Fly Kids: Westlake Students Learning To Pilot Drones

WESTLAKE, OH — Drone technology occupies a bigger part of the cultural conversation than ever before and Westlake High students will now find themselves taking part in that dialogue.

That's thanks to a new drone technology class, launched this year in the school district, that will teach students how to fly unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Led by Scott Kutz, who will serve as the "Pilot in Command" (PIC), the class already has 15 students enrolled in the 18-week program.

Students will be engaged in so-called "ground school" activities for the first three days of the week and will then take part in flight school operations to close out the week. The course is open to students in grades 10-12.

When students finish the course they can apply to take the Part 107 test to earn their remote pilot license through an official FAA-approved testing site — including Burke Lakefront Airport and Lorain County Regional Airport.

How The Class Came To Be

Two years.

That's how long it took to create a drone class at Westlake High, Kutz said in a statement. In March 2017, rp+m, an Avon Lake company, sponsored a contest for engineer students.

Kutz's advanced engineering and design class had to redesign the blade guards and landing gear for a Blue Jay Force 1 drone. Once students had improved their designs, and rendered them, they were able to 3D print parts and attach them to the drone. The new parts were then tested before students presented their solutions and research to a panel of rp+m designers and manufacturers.

“The contest proved to be very successful and generated a lot of student interest,” Kutz said. “As a result, we implemented another drone lesson last year so they could learn more about the capabilities of drones in general, including programming drones for autonomous flight.”

Kutz's Technology & Engineering Department then polled students on their interest in a class dedicated to flight technology. Teachers and administrators then explored Kent State University's flight technology program.

Now...now there's a class on drones.

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Photo of Scott Kutz with a drone from Westlake Schools