Public course syllabus
Drone Engineering
A visible working draft of an 18-week drone engineering pathway covering flight dynamics, propulsion, control, sensing, FAA operations, safety, photogrammetry, autonomous mission logic, and evidence-based mission design. The course is open for learner review while factual, hardware, standards, and classroom validation remain in progress.
Course overview
Drone Engineering is an 18-week semester pathway that connects flight systems, airframes, power, sensors, control, mission planning, regulation, safety, data, and engineering evidence. Instruction uses approved simulation, supplied evidence, and teacher-directed hardware contexts.
Audience and pace
Grades 9–12. The scheduled course runs for 18 weeks at 210 instructional minutes per week.
What you will learn
- Explain how airframe, propulsion, power, sensing, control, and mission requirements interact.
- Plan safe, lawful, and evidence-based drone operations and engineering decisions.
- Diagnose bounded system behavior and defend a mission design with constraints and verification.
Course structure
The sequence moves from drone systems and flight principles through components, power, control, sensing, mission planning, operations, safety/regulation, data, integration, and a mission-design review.
Learning evidence and assessment
Learners create system maps, component and mission decisions, flight/simulation observations, risk controls, and engineering records. Evidence must identify whether it comes from simulation, supplied data, or approved hardware.
Expectations and boundaries
No unsupervised flight, airspace decision, live operation, or hardware modification occurs as course work. Follow all instructor, school, and applicable aviation rules; use simulation or documented analysis where physical operation is unavailable.
Capstone
The Mission-Design Capstone requires a supportable mission plan, system rationale, safety/risk controls, test evidence, and technical defense.
Access and support
The reader and supplied simulation/evidence path support the core course. Hardware work is instructor-directed and has alternative analysis paths.