Lesson 1: Introduction to the Course

Welcome! 

I see so many new faces. What interested you about this class? What’s one thing you’d like to learn about drones? Did you know that any professional who wants to make money flying a drone needs a special license from The FAA to fly one? It’s like a driver’s license, but for drone pilots! And to get that special license, you need to pass a big exam with lots of cool and complex information on it that even plane pilots know. This class is all about helping you learn all of that, and pass that big exam!

Who is this class for? 

If you want to make money from flying a small drone, you would need to get a special  certification from The FAA.

What is the purpose of this class? 

• Learn how to fly drones safely as a drone pilot 

• Prepare to pass the FAA Exam to get certified

• Spark an interest in the Aviation field

What will we learn?

• Pilot responsibilities 

• The core rules of flying 
  How to fly safely   

• Important paperwork  

• How to read pilot maps  

• How the sky is categorized 

• The science of weather

• Radio communication   

• Physics and aerodynamics    

• And so much more!    

By pilot maps, that means we’ll be getting to learn how to read scary maps like this, which is what real life pilots use every day! 

Why does the test cover so much? 

It’s for everyone! So it has to list out every possible scenario. This is for people filming a music video to people monitoring agricultural crops. 

Which topic seems the most exciting to you? 

We’ll cover so much information in this course. Heads up, there’s a lot of memorization and it’s not always easy! Real-life pilots know this stuff, too. We won’t really cover getting cool drone shots or get hands on. But we will prepare you for everything you need to know to pass the test and fly safely, without breaking the rules. But we’re confident that with enough practice, we can learn this stuff, too, and become drone pros.  

What are Drones - And how do they work?! 

Great work! Now, let’s get into our first key term of this class. 

What are drones? A drone is an  unmanned aircraft. It does not have a human pilot, passengers, or crew onboard! It’s almost like a flying robot. Drones have so many nicknames! 

• UA: Unmanned Aircraft 

• sUA: Small Unmanned Aircraft 

• sUAS: Small Unmanned Aerial System 

• UAS: Unmanned Aerial System

• UAV: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle 

We’ll stick to these small drones – 

Hold on – What’s an ‘System’?  

Heads up! Usually, to define one thing, we have to define another thing. There are a lot of layers here! Any time you see me, I’ll be here to help explain any new words that are not too familiar! This class has… a lot of them! It’s time to peel the onion! A system just means everything else you’re using besides the drone - like the remote controller! Basically, the entire set up. And any time you see the letter ‘S’ before a drone’s name, just know it means small – it’s smol!  By the way, we call all the stuff we attach to the drone, like its camera, a ‘payload’! You’ll see this word a lot. So the drones we’ll be learning rules for is a sUA’s – so they’re smol! We’ll keep it simple here and just call them drones. Awesome! And, just to show you a few things drone pilots love: acronyms, checklists, and manuals.

How do drones work? 

Let’s go over a few common components that all small drones have. 

Common Drone Components 

• Motor: A device that uses electricity from the drone's battery to make the propellers spin

• Sensors: Sensors help stabilize altitude and precision

• Landing Gear: A structure that helps you land your drone safely

• Propeller: These blades push the air down so the drone can be lifted up

• Batteries: Special rechargeable batteries to power your drone 

• Cameras: Drones usually come with cameras, or you can attach one to them

Drones also have a lot of other useful parts – like LED lights for you to see at  night, battery level lights, memory card slots, and other features! Every drone comes with a manual, and you can find everything you possibly need to know in there! For example, here’s a diagram from the DJI Air 2 manual.

Nice work! Next up, let’s talk about the devices that let us actually fly the drones – they’re called control stations and data links! 

Data Links are the communication systems that allow the drone and the pilot to share important information while the drone is flying.

Data Links are the communication systems that allow the drone and the pilot to share important information while the drone is flying.

A control station is a high-tech remote controller for a drone. It has buttons and (sometimes) a screen that help you steer the drone, see where it's flying, and make sure it's safe. It's like a command center that lets you tell the drone what to do and keeps you informed about what's happening with it as you're on the ground.

PAYLOAD 

Let’s use the same manual to look at how the controller works for the DJI Air 2 drone. This control station has control sticks, and lets you switch between different flight modes, hover in place, hold a phone, record videos, and so much more!  

Here’s a fun fact! Most consumer drones can fly up to about 4 miles from their controllers.

Pop Quiz!

What are nicknames a drone can go by? 

• Drones

• Potato

• UAS or UAV

• Airplane

• AAW or VHS

Careers and Hobbies

Using your drone in the real world

The Impact of Drones

What do you think of when you hear the word “drone”?

Careers with Drones

Let’s explore career options for certified drone pilots and how drones can play a positive role.  

• Firefighting +  Monitoring: Fighting fires is dangerous! Drones can help us determine the size and direction of a fire and come up with a strategy.  

• Hurricane Tracking: Before drones, human pilots had to fly into the eye of the storm to track hurricanes. Dangerous!  

• Drone Journalism Drones are affordable tools that offer unique, large-scale visual perspectives – from monitoring highway traffic to covering large-scale events.

• First-Responders + Aid: From ambulance drones (no traffic!) to delivering aid and organs to hard-to-reach places!  

