Lesson 2: Throttle

To complete the mission, students will need to connect their VEX AIR Drone Controller to VEXcode AIR. You may want to review the connection steps as a whole class before beginning. Use this article to help students get connected, if needed.

Reference this article for additional support while using the VEX AIR Flight Simulator.

Each student should keep their own mission log documentation. Be sure that students can access the Mission Log to document their flight practice. The mission log is intended to be a record of every flight students complete in the course, so that by the end of the course they can not only view their progress, but also calculate their total number of flights and total flight time in the VEX AIR Flight Simulator. 

• Decide if you will print mission logs for students to write on, or use the digital version.
• Establish a saving procedure for students to ensure they know how to complete and save their mission logs throughout the course.

As students complete the mission, circle through the room. Ask students questions like:

• What is your maximum height set to? Why? 
• Which camera view is most helpful for you when using throttle controls?

Encourage students to use metrics like the collision counts and the ring counter in the upper left side of the simulator screen to determine how successful their flights were.

Real world connections can be turned into a whole-class discussion. You can use this discussion to connect simulator settings to real-world drone regulations. Ask students why altitude limits might differ between recreational and professional pilots, or how flying too high could create safety risks.

You can also introduce the FAA’s 400-foot altitude rule as an example of how drone laws protect both pilots and aircraft. Encourage students to think about how these limits apply to different missions—like search and rescue, aerial photography, or package delivery—and how responsible pilots plan flights with altitude safety in mind.

The Check Your Understanding questions are a formative assessment tool to use after students complete the simulator mission. They help reinforce key concepts and check comprehension, serving as a supplement to hands-on practice rather than a replacement for it.

Consider if you want students to answer these on their own, in small-groups, or as a whole-class review of the lesson.

Answers to the Check Your Understanding questions can be found here. (Google Doc / .docx / .pdf)