Foundations of Drone Piloting

This unit introduces students to the foundational knowledge and skills required for safe, legal drone operation, covering federal regulations, airspace and sectional charts, preflight inspections and basic maintenance, fundamental flight maneuvers, and introductory aerial imaging and business considerations. It prepares students to perform controlled basic flights, determine certification/registration needs, and apply weather and airspace constraints in planning—laying the groundwork for advanced operational units that follow.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze sectional charts, airspace classes (including Class A and B), latitude/longitude references, chart supplement entries, and common acronyms to identify operational restrictions and plan compliant flight routes
• Apply federal and state regulatory requirements—including registration, TRUST, and Part 107 considerations—along with maximum altitude, night-flight, and over-people rules to determine certification or registration needs for specific mission scenarios
• Demonstrate safe preflight procedures and basic maintenance tasks (e.g., inspections, propeller replacement, firmware updates), proper remote controller setup, and basic flight maneuvers in a controlled environment
• Evaluate weather factors (visibility, air mass behavior, speed/visibility interactions), common emergency causes, and operational limitations (including flying from moving vehicles and software errors) to make risk-based go/no-go decisions