Table of Contents
Course title: A Comprehensive Course for Drone Operators
Volume of the course: credit points
Proposed volume: 1 semester (suggested spring/summer due to the weather limitations), 3-6 ECTS (practical part scope depending)
Language
English
Abstract
The course contains a comprehensive guide for drone operators, including legal part, introduction to the technical problems (as needed for UAV maintenance), airspace classification and regions/zones according to the worldwide regulations and CAA (Civil Aviation Agencies). The course also describes UAV-related job characteristics and opportunities, description of the hardware needed and opportunities. It also discusses some physiological, social and psychological facts about being a drone operator.
Goals and objectives of the course in terms of competencies and skills
The aim of the course is to provide knowledge on drone operations, their safety, drone maintenance on the user level. Once finished, students may benefit from the following outcomes:
- Be able to understand drone technology in general.
- Be able to understand airspace construction, and related airspace use limits.
- Be aware of the impact of the weather on the operations.
- Understand the impact of human physiology and psychology on the UAV operations and their planning.
- Able to plan ahead to perform safe and secure drone operations in various environments.
- Be able to perform necessary drone maintenance.
- Be familiar with the basics of photography and video recording in the context of both hardware and operations.
- Be familiar with manual training methods (simulations, real-world) to obtain necessary manual skills to smoothly perform RC operations.
Structure and tasks of independent studies
Work is organised into:
- theoretical form, given by the lecturer in the form of multimedia presentations,
- self-study, using the attached workbook,
- practical part using drone simulators in the laboratory room,
- practical part in the laboratory room and outdoor (indoor flying room and outdoor flying).
Course prerequisites
Elementary engineering skills (assembling drone parts for the boxed products, i.e. attaching propellers, charging battery, and so on) is necessary. Good 3D space imagination is needed for safe drone operations. A good sight, naked eye or using correcting glasses/lenses is essential.
Course contents
Proposed as for full-time studies with direct contact hours required for practical activities.
Under development
UAV regulations and airspace use module;
UAV technology module;
UAV operations module;
Table 1: Drone Operators' course contents and proposed workload
| Topic | Contact hours | Self study hours | Resources - presentation name (section/s) | Content classification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theoretical part | ||||
| Drone types and frames (multirotor, fixed wings and helicopters), elementary understanding of the lift force generation. | 1 | 1 | UAV Components Part 1 (Frame/Body/Wing section) | UAV technology module; |
| Selected drone building components with respect to the applications and choice when planning mission: propellers, batteries, chargers, cameras, FPV gear | 4 | 6 | UAV Components Part 1 (Propulsions, servos→Propellers subsection, Powering: UAV hardware → Batteries subsection and Chargers subsection), UAV Components Part 1 (Other components → Cameras subsection and FPV gear, displays antennas and stands subsection), UAV Components Part 2 (Multirotors: FPV Gear section) | UAV technology module; |
| Planning a mission from scratch, human as a UAV drone operator | 2 | 1 | UAV Operations and Their Safety (Mission steps: UAV section + Human: as a UAVO section | UAV operations module; |
| Co-existence with other airspace users: airspace classification and operation rules, support | 4 | 1 | UAV Operations and Their Safety (Flying in the public airspace section), A beginners guide on drone's flying regulations in the EU document, national CAA specific documents (refer to the web page related to the drone operations, drone and operator registrations, requirements, etc.), mobile applications (if any present) for operation registration. Materials that are available on the websites of the local training centres for drone operators (certified by CAA). | UAV regulations and airspace use module; |
| Theoretical guide to practical flying in RC mode (manual) for fixed wing, and multirotors) | 1 | 0 | UAV Operations and Their Safety (Practice … makes master … section) | UAV operations module; |
| An introduction to the voice radio communication and messaging in aviation | 1 | 1 | UAV Operations and Their Safety (Radiocommunication section) | UAV regulations and airspace use module; |
| Basics of the meteorology for dronners and weather forecasting | 3 | 2 | UAV Operations and Their Safety (Meteorology: Mind the weather! section) | UAV operations module; |
| UAV applications, job opportunities, brief review of the necessary equipment to construct drone ecosystem sutiable for the task | 1 | 1 | UAV Operations and Their Safety (UAV applications: Can I have a job here? Infrastructure characteristics section) | UAV operations module; |
| Moviemaking and aerial photography guide | 1 | 4 | Youtube tutorials (i.e. UAV Visuals, mostly for self-study), UAV Operations and Their Safety (Aerial video recording and photography: Using UAV for video recording and for taking photos section), UAV Components Part 2 (Multirotors: FPV Gear section → Cameras subsection), Drone simulator specific documentation if used for practical presentations of the camera views | UAV operations module; UAV technology module; |
| Total: | 18 | 17 | ||
| Practice part | ||||
| Mission planning | 2 | 7 | Mission planning tools (software), checklists specific for the selected airframe, weather forecast websites, AUP (Airspace Use Plan) from the national CAA (Civil Aviation Authority), UAV Operations and Their Safety (Mission Steps section + Flying in the public airspace section + Meteorology section, as reference material), UAV Operations and Their Safety (UAV applications section for the reference on suggested equipment regarding the mission type) | UAV operations module; UAV regulations and airspace use module; |
| Multirotor / fixed-wing / heli practice on simulators | 1 | 10 | Simulator documentation specific for contact hours, for self-study: UAV Operations and Their Safety (Practice … makes master … section) | UAV operations module; |
| Multirotor / fixed-wing / heli practice on real drones | 10 | 30 | Hardware specific documentation, for self-study: UAV Operations and Their Safety (Practice … makes master … section) | UAV operations module; |
| Total: | 13 | 47 | ||
Learning outcomes and their assessment methodology
Table 2: Drone Operators' course outcomes and their assessment methodology
| Outcome | Assessment method |
|---|---|
| Understanding of the airspace construction, limitations, familiarity with rules of the coexistence with other airspace users, familiarity with Civil Aviation Authorities and legal requirements for drone operations | Written-test |
| Familiarity with limitations of the human operator, impact of external and internal factors for the operation safety | Written-test |
| Ability to plan in ahead drone operations and procedures (check lists, permits, hardware and software selection for the task) | Written-test |
| Ability to perform correct drone maintenance and servicing with particular respect to the powering (batteries) | Written-test or practical test on real UAV |
| Ability to control manually a selected type of drone (regarding airframe) and ability to test autonomous functions of the solution (if any) | Practical test on the simulator, indoors or outdoors |
