Flight Lab: Drone Dynamics in Action

Program Overview:

Get ready to lift off with Flight Lab: Drone Dynamics in Action, a high-energy, hands-on summer program designed for middle students excited by flight, coding, and innovation. Hosted at the Virginia Tech Academic Building One in Alexandria, this immersive week-long camp introduces students to the world of aerial robotics through daily challenges, guided learning, and collaborative exploration.

What to Expect:

Participants will learn the principles of drone flight and aviation dynamics, dive into block-based coding, and put their new skills to the test through manual flight drills and autonomous missions. The program features a blend of real-world FAA drone safety training, engaging icebreakers, and team-based activities like Drone Soccer scrimmages where students design, build, and pilot their drones through goal-oriented gameplay and CoDrone Challenges, where students demonstrate their flight mastery, programming skills, and problem-solving abilities in an aerial obstacle course. Industry based field trips and guest speaker engagement activities to introduce students to the world of work and innovation.

Core Activities:

• FAA TRUST safety certification
• Manual flight skills and coding missions
• Drone Soccer design, build, and flight
• Team-based engineering and troubleshooting
• CoDrone flight challenges and competitions
• College and career-based tours and guest speakers

Skills Gained:

• Drone piloting (manual and coded flight)
• Engineering and design thinking
• Team collaboration and communication
• Foundational coding concepts
• Real-world problem-solving using STEM

Whether you're a curious beginner or a future aerospace engineer, this camp provides a launchpad to explore careers in uncrewed systems, robotics, and beyond. Join us for a week where drones aren’t just toys—they’re tools for the future.