Day 3: Decide Which Drone Rule Applies

Daily Learning Contract

• Topic: Drone Rules
• Objective: Students will describe current technical, certification, and training requirements by distinguishing indoor, outdoor educational, and Part 107 operating routes and the Remote Pilot pathway.
• TEKS: d(2)(A)
• Demonstration of Learning: Four-question operating-rule evidence check plus a team readiness gate when a live, simulator, or tabletop test route is used.

Lesson Overview

Before Class

1. Decide whether the lesson will use live indoor microdrones, a simulator, or the tabletop route. All are equal.
2. Live flight requires campus approval, teacher authorization/training, the exact model manual/SOP, inspected equipment, a clear indoor zone, and an immediate stop procedure.
3. Post page 1 of the Decision and Readiness guide. If a test route is used, make teams of four and print page 2 once per team. Page 3 is the no-Canvas individual route.
4. Post current FAA Educational Users, Part 107, indoor-operations, and Remote Pilot Certificate sources and open the unpublished four-question practice Quiz.
5. Do not use a student signature as the safety gate. Teacher observation of the readiness check controls access.

Warm-Up: Same Drone, Different Rule (5 min)

Students compare three fictional uses:

• a microdrone operated only inside a closed gym;
• a class planning an outdoor educational flight; and
• a company inspecting a roof for payment.

They predict whether the same rule applies to all three and name what must be verified.

Activity 1: Read the Rule Boundary (12 min)

Use the FAA source cards:

• Part 107 does not apply to operations conducted only indoors because FAA rules apply outdoors in the National Airspace System.
• Outdoor educational flights are regulated. The organization must identify whether it qualifies to operate under the limited recreational exception or must use Part 107.
• Qualifying educational organizations for the educational recreational provision include higher education, JROTC, and programs chartered by an FAA-recognized CBO. Do not assume a general middle-school class automatically qualifies.
• Part 107 permits many nonrecreational operations. The remote pilot in command must hold the certificate or directly supervise a person operating the controls.

Students compare the three branches on the posted guide: location, purpose/organization, rule to verify, authorized person/source, and evidence needed before flight.

Activity 2: Remote Pilot Certificate Pathway (8 min)

Current first-time applicant evidence:

1. at least 16 years old;
2. able to read, speak, write, and understand English;
3. in a physical and mental condition to safely fly;
4. pass the initial UAG aeronautical knowledge test;
5. complete the FAA application and TSA security-vetting process; and
6. complete current recurrent training every 24 calendar months to operate under Part 107.

Students sequence the steps and label which details require current FAA verification. Do not publish a universal testing fee, guarantee district certification, or ask middle-school students to self-screen health or citizenship/identity information.

Activity 3: Four-Question Rule Check (12 min)

Students complete the unpublished practice Quiz and use feedback to repair one missed rule or certificate boundary. Page 3 of the guide carries the same four decisions when Canvas is unavailable.

Activity 4: System Readiness Gate (8 min)

The class uses only the selected route.

Live indoor microdrone route

Teacher models the exact campus/model SOP. In teams of four, students rotate through readiness roles without powering the aircraft until cleared:

• equipment and battery checker;
• boundary/people checker;
• controller/connection checker; and
• stop-procedure reader.

Only a teacher-cleared team conducts one brief low-altitude demonstration. No one must pilot for credit.

Simulator route

Students locate takeoff/stop controls, identify the virtual boundary, and rehearse the stop call. They record that simulation does not prove safe physical operation.

Tabletop route

Students inspect a printed equipment/space scenario, identify three hazards, and revise the setup before moving a paper aircraft token.

Exit Check (5 min)

Students answer this final prompt in Canvas, on page 3, or orally:

For each situation, name the first rule or source to verify and explain why:

1. microdrone used only inside a closed gym;
2. middle-school class planning an outdoor educational flight; and
3. paid roof inspection.

Then name one campus/model-specific safety check that federal rule knowledge does not replace. A separate exit-ticket print is not required.

(d(2)(A))

Teacher Key and Monitoring

• Indoor only: Part 107 does not apply, but campus/model safety rules still do.
• Outdoor school flight: identify the organization's legal operating route; do not assume recreational status. Use FAA Educational Users guidance and district administration.
• Paid roof inspection: Part 107 is the likely starting rule; additional airspace, aircraft, operation, state/local, privacy, and site rules may apply.
• Stop any launch when the exact hardware, battery, connection, boundary, or supervision check fails.
• Lap 1, minute 15: sample four situation decisions. If two students say “educational means exempt,” stop and replay the organization/legal-route check.
• Lap 2, minute 32: check Quiz repairs for the difference between federal rules and campus/model approval. Require one current source or authorized person in each repaired explanation.
• Readiness checkpoint, minute 43: every team has four named roles, one stop call, and a teacher-cleared route. If any check is unresolved, mark “stop/fix” and use tabletop on Day 4.
• Safe trim: omit the live/simulator handling rehearsal, not the four-question rule check or stop procedure. No student charges, swaps, or troubleshoots a battery; power-down and charging remain teacher tasks.
• Collect/retain: keep one readiness page per team for Day 4 and the private Quiz result per student. Reset tabletop pieces or controller/simulator stations before dismissal.

Supports and Equal Routes

• Keep rule cards visible and avoid dense regulatory prose as the student-facing route.
• Live flight, simulator, and tabletop produce the same decision/readiness evidence.
• Students may participate through checking, logging, reading, mapping, or private response; piloting and speaking are not required.
• An absent student uses the three scenarios and tabletop readiness card.