• Search & Rescue Missions: Survey large areas quickly and efficiently in response to a disaster, a missing hiker, or someone far away in distress!

• Wildlife Habitat Research:Tracking endangered species, surveying habitat, discovering new species, and monitoring animal behavior without scaring animals away! 

• Drone Deliveries: Cutting back on carbon emissions! 

• Drone Mapping: Using special 3D software, drones can help us map and survey large areas of land!

Creative Uses

Let’s explore creative ways we can use drones! And, make money in creative ways, too. 

• Aerial Photography & Videography: Taking photos and videos from the sky can apply to many different areas! Drones give us new possibilities for storytelling that we’ve never had before! 

• Documentaries: Drones give us new possibilities for storytelling that we’ve never had before! In Chernobyl, radiation levels are so high that no one lives there  anymore. Thanks to drone videography, we’re able to enter inaccessible areas.  

• Creative Services: As a licensed drone pilot, you can sell your services to capture footage of homes for sale or even weddings and outdoor events. 

• Light Shows: Drones are a more eco-friendly and noise-sensitive way to showcase creativity on a large scale than fireworks. 

• Stock Footage: Did you know that you can sell your aerial video and photography clips on websites like Shutterstock and Getty Images? 

• Social Media Content: As a licensed drone pilot, if you want to become a content creator, you can make money from your drone-related content through ad revenue!

• AirVuz Competitions: Did you know there’s a community that hosts competitions for drone footage each week, month, and year? Check out www.airvuz.com for more info. 

• Drone Racing: Drone racing is a sport where pilots fly drones through a course with obstacles as fast as they can. You can join a league near you! 

• Building Community: Through your shared interest in drones, you can be part of a growing community of like-minded people! 

Drone Uses

These are only a few ways we can use drones. 

Which use is your favorite? Remember the jobs? Which job do you remember? What kind of rules and tips do you think they need to know? 

The Steps of Getting FAA-Certified - What the FAA does and how the exam works 

Now, it’s time to dive into details about what the Remote Pilot’s Certificate is and how we can get one. As drone pilots, we need to go through The FAA to get certified! Let’s explore what The FAA does. The FAA is the  Federal Aviation Administration.  They make sure we’re always safe, and create rules for all aircraft flying in the United States. They’re the organization we have to go through to be certified.

FAA Rules

The FAA has different rules for regulating different aircraft. Airplane pilots have to follow a different set of rules that are more intense than drone pilots. And everyone needs to understand safety. The FAA is kind of like the scary the cops of the sky. You want to make sure you know and follow their rules, so you don’t get into trouble! 

The Certificate 

Getting your Remote Pilot Certificate is just like getting your driver’s license! You need to pass a different test to drive a regular car instead of a big truck.

Eligibility

You can get a certificate if you meet the following 5 criteria. 

You need to:

• Be at least 16 years old

• Read, speak, write, and understand English

• Be in good physical and mental shape to safely fly a drone

• Pass the Aeronautical Knowledge test (the Part 107 exam) 

• Pass an automatic background check by the TSA

The Part 107 Exam

To fly a small drone as a certified pilot in the US, you need to pass a specific exam from the FAA – called The Part 107 Exam. If you’ve learned all of these sets of rules, you have to prove to the FAA you learned them by passing a test. The name of the test that small drone pilots take to get FAA-certified is called The Part 107 Exam because we have to follow those specific rules in that specific part. We call it Part 107 for short!

Part 107 Rules

Are For: 

• Flying small drones for non-recreational purposes

• Earning money from your drone missions (including social media ad revenue) 

Are Not For: 

• Hobby or recreational drone missions 

• Flying your drone outside the US 

• Aircraft that’s not a small drone

What can you do with a certificate?

• Sell or monetize your content 

• Fly in more areas  

• Fly a heavier drone

• Apply for waivers to fly into special areas 

• Gain legitimacy and sell your services

The FAA loves giving things long and complicated names, so of course, there are a few official names for this test and set of rules. 

• Long Name: 14 CFR Part 107 Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems

• Short Name: The Part 107 Exam! 

Hold on – What’s ‘CFR’?  

It’s time to peel the onion! 

Nice to see you again! CFR stands for Code of Federal Regulations. They’re a bunch of different rules that the U.S. government sets. Here’s a funny example of a ‘CFR’ we saw at a national park!

Test Information

Here’s information about the Part 107 Exam – and why we’re here! 

• The exam has of 60 multiple choice questions, with three options per question.

• You’re given 2 hours to complete the test, and you can take it a testing center near you. 

• You need to score is 70% or higher to pass!

• And it costs $150 to take each test, so make sure you’ve prepared for it well before you take it! 

• Some questions might require visual references, like pilot maps. They give you a calculator and a book to use – we’ll cover that book next! 

Great job everyone! Now, we know why we’re all here. Finally, let’s talk about that book we just mentioned. 

What’s The Monster Book?

The Airman Knowledge Testing Supplement is the official guide from the FAA to help us pass the test. It has all the important information you need to know, including charts, tables, and diagrams to reference.

We like to call it The Monster Book because it’s dense and heavy! When taking your test, you’ll get a copy of it! 

Wrapping Up!

It’s Reflection Time!

How was your experience today? Put one word in the chat describing it!

Great work! Today, we’ve set the foundations on how you can become a drone pro.