DRONE DESIGNER COURSE

Get oriented with the course structure, meet your instructor, and preview the assignments, final project, and career pathways ahead.

• Course structure and expectations
• Assignments and final project overview
• Instructor introduction
• Career pathways introduction

Build a foundation in aircraft principles, drone types, and where drone designers fit across industries.

• Aircraft types and configurations
• Fixed-wing vs multirotor trade-offs
• What drones are and where they're used
• Why multirotors dominate commercial use
• Demo: Visual breakdown of aircraft configurations and flight envelopes
• Case study: Commercial drone applications in construction and agriculture

Assignment #0: 2D DroneSimulator
Use a flight simulator to build hands-on flight intuition and submit a video for participation credit.

Analyze how aerodynamic forces and flight controls shape multirotor stability, movement, and structural load paths.

• Thrust, lift, weight, and drag
• Hover conditions and coordinate systems
• Differential thrust mechanics
• Pitch, roll, and yaw control
• Workshop: Calculating forces for hover and directional maneuvers
• Case study: DJI Phantom 4

Identify the major drone systems, from electrical and avionics to communications, and see how they work together as an integrated platform.

• Essential components overview
• Electrical system fundamentals
• Avionics: sensors and autopilots
• Racing vs full autopilot systems
• Communications: command, control, telemetry, and video
• Case study: Consumer vs industrial drone frames

Evaluate battery configurations and power system choices needed to support mission requirements and flight performance.

• Battery chemistry and specifications
• Voltage, current, and capacity
• Series vs parallel configurations
• Battery balancing and safety
• Endurance vs structural complexity trade-offs
• Workshop: Modeling different battery configurations

Select propulsion components by balancing motor and propeller choices against efficiency, performance, payload, and endurance.

• Motor characteristics
• Propeller size, pitch, and efficiency
• Matching motors and propellers
• Structural stress and mounting implications
• Case study: Comparing motor-propeller combinations and outcomes
• Workshop: Building a weight and endurance budget for a mission

Assignment #1: Drone Performance Calculator
Develop an Excel-based performance calculator using given specs, then interpret weight, thrust-to-weight ratio, endurance, and payload results to justify your design decisions.

Optimize drone endurance by weighing performance trade-offs against mission-specific design decisions.

• Endurance modeling and payload trade-offs
• Performance implications review
• Case study: Impossible Aerospace
• Case study: Mothership Wraith-H

Develop a conceptual drone frame in CAD while applying fundamental layout and structural design principles.

• CAD for layout, mounting, and envelopes
• Conceptual vs manufacturing-grade CAD
• Fusion 360 and other accessible tools
• Designing a basic multirotor frame layout
• Demo: Creating a simple drone frame or component layout

Assignment #2: Conceptual Drone Frame Design
Design a conceptual drone frame in CAD for a specified mission and explain how it supports the mission's weight, balance, and structural requirements.

Understand how flight modes, control systems, and mission execution shape engineering design decisions.

• Flight modes and control systems
• Attitude and position controllers
• First take-off best practices
• Failure modes
• Demo: Flight planning software

Translate mission requirements into practical drone design specifications, system constraints, and operational limits.

• Defining mission requirements
• Environmental factors and flight profiles
• Translating missions into design inputs
• Redundancy concepts and operational limits
• Case study: Mapping vs inspection mission requirements

Validate drone designs through simulation and interpret performance data, while examining how frame material choices affect structural behavior.

• Common drone frame materials
• Material trade-offs: strength, weight, cost
• Structural thinking: where frames fail
• Why simulation matters
• Sensitivity analysis and PID tuning
• Simulation run and validation checks

Learn to refine your design package into a portfolio-ready case study while exploring career pathways in drone design and UAV systems.

• Creating and maintaining a bill of materials
• 3D printing considerations
• Refining the design package
• Turning the package into a portfolio case study
• Career pathways in drone design and UAV systems
• Workshop: Portfolio framing and career translation

Final Project: Professional Drone Design Package
Design a complete conceptual drone for a real-world commercial mission and present it as a professional, portfolio-ready case study integrating engineering calculations, component selection, CAD design, and design justification.

Get instructor feedback to strengthen and finalize your Drone Design Package ahead of final submission.

• Case study: Inspired Flight
• Case study: Malloy Aeronautics

Present and refine your completed Drone Design Package while demonstrating your full design process.

• Case study: Manna Delivery Drone