There are two Mission Logs provided for this challenge. Students should use the Mission Log that corresponds to the materials available in your classroom. Be sure students know whether they are using the Competition Field elements or classroom elements if you have a VEX AIR Classroom Bundle. 

Distribute the Mission Log to students at the start of the challenge.

• Competition Field Mission Log (Google Doc / .docx / .pdf)
• Classroom Elements (Classroom Bundle) Mission Log (Google Doc / .docx / .pdf)

Be sure that all students have ample time for planning, practicing, and refining their flight plans for the mission. Students can practice in the VEX AIR Flight Simulator, as well as with the physical drone. Help students to remain engaged in the challenge by celebrating small successes along the way.

You can adapt the challenge as needed to best suit the needs of your students. View the Taking the Mission Further lesson (on the next page) to learn about ways to customize the challenge with your students. 

Ensure students are clear on the layout they are using for the Drone Flight Challenge. For all layouts, be sure that the field elements are properly anchored or weighted down so no field elements move unexpectedly during the challenge due to propeller wash. 

For those using the Classroom Bundle: 

The layout will depend on your available space and other materials. Goals can be formed using high-walled containers like cardboard boxes, empty trash cans, or plastic tubs. Be sure that these (as well as the floor plates) are securely anchored or weighted down so they do not move due to propeller wash. 

Encourage students to help come up with the layout that works best for your space. Building a group consensus on the layout will also help students to reset the flight area accurately after each run. If any changes are made to the layout, ensure students edit their Mission Logs to match the layout of your indoor space.

Throughout the Drone Flight Challenge, you will guide students to follow the same phased process they used in the Capstone Mission in the Virtual Flight Course. Your role is to facilitate students' development, testing, and execution of a viable flight plan for the mission. The goal of this phase is for students to stop and consider options before they attempt to fly the mission.

Introduce this phase by demonstrating how to identify and evaluate one or two possible options together as a whole class. With everyone looking at the field together, talk through one possible flight plan that uses both modules. Model thinking through the time it could take to do each task and the number of points the task would score. Help students to think strategically about how they will fit the tasks they want to complete within the time frame of each period.

Ask questions like:

• What are some different ways you could start a run, and what are the pros and cons of each?
• Where might you lose time during your flight, and how can your plan prevent that?
• What is your “backup plan” if something doesn’t go as expected (missed pickup, dropped cargo, bad alignment)?
• What does an efficient flight path look like on this field (smooth turns, planned landing for the break, fewer extra movements)?

This can help students to develop a solid starting plan they can practice and refine in the next phases.

Students should check in with you to share their flight plan before moving on to practicing.

This phase should feel like the other missions in this course. The goal here is that students take time to practice flying their intended flight plan so they can collect data and evaluate its success. 

Remind students that they can practice both in the simulator and with the physical drone. That way there is always something for students to be working on, even if it is not their turn in the flight area. You may want to create a sign-up or schedule for the flight area, so that all students have the opportunity to practice with the physical drone and field elements. 

Encourage students to talk with their copilots as they are practicing. The copilots will be the ones to interact with the drone during the break, so they should be clear on the expectation of what needs to be changed on the drone, and what the overall plan is. Copilots can help give perspective to the pilot as well, pointing out parts of their flight plan in a different way than the pilot can. 

As students are flying, talk with them about their progress. Ask questions like: 

• How effective is your plan? How do you know? 
• Now that you've tried your plan, what are some ways you might improve it? 
• How are you using the different modules during your run? Why? 
• How are you organizing your tasks within the limited time of each period?

Students should check in with you to share their practice and documentation before moving on to the next phase.

Encourage students to think critically about their practice and to use their reflection notes to help them improve their flight plans. Students do not need to make big changes, but all students should document some type of refinement based on their practice.

The goal of this phase of the process is to help students use what they learned in practice to make data-based decisions to refine their plans. Data can include observations, score, copilot feedback, etc. Talk with students during this phase, asking questions like:

• What was the biggest challenge you faced during your practice runs? How are you adjusting your flight plan to account for it?
• Which task in your plan is the highest risk (most likely to cause mistakes or slow you down)? How will you handle it?
• What is one way you want to try to improve your score? How will that affect your plan? What data are you using to make that decision?
• How are you working with your copilot(s) to refine your plan effectively?

Students should share their refined flight plan before moving on. They will likely need multiple practice rounds with their revised plan. Encourage them to cycle between Phases 2 and 3 as many times as needed before attempting the final challenge flight runs.

The goal is for students to apply their planning and preparation to their actual challenge runs. Encourage students to reflect between each of the three runs, so they can document not only whether each flight was successful, but why, and how it connects to their flight plan.

Talk with students about how their flight planning and practice helped them be successful in the challenge. Ask questions like:

• What is something you learned earlier in the course that helped you score more points in the challenge? How did you use it during your flight?
• How did your flight plan change from your first draft to your current plan? What made you decide to change it?
• How did you balance the timed nature of the challenge with effective scoring?
• How did planning ahead (instead of just flying) help you improve your piloting skills during the mission?

Regardless of how well students score in the challenge, encourage them to reflect on how their piloting skills have grown throughout the course. While there will always be room for improvement, this is a moment to celebrate success!