SOAR Into STEM Session 4: Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles

By Carmelo Turdo

Wings of Hope hosted Session 4 of their SOAR Into STEM Program Saturday at their World Headquarters in St. Louis. The theme of this session was Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The students were introduced to the world of commercial and military UAVs, designed their own landing pads and flew camera-equipped quadcopters through an obstacle course using an app on their phones. Leading the final regular session in this series was Robert Powell, Education Director for the Challenger Learning Center of St. Louis, with help from a host of volunteer mentors.

The morning activities began with a presentation by two experts in the field of Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles. Elsa Klarich, already known here as a humanitarian services pilot based in Tanzania, is also an accomplished commercial UAV pilot. She provided an overview of the FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Regulations with examples of UAV applications in the civilian sectors where they operate more efficiently and with less environmental impact than manned aircraft. Klarich also discussed flying surveillance UAVs as a civilian contractor for the Department of Defense in Afghanistan. Her current interest, along with flying humanitarian missions in Tanzania, is the development of a UAV to autonomously deliver medical supplies in Ecuador. Connor Heckert, also a current commercial UAV pilot, served as a civilian contractor for Textron operating UAVs in Lebanon and Afghanistan before moving to his current position as Drone Systems Operator for American Robotics in Marlborough, MA. From his base in the northeast U.S., he operates a UAV that flies autonomously on a farm in Kansas to survey crops based on a pre-programmed flight path over a given field. The UAV is designed to take off, fly the mission, land on its base, download data and recharge itself without intervention from the operator. This unconventional off-site management of commercial UAV operations is pushing the industry and regulators to approve more use of a beyond line-of-sight standard.

 

The students prepared for their UAV flights by designing their own landing pads while the obstacle course was being set up in an open area of the hangar.  

After lunch, the student teams were issued their UAVs, the Tello EDU app-based, camera-equipped quadcopter. Once the app was downloaded and communication with the UAV established, a buzzing swarm took to the air. After a little practice, most of the students were landing on their pads and some made it through the hoops of the course.

Session 4 concludes the formal Spring SOAR Into STEM Program, though there is more in store for this class. A career fair is scheduled for next Saturday, April 30, and Discovery Flights will be provided by Elite Aviation on May 7. The Aero Experience thanks everyone involved with the SOAR Into STEM Program, and we will continue to support this and other STEM programs throughout the coming year.