It’s a bird; it’s a plane; no wait, it’s a drone? That is right; drones have entered the building of Hastings High. The engineering department has many plans for these drones and some cool things should be happening in the next few years.
Engineering and Drafting teacher Adam Skrdla is excited to have kids interact with these drones and learn how they work. The career opportunities involving drones are increasing by the day. Farmers use them to survey fields; producers use them to take aerial video and photos; state law enforcement also uses them to track law-breaking citizens.
“I figured having and exploring the possibilities of drones could help students in my class learn skills they will use in their future,” Skrdla said.
The class plans to buy the parts needed to build a drone and then use their magical 3D printer to create a frame for the electronics and the propellers needed to create the lift.
Flying a drone would be a new experience for most kids in the class. It’s something that can be learned by almost anyone with enough time.
“The hardest part about flying a drone is learning how to use the controls to get the drone to go where you want, but it’s really cool to see what the drone is seeing on the camera,” junior Cade Adler said.
Adler and fellow junior Zane Bender are training with drones to compete in a brand new Skills USA competition. In the competition they will have to fly a small-sized drone through an obstacle course. It will be a race against three other teams to see who is the best drone pilot in the state.
Check out this video that is a short recording of what it’s like to fly an FPV (first person view) drone.
