Unmanned Aircraft Systems 1,2 (P) (3321, 3322)    - PILOT COURSE -

Through the use of paper and foam models, students will learn the basics of aerodynamics and flight. Students will understand the different protocols, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or RF, that remote pilots use to communicate with their drones. The Pixhawk, Arduino, or similar microcontroller technology will be used extensively throughout the course, giving the students a hands-on approach to some of the more obscure concepts. By coding the Pixhawk or Arduino (or similar microcontroller), they will learn the fundamentals of procedural and object-oriented programming. Additionally, students will learn how to modify, troubleshoot, and repair a drone.

Students will also become well-versed in all aspects of lab safety. They will complete a number of lab exercises where they will be required to demonstrate their knowledge of how the different parts of a drone work and what steps are needed to fix them when they don’t. Students will learn how to isolate a problem and systematically attempt to repair it. They will also be asked to add task-specific functionality, such as first-person viewing (FPV), to a drone. Students will document and present the steps that were taken to modify the drone.

This course is part of a two-course sequence that will provide students the opportunity to develop student skills and strategies in preparation to sit for the FAA Remote Pilot Certification Exam, Part 107, at the end of the year two course. The students will learn how to synthesize a number of FAA documents in order to create their own study guide. They will learn and practice a number of strategies to help them successfully complete the exam, such as close-reading, test-taking, and studying strategies. Students will also be required to create their own exam and administer it to fellow students. By preparing for the exam, the students will become acutely aware of how important it is to operate a drone safely and within FAA regulations.

Suggested prerequisites for this course are Algebra II (or higher in math), and prior or concurrent enrollment in robotics, computer science or engineering courses. The course is available to all grade levels.