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Lesson 1: Prepare to Fly

Before you can take off, you need to make sure your materials are prepared and ready for flight. In this lesson, you will ensure your VEX AIR Drone has charged batteries, up-to-date firmware, and is paired to a charged VEX AIR Drone Controller. This will allow you to be sure your drone is powered, safe to fly, and is able to be flown using inputs from your controller.

Watch the video below to learn how to:

  • Charge VEX AIR Drone Batteries.
  • Install a battery in the drone.
  • Pair a drone and controller.
  • Update drone firmware.

<<VIDEO>>

Hover & Discover

The lights on the drone and controller are an important way the system communicates with the pilot. These indicator lights show information such as whether the drone and controller are powered on, connected, charging, or ready to fly. Pilots use these visual signals to quickly understand the drone’s status without looking at a screen.

Before and during flight, checking indicator lights helps pilots confirm that everything is working as expected. If something isn’t ready (like a missing connection or low power) the lights provide an early warning. Learning to notice and interpret these indicators is an important habit for safe and successful drone operation, both in the simulator and in real-world flights. Read this article to learn more about the specific indicator lights on the drone and controller.

Mission: Prepare Your Drone

Battery with a USB C cable plugged into the side of the battery.

Charge Batteries

Plug the battery into a power source using its USB-C port.

It is recommended to use the USB Charging Hub with the four short USB Cables (A-C) to charge all four batteries at once. Each time a new battery is used, place the depleted battery back on the charger, so that there are always charged batteries available.

A VEX AIR Drone Controller showing the USB-C end of a cable positioned to be inserted into the USB-C port on the bottom of the controller.

Charge Your Controller

Plug the controller into a computer using a USB cable connected to the controller’s USB-C port. The indicator light will blink red while it charges.

A Controller on the left with the USB-c cable connected and powered on, with the wire connected to a computer.

Update Controller Firmware

With your controller connected to your computer, power on the controller and open VEXcode AIR.

Drone with a highlight on the battery compartment at the back of the drone. A red arrow points at the compartment indicating how the battery should slide into the compartment with the up arrow and indicator section of the battery being inserted first and facing upwards.

Install Battery

Insert a charged battery into the drone with the Up arrow facing upward. The drone will automatically turn on when the battery is inserted.

Drone and Controller connected with a USB c cable.

Pair the Controller and Drone

With the controller and drone both powered on, and with charged batteries, you can pair the controller with the drone so they can communicate during flight.

  • Connect a USB-A cable to the controller’s USB-A port.
  • Plug the other end into the drone's USB-C port.
  • A wired connection image will show briefly on the screen when the controller begins pairing with the drone.

The steps in this article also outline how to pair the controller and drone if you need additional help.

Screenshot from the Controller screen with a prompt reading Drone Update Required. A green button is underneath and highlighted that reads Update.

Update Drone Firmware

After being paired, if the drone needs its firmware updated, a prompt will appear on the controller screen.

  • Press Update on the screen and wait for the progress bar that appears to finish.
  • Do not disconnect the drone and controller until the update is completed. 

This article outlines how to update drone and controller firmware if you need additional help.

Check Your Understanding

Select Next > to move on to the next lesson.

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