Telemaster Aircraft: an all purpose drone for STEM Education in High Schools
Just say the word “Drone” and imaginations runs wild.. Since I acquired Hobby Lobby, International (now Hobby Express) the Radio Control industry has enjoyed about five complete cycles of technology revolution. As exciting as it is, my team never lost focus on the pilot who was also an expert builder, dedicated to the craftsmanship required to build one of our airplanes. The shift to mass produced craft commonly called “drones” expanded access and inspired a lot of commercial applications for the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (“UAV”). Right out of the box, even a micro drone offers integrated HD video and it’s so easy to fly that everyone wants one for a birthday or Christmas gift. That’s all great – right – but it’s no challenge and you don’t really learn much about the technology and systems behind the vehicle. Is this an opportunity lost?
Jobs are being created to fly drones that serve commercial needs and there is a national awareness that we need to be more competitive in Science, Technology and Math. We are pleased to see Model Airplane News recognized this opportunity in education. The interest in building remote control aircraft is resurging. Large fixed wing platforms like the Telemaster are widely recognized for their instrumentation carry capacity, as well as their inexpensive and reliable flight dynamics.
Today we release the Kickstarter campaign that creates the ideal STEM curriculum for three innovative educational experiences designed around the Telemaster platform. The high school student near you could be participating in a “Supply Chain Management” course, learning about “Building, Power Systems and Flight Engineering” and imagine their excitement for a hands on “Product Innovation and Design” course using this real world topic. It’s something they can influence and even FLY when they complete the proper course. If you’re inspired like I am, consider letting your imagination run wild for a minute to support our launch and make sure there is no opportunity lost.