As the British summer warms up just in time for the nation’s school holidays, more and more drone enthusiasts are taking to the skies and exploring countryside and coast from above.

This summer we’re going to see more drones in the sky than ever before. So whether you’re new to the hobby and flying for the first time or a veteran drone pilot, here are some useful resources before you take to the skies and best of all they won’t cost you a penny.

Flying is one of the safest forms of transport; emergencies are rare. But if and when situations do occur, pilots and air traffic controllers have the skills and training to handle them.

Flying is one of the safest ways to travel, with the vast majority of us never experiencing anything other than a straightforward journey. However, in the unlikely event of something going wrong we’re all glad for the skill and training of the professionals whose job it is to look after us.

Ensuring air traffic controllers stay sharp and on top of their game is obviously hugely important in terms of the efficient running of an airport or control centre, but especially so for ensuring safety.

Time at Bletchley, whether as a resident apprentice or a course attendee, is considered to be a formative time in an engineer’s life.

NATS College of Telecommunications Engineering not only trained apprentices, but also provided continuing professional development for existing staff and other companies or countries wishing to take advantage of the comprehensive technical facilities.

A new NATS exhibition space in the National Museum of Computing will open in April 2015.

We spoke to Yaquob Al Mahruqi, an aviation systems engineer, about his time in the UK and what difference his new ‘Air Traffic Safety Electronic Personnel’ qualification will mean for him.

Find out in this video what it’s really like to train and work as an air traffic controller, and what one of our controllers likes best about her job.

Our new 360 degree aerodrome simulator set-up generated so much interest, I thought it would be worthwhile going into a little more detail on the technology and what we’re doing with it.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, but then how would you train engineers to maintain equipment?

The answer lies deep in the green fields of Hampshire, where a unique site plays host to an array of ground based navigation systems that provide a hands-on training experience to all NATS engineers, as well as delegates from across the globe that seek our expertise.