Week 04 · overview
Week 04: Propulsion, Lift, and Motor Matching
This week, you will build propulsion tradeoff note for a bounded Drone Engineering scenario. The work stays in classroom-safe analysis, supplied evidence, simulation, planning, and documentation. It does not authorize real flight or unsupervised hardware work.
The engineering problem
A team wants longer flight time by installing larger propellers on the same motors.
The core idea is that lift is produced by a matched propulsion system, not by one magic part. Students will connect that idea to motors spin propellers, propellers accelerate air, ESCs regulate motor power, and batteries supply current within limits.
Evidence you keep
| Sequence | Evidence artifact |
|---|---|
| Lesson 1 | Mechanism explanation and first evidence table |
| Lesson 2 | Boundary note and no-go or revision condition |
| Lesson 3 | Review-ready decision table |
| Flight Log | Propulsion tradeoff note with limitation statement |
Vocabulary and decision lens
Important language this week includes: system boundary, evidence, limitation, no-go condition, revision rule, and propulsion, lift, and motor matching.
Decision lens: do not approve a propulsion change unless the full motor-prop-ESC-battery chain is within supported limits.
Approximate time: 3 to 4 class periods, about 160 to 200 minutes of reading, analysis, evidence writing, and review.