Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

"Unoccupied" Aircraft Systems

Portland Community College has chosen to use the term "Unoccupied" when referring to Aircraft Systems that are flown by a pilot via a ground control system, or autonomously through the use of an on-board computer, communication links and any additional equipment that is necessary for the system to operate safely. Industry standards and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations use the term "Unmanned" to refer to such systems, however the College recognizes that this term is not gender inclusive and therefore has adopted the use of "Unoccupied" to better reflect its values around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. 

Upon completion of the course students will be able to:

1. Plan a UAS mission.

2. Explore selected data collection tools and methods.

3. Create a standard operating procedure for various drone classifications and applications.

4. Manage crew resources.

5. Assess the performance capabilities of small unoccupied aircraft.

6. Operate UAS in accordance with all procedures and standards as they relate to national airspace.

Have a broader understanding of UAS industry standards and career applications.

• Lecture/Discussion

• Application/Software demonstration

• Videos/Multimedia

• Flight simulation

• UAS mission design and execution

• Flight

Outcome Assessment Strategies:

• Completed mission and data analysis

• Present industry research project

• Discover industry specific standard operating procedures

• Attend and participate in mobile application simulations

Course Content:

Theme

• Aviation of all types is governed by strict rules, regulations, procedures, standards, and certification by the Federal Aviation Administration to insure the safe use of airspace by pilots and aircraft.

Issues

• Ethics

• UAS restrictions

• Aviation Compliance

• Airspace Permits

Skills

• Creation of standard operating procedures

• Data collection

• Mission planning

• Documentation

Addendum

• Flight