Pre-Safety Flight Considerations

Lesson Content

• Lesson Plan Template:

  CTE Lesson Plan

• CTE Course Info and Benchmark Notes

  
  

  Program Title (as applicable):

  Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Operations

  Course Title:

  Private Pilot Ground School

  Course Number:

  9540610

  Career Cluster:

  Transportation, Distribution & Logistics

  CIP Number:

  0615080104

  Course Type:

  CAR-PREP – High School Career Preparatory Program

  CTE Standard(s) or benchmarks

  CTE-TDL.912.9540610.1.2 Demonstrate an understanding of situational awareness.

  CTE-TDL.912.9540610.3.1 Understand major portion of Parts 1, 61, 91, 135, 141 and NTSB 830 of the Federal Aviation Regulations.

  CTE-TDL.912.9540610.4.4 Demonstrate the ability to access weather information prior to and during flights through a variety of media.

• Unit Outline

  
  

  This lesson is designed to be used with the case study, “Pre-Flight Pivot.” See CPALMS resource ID#215501.

• Career Connection

  
  

  Students read from the case study, whose main character is an entrepreneur, owner of the fictional company, Drone Stream Productions. The lesson illustrates an ethical business owner conundrum and considerations for employees, public safety, and client contract. This lesson supports the career skills of decision making, planning, and management.

• Learning Objectives

  
  

  Students will be able to:

  • Research specific safety regulations and hazardous attitudes as outlined in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations.
  • Identify and assess sources for aviation weather forecasts and safety protocols for pre-flight.
  • Communicate ideas through the creation of a digital product.
  • Discuss situational awareness and its importance.

• Prior Knowledge

  
  

  Students should be familiar with/able to:

  • Identify a small unmanned aircraft system/vehicle (sUAS or “drone”)
  • Locate and decode the Meteorological Aerodrome Report (METAR) and Terminal Area Forecast (TAF).

• Guiding Questions

  
  
  • What are the rules surrounding sUAS over crowds of people?
  • How do pilots check weather conditions?

• Procedure

  
  
  1. To introduce the lesson, illustrate a METAR and a TAF weather report, and/or show a video using drone footage of dessert concert.
  2. Assign the case study (see Pre-Flight Pivot, CPALMS Resource ID # 215501) as independent reading or assign students to take turns reading aloud in class.
  3. Discuss the case study with students. Ask the following questions to guide thinking.
     • What concerns does Sam have?
     • How does this impact the safety of the audience?
     • What pieces of a pre-flight safety checklist have Sam and the team implemented?
     • How does Don’s reaction influence Sam?
     • What are some solutions Sam can present to the team?
  4. Divide students into four groups, each responsible for completing a handout on one of the following topics. Provide each group with the corresponding handout in the attachments section. Specific resources are needed for each handout, for example, METAR and TAF charts are needed for Groups 1 and 2; see the Teacher Notes for resources.
     • Group 1 – deconstruct METAR weather report.
     • Group 2 – deconstruct a TAF weather report.
     • Group 3 – illustrate the FAA five hazardous attitudes.
     • Group 4 – define FAA regulations for flying over crowds of people.
  5. Allow students 10-15 minutes to complete the activity. Each group will share their findings by creating a digital presentation (poster, slide presentation, infographic, etc.) and then present their findings to their classmates in a three-minute presentation.
  6. Return to whole group and engage in a discussion of ethics and liability relating to situational awareness, risk assessment as they related to contracted work for the Remote Pilot in Command.
  7. To bring the lesson to a close, discuss the decision Sam must make and the five hazardous attitudes, as defined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Ask the students to reflect on the following questions:
     • What types of jobs are available to Remote sUAS Commercial Pilots?
     • What management skills should a remote pilot in command (RPIC) be familiar with?

• Teacher Notes

  
  
  • Resources for handouts:
    • Group 1: METAR report is needed. Teachers can search the internet for example METAR report to provide students for the worksheet. An example is found at: https://blog.flykit.app/guide-to-reading-metars-and-tafs/
    • Group 2: TAF report is needed. Teachers can search the internet for example TAF report to provide students for the worksheet. An example can be found at: https://www.pilotmall.com/blogs/news/how-to-read-a-taf-terminal-aerodrome-forecast
      1. Additionally, students will need to reference the National Weather Services TAF Decoder found at: https://www.weather.gov/media/okx/Aviation/TAF_Card.pdf
    • Group 3: Students will need to reference Chapter 2 of the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge. This can be found at: https://www.faa.gov/regulationspolicies/handbooksmanuals/aviation/phak/chapter-2-aeronautical-decision-making
    • Group 4: Students will need to reference the FAA Operations Over People General Overview Executive Summary. This can be found at: https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/uas/commercial_operators/operations_over_people/OOP_Executive_Summary.pdf
  • Additional Resources Include:
    • METAR and TAF Decoder: https://www.metar-taf-decoder.com/
    • The Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge can be found at: https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak
  • As a practical application, teachers can demonstrate installation of propeller safety guards on sUAS (‘drone’).