision Agriculture.

    • September 23, 2016

      Recognized by Transport Canada

      Formally recognized by Transport Canada as TP 15263-compliant RPAS Ground School.

    • September 27, 2016

      Featured on Cover of Grainews

      Featured on Cover of Grainews Magazine.

    • October 20, 2016
      Educator Training

      Drone in Education

      First use of a drone in education, grade 9 mathematics at Elmwood High School.

    • November 22, 2016

      Elmwood High School Drone Club

      First meeting of the Elmwood High School Drone Club.

    • January 18, 2017
      Manitoba AG Days

      First Speaking Opportunity

      First speaking opportunity, Ag Days 2017 in Brandon, Manitoba

    • February 4, 2017

      First Public Course

      First public RPAS Ground School course offered through M3 Aerial Productions, held at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. 22 Students!

    • February 5, 2017

      First Student

      First student graduates from the M3 Aerial Productions UAV Ground School.

    • June 30, 2017

      Last Day as a High School Teacher

      Last day as a High School teacher, at Elmwood High School.

    • September 6, 2017

      M3 at Brandon University

      M3 RPAS Ground School is offered as a post-secondary level course, at Brandon University, in Manitoba.

    • January 14, 2018

      100th Student Trained

      100th student trained through RPAS Ground School (Joshua McCallum).

    • May 24, 2018

      Issued First National Standing Special Flight Operations

      Issued First National Standing Special Flight Operations Certificate from Transport Canada.

    • July 18, 2018
      Drone Visionaries

      Matthew Johnson Named Drone Visionary!

      Matthew Johnson is named as one of the Top 7 Drone Visionaries in Precision Agriculture by the Commercial UAV News.

    • August 4, 2018
      M3 in a Guinness World Record

      M3 in a Guinness World Record

      M3 is part of Guinness World Record-setting crop harvest, Children’s Camps International Harvest 4 Kids.

    • November 21, 2018
      Matt in Dubai

      Matthew Johnson Presents as Plenary Speaker

      Matthew Johnson presents as Plenary Speaker at Drones Synergies conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

    • February 4, 2019

      First Full-Time Employee

      Hire first full-time employee, Lt. Col Jovanny Sanchez (Ret.).

    • February 24, 2019

      500th Student Trained

      500th student trained through RPAS Ground School (Bernie Kozan).

    • March 30, 2019

      50th RPAS Ground School Course

      50th RPAS Ground School course, held at the University of Saskatchewan, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

    • May 3, 2019
      Western Drone Show

      Western Drone Show Conference

      Hosted the first Western Drone Show Conference, in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    • September 22, 2019

      1000th Student Trained

      1000th student trained through RPAS Ground School (Darryl Fraser).

    • October 18, 2019

      First Video Featured on TV

      First time M3’s drone video content was featured on American national network television (NBC’ Dateline).

    • November 16, 2019

      First Spanish RPAS Course

      First Spanish RPAS Ground School offered internationally, across North and South American countries via webinar.

    • December 24, 2019
      Phantom 4 & SafeAir

      First Successful Deployment of the ParaZero

      First successful deployment of the ParaZero SafeAir parachute system on a DJI Phantom 4 Professional.

    • January 1, 2020

      M3 & Volatus Aerospace

      M3 partners with Volatus Aerospace.

    • January 21, 2020

      Arden Shibley Solo-Instructs

      Arden Shibley solo-instructs his first Advanced RPAS Ground School course (without Matthew).

    Team Members

    C.E.O. & President, Pilot-In-Command, and Primary Instructor

    Matthew Johnson

    Matthew founded M3 Aerial Productions in 2015, initially as a media productions company.

    In November 2015 we redirected our focus to the precision agriculture sector.  Today we are one of the leading agricultural drone service providers in Canada.

    Matthew was educated at the University of Manitoba where he studied for eight years, obtaining three degrees (BPE, BA, BEd), and has taught mathematics in Manitoba high schools for five years.  

    Matthew served in the Canadian Armed Forces, releasing after 10 years of service at the rank of Captain.  

    Click the image to download the report

    In 2018 Matthew was named as one of the Top 7 Drone Visionaries in Precision Agriculture and made the list of the Top 50 Drone Visionaries in the world in a report by the Commercial UAV News.

    Matthew has personally trained over 1000 commercial drone pilots as the primary instructor for M3 Drone Training Zone, and enjoys meeting and working with new pilots from across the country. 

    Matthew has logged over 600 hours of flight time on RPAS systems.

    Email:info@wordpress-932216-3491285.cloudwaysapps.com

    Curriculum Developer, Instructor, & Pilot-in-Command

    Jovanny Sanchez

    Jovanny brings 25 years of management experience in the aviation industry including the commercial and military sector. He served in the Colombian Air Force for 22 years and retired in 2015 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He performed various roles throughout his career, such as Flight Operations, Safety Management, Risk Management, Quality Assurance, Auditing and Training Development and delivery.

    Jovanny earned a degree in Aviation Management from the University of Colombia Air Force, graduating in 1996, with postgraduate studies in Aviation Safety Management, Security and National Defense, as well as Business Management from the University of Manitoba.

    He gained over 5000 hours in the air aboard the C-337 Skymaster, C-208 Caravan, SA2-37 Schweizer, AC-47, and C-130 Herculese. He also conducted military drone operations as mission commander of the UAV Scan Eagle system in Columbia.

    In the last three years Jovanny has been teaching and developing training programs in the aviation safety field for the commercial and military industry such as, Crew Resource Management, Threat and Error Management, Risk Management, Safety and Quality Management. He now brings his knowledge and experience to M3 Aerial Productions to develop and implement new strategies and best practices.

    Instructor, Flight Reviewer, and Pilot-in-Command

    Lee Dodson

    Lee has a Higher National Diploma in Marine Telecommunications and Radar Maintenance, and is a fully qualified Master Mariner. He is a highly experienced RF & Microwave Radar engineer and surveyor, with over 25 years in the Offshore Energy sector, providing technical support training for RPAS maintenance, survey, inspection, videography and piloting skills.

    After several years managing technical training schools based in Africa and Asia (developing instructor training programs and teaching advanced electronics and telemetry), he now provides RPAS training services for M3 in the the Atlantic Canada region, and is a fully certified Transport Canada Flight Reviewer.

    Lee is originally from the UK and (after travelling the world), has now made Canada and Prince Edward Island his ‘forever’ home.

    Lee is our Atlantic Canada regional lead instructor.

    Advisor & Member of the Board

    Glen Lynch

    Glen Lynch is the current President and CEO of GAL Aerospace, a group of companies specialized in aircraft cabin interiors with offices in Canada, the USA, and Colombia, and with teams dispatched in over 12 countries. He is also the co-founder and President of Volatus Aerospace, an incubator dedicated to the aerospace industry. Prior to his position at GAL and Volatus, Glen spent seven years as President and CEO of Starlink Aviation where he successfully led a corporate transformation resulting in an industry leader.

    Glen is also a current holder of a Canadian and USA Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL) with multiple type-ratings and of RPAS Pilot Certificate.

    A past member of the President’s Council of the National Air Transport Association (NATA), in Washington DC., the advisory board of Air BP for North America, the North American Customer Advisory Board for CAE, and the MACC Foundation, he presently serves on several committees of the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC), and the Board of Directors of the West Island Cancer Wellness Center (WICWC).

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