To Fly or Not To Fly?

Lesson Content

• Lesson Plan Template:

  CTE Lesson Plan

• CTE Course Info and Benchmark Notes

  
  

  Career Cluster: Transportation, Distribution and Logistics

  CIP Number: 0615080104

  Course Type: Career Preparatory

  Program Name: Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Operations

  Course Number: 9505110

  Course Title: Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Operations 1

  CTE-TDL.912.9505110.2.1 Explain harm and damage from inappropriate use.

  CTE-TDL.912.9505110.2.2 Demonstrate basic understanding of restrictions of UAS flights.

  CTE-TDL.912.9505110.3.1 Describe appropriate locations and flight conditions.

  CTE-TDL.912.9505110.3.2 Describe basic requirements for safe operations.

• Unit Outline

  
  

  This lesson asks students to to consider the mental and physical impacts on a drone pilot's performance as part of situational awareness. Discussion of possible impacts on mental and physical abilities of the pilot will include weather (heat, humidity, overcast), diet (Has the person eaten recently? What did they have to eat? Could food allergies play a part?), medication (Has the person taken their medication or not? Are their side effects that could influence performance?), rest (Has the pilot gotten enough sleep? Does the pilot appear tired?), drug/alcohol use (Is the person under the influence?), stress (Is the pilot agitated or uneasy? Do the pilot's actions seem 'different' from their normal behavior?).

• Career Connection

  
  

  Using this lesson, students will practice critical thinking, problem solving, decision making, planning, nonverbal communication, active listening, oral communication, respect, feedback, managing conflict, teamwork, flexibility, accountability, responsibility, professionalism and dependability.

• Learning Objectives

  
  

  Upon completion of this lesson students will be able to:

  • Identify signs of mental and physical stress as part of situational awareness.
  • React responsibly and ethically to signs of mental and physical stress as part of situational awareness.

• Prior Knowledge

  
  

  Students should be familiar with:

  • Situational awareness
  • Pre-flight checklists
  • In-flight operations
  • UAS operations

• Guiding Questions

  
  

  When practicing situational awareness, should the pilot’s mental and/or physical status be considered?

  How could a pilot’s mental and/or physical well-being impact their performance as a pilot?

• Procedure

  
  

  1. To introduce the lesson, ask students “When is it not ok to fly?”

  • During the discussion, prompt students to recall pre-flight checklists and situational awareness. Students should be able to provide answers such as poor weather, obstacles in the flight path, low batteries, damaged drone, etc.

  2. Review a pre-flight checklist with the students (see attachment). Have a brief discussion of pre-flight checklists and their components.

  3. Provide students with a copy of the case study, “To Fly or Not To Fly?” (See CPALMS Resource ID # 215727). As students read the case study, instruct them to annotate their page, including underlining or highlighting information related to flight operations and situational awareness.

  4. Upon reading the case study, ask the following questions:

  • What is going on with Jim? What are some things that might be impacting Jim’s mental/physical abilities?
  • What might Ellen have done differently when she noticed Jim’s flight performance /behavior?
  • What do you think happened after Jim sat down?
  • How might this situation have been handled differently?
  • Should a pilot’s mental and physical well-being be a part of situational awareness? Should these things be addressed in a pre-flight checklist?

  5. Divide students into groups of three. Using the pre-flight checklist (from step 2) direct students to discuss the items on the list. Ask students to consider mental and physical factors that might be included on a pre-flight checklist.

  6. In their groups, direct students to create a pre-flight checklist that includes elements that assess mental and physical well-being (weather, stress, rest, drugs/alcohol, other). Students should use academic vocabulary (such as situational awareness, and flight restrictions) to explain why they are including those elements on their pre-flight checklist.

  7. Ask students to share and discuss the items that they included on their pre-flight checklists. As they share their lists, the teacher writes on the board any new items that have been discussed to be added to the checklists. Once all groups have shared their lists, refer to the new items that were written on the board. As a class, ask students to determine which new items will be added to a revised pre-flight checklist. Keep a list of the agreed upon items to be added to a proposed new pre-flight checklist.

  8. To bring the lesson to a close, review the proposed new pre-flight checklist with the class. Ask students to reflect on the following questions.

  • How could Efficient Solutions better prepare their flight crews?
  • How might this scenario impact future policies with Efficient Solutions?
  • What could Ellen and John have done personally to be better prepared for a scenario like this?
  • How would the proposed pre-flight checklist help avoid scenarios such as the one in the case study?

• Teacher Notes

  
  
  • Alternative/additional discussions:
    • Include examples of pre-flight checklists for students to compare.
    • Consider the impacts of the mental and physical well-being on the visual observer role of the flight crew.
  • After the lesson, print out the newly proposed pre-flight checklist and distribute it to the class. Keep a copy of the proposed pre-flight checklist posted in the classroom. Encourage students to continually review the checklist and make suggestions for improvement.
  • A follow-up activity could be to re-design a post-flight checklist and/or an in-flight operations checklist to include mental and physical well-being considerations.n