Available from January 2027 · Kristiansand, Norway

Umutcan Ortakci

UAV Pilot & Flight Test Engineer

Pilot in command of four UAV types at Baykar, including the Bayraktar TB2 and KALKAN, with flight test and instructor pilot work. Electrical and electronics engineer by degree, with a habit of tracing faults to their root cause.

  • 4UAV types flown as pilot in command
  • 2types taught as instructor pilot
  • 2programmes in developmental flight test
  • 3platforms’ training documents I wrote or revised
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Umutcan Ortakci with his arms folded at a defence fair, wearing a Baykar T-shirt and a fair lanyard
IDEF 2025 · Istanbul
Next waypoint
Kristiansand ENCN
Available
From Jan 2027
Right to work
Full, no permit needed
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01Profile

About me

I am a UAV pilot at Baykar Technologies. Since December 2024 I have flown four UAV types from the ground control station, in training, test and demonstration flights, by night, in rain and in strong wind.

On two programmes I have flown developmental test sorties to test cards, after test readiness reviews and under go/no-go criteria, having installed and calibrated the flight test instrumentation myself. On two types I am an instructor pilot, teaching theory, simulator and flight courses to military and government crews, including international trainees.

My degree is in electrical and electronics engineering, taught in English, and it shows in how I work: faults get traced to root cause across CAN bus, RS-232, RS-422 and Ethernet, from schematics and telemetry. Before Baykar I worked in Lithuania for Ford Trucks and HELLA.

At a glance

Now
UAV pilot, instructor and flight test at Baykar, Keşan, Türkiye
Next
Kristiansand, Norway, from January 2027
Right to work
Full, as an EEA citizen’s family member; no permit or sponsorship needed
Open to
Drone pilot, flight test, test engineering and electrical engineering roles
Licences
EU A1/A3 drone pilot (Luftfartstilsynet); driving licence B
Languages
Turkish native, English fluent, Norwegian A1 and learning, Lithuanian basic

02Experience

Flight log

From electronics test benches in Lithuania to the ground control station.

  1. UAV Pilot (instructor pilot and flight test)

    Baykar Technologies · Keşan, Türkiye

    NowDec 2024 to present

    • Pilot in command at the ground control station on four UAV types: training, test and demonstration flights, including night, rain and strong wind.
    • Flight test on two programmes, including the Bayraktar KALKAN: test cards, test readiness reviews and go/no-go criteria; flight test instrumentation installed, calibrated and troubleshot; telemetry, payload and system health monitored live.
    • Instructor pilot on two types: theory, simulator and flight courses and their exams. I wrote or revised almost all of the English training documents for three platforms.
    • Readiness and repairs: pre-flight inspection and calibrations, RF data link set-up, payload checks, part replacements and simple repairs; field software and firmware updates verified with version checks.
    • Demonstration flights for visiting delegations, Teknofest exhibitions and ship-based deck trials.
    • Bayraktar TB2
    • Bayraktar KALKAN
    • Flight test
    • Instruction

  2. Technical Support Assistant

    Ford Trucks (Ford Otosan) · Vilnius, Lithuania

    May 2024 to Nov 2024

    • Link between factory engineering in Türkiye and the Lithuanian service teams; owned warranty and diagnostic cases end to end.
    • Hands-on diagnostics and electronic system checks on heavy trucks.

  3. Electronics Engineering Intern

    HELLA, test and validation team · Kaunas, Lithuania

    Jul 2023 to Oct 2023

    • Built a Python tool that automated test reporting and the data transfer to servers in Germany, making delivered validation reports consistent and repeatable.

  4. Electronics Engineer Intern

    Flexkon · Istanbul and Kaunas

    May 2023 to Sep 2023

    • Panel wiring, electrical integration and commissioning tests on a PLC-based conveyor line at a Mondelez factory.

03Selected work

On the aircraft and on the bench

Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aircraft

Type course · Operations · Training flights

Bayraktar TB2

A four-month type course from December 2024, then TB2 operations as pilot in command at the ground control station.

Bayraktar KALKAN VTOL unmanned aircraft

VTOL · Flight test · Instructor pilot

Bayraktar KALKAN

Developmental test sorties flown to test cards, then instructor pilot: theory, simulator and flight courses for new crews.

Fault isolation

An intermittent servo fault, found

Seen in flight and only sometimes on the ground. After a month of searching with the team, I traced it to electromagnetic interference from another avionics unit. The redesign that followed fixed it.

Upset recovery

A spiral dive, recovered

I spotted it in the telemetry and recovered the aircraft with manual control and trim from the ground control station.

My own app

DroneOps Manager

An offline-first app that takes a drone operator through the EASA SORA process for an operational authorisation. Google Play release awaiting approval.

04Capabilities

What I bring

Flight operations

  • Pilot in command at the GCS
  • Night, rain and strong wind
  • Lost-link and GNSS-denied procedures
  • Weather, NOTAM and site risk
  • Briefs and debriefs, every flight

Flight test

  • Test cards and readiness reviews
  • Go/no-go criteria
  • Flight test instrumentation
  • Live telemetry and payload monitoring
  • Flight log analysis

Electronics

  • CAN bus, RS-232, RS-422, Ethernet
  • Avionics and GCS fault finding
  • Schematics and multimeter
  • Basic soldering
  • Power electronics (buck converters)

Instruction

  • Theory, simulator and flight courses
  • Exams and training records
  • Checklist reviews
  • English training documents for three platforms

Software

  • Python: log parsing, reporting automation
  • SQL and Linux
  • DroneOps Manager (EASA SORA)
  • Field software and firmware updates

Languages

  • Turkish: native
  • English: fluent, daily working language
  • Norwegian: A1, learning
  • Lithuanian: basic

05Education

Degree and certificates

Jul 2023

BSc Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Karabük University, Türkiye

English-taught programme; honour student; thesis on buck converters (DC-DC power conversion).

2021 to 2022

Erasmus exchange

Lietuvos Inžinerijos Kolegija, Kaunas, Lithuania

  • EU A1/A3 drone pilot proof of competency

    Luftfartstilsynet · online training and exam

    Oct 2026

  • UAV type, flight test and instructor pilot training

    Baykar Technologies · TB2 type course (4 months), KALKAN VTOL type and flight test training, instructor pilot training

    2024 to 2026

  • CS50x: Introduction to Computer Science

    HarvardX · verified certificate · Verify on edX

    Jan 2021

  • CS50P: Programming with Python

    HarvardX · verified certificate · Verify on edX

    Oct 2022

06Contact

Arriving in Kristiansand, January 2027

Open to drone pilot, flight test, test engineering and electrical engineering roles in Norway. Full right to work as an EEA citizen’s family member, with no permit or sponsorship needed. Video interviews at any time.

Email me Download CV

Flight plan

KEŞANTürkiyeNow
ENCNKristiansand, NorwayJan 2027
Status
Open to work
Permit
Not needed
Interviews
Video, any time