Every Thursday afternoon, our YCIS Chongqing campus turns into an unofficial airfield for our school’s very first drone pilots. During the first semester, five of our Secondary students designed and built their own quadcopters, requiring the application of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), in addition to patience and dedication.

Each student began with a kit of unfamiliar parts, motors and a remote. There was no instruction manual, no guidebook, and it was no small task putting parts in the right place. Students also had to work through some programming, electrical work and plenty of soldering to get four motors and controllers all mounted securely to their carbon fiber frames. Once each drone was built, further testing led to excitement when students could finally see a stable drone hover in the air.

UAVs (Unmanned Ariel Vehicles), or drones, are becoming incredibly popular in our society. Beginning with the advent of RC airplanes, large companies are now experimenting and using these types of computer-guided vehicles for deliveries, transportation, surveying, and photography. With this increased interest in UAVs, our YCIS Chongqing campus is now preparing our students to access this growing industry.

As the YCIS Chongqing UAV Club continues to develop, we look to cultivate more ventures involving aerial photography and an FPV drone racing event. Keep your eyes on the sky around our campus in Chongqing, as you never know what you will see next!