My first purchase was the RealFlight 7 from Knife Edge Software, who also generously gave me permission to install older versions I had purchased for personal use on school computers. My original plan was to have 2 students on each computer taking turns while I worked on actual flight training with another group.Thirty-three 4th grade students applied for the program and I decided to draw ten names at random. In retrospect this was too many, especially for the equipment I had available and the limited experience of the students. I began flight instruction using Eflite Vapors and Mini-Vapors. The Vapor line are excellent indoor aircraft but are not made for the repeated pounding they took from the beginner pilots. Ordering propellers, gearboxes and motors became a weekly chore, as well as patching up tears in the thin plastic skin. In addition, we couldn’t begin the program until after state testing was finished in late April. With these students I had 7 sessions total. At the end of the school year I knew I would be transferring to a different school, so I asked my pilots what they thought I should do with next year’s group. Suggestions included flying quadcopters and fewer students, so that I could spend more time with flight training.
Over the summer I worked on acquiring some small indoor quads and repairing my Vapor aircraft. I found an excellent source for affordable quads when I stumbled upon the Gearbest website. When I demonstrated the quads to drum up interest for the club I was able to fly the drone in my classroom and then show the students a video I had taken with the aircraft. About a third of my 5th grade students signed up and I randomly selected 7. My new school had advantages right away. Just outside my classroom is a broad crossover between hallways where we could fly while other groups worked on the simulators in my classroom. I continued to pick up quads and hexacopters on sale, and eventually had enough for each student to fly. I also discovered the Flyzone Inum Elite, and I purchased two of them from Tower Hobbies. I added the caveat that students must show me 5 consecutive touch and goes on the simulator flying a PT-40 before they would be allowed to fly the airplanes.The Inum is a bit sturdier than the Vapors, and the performance is improved over the Vapors also.In the Spring of 2016 my program will officially part of the school’s extended day academic program, which will make it easier for parents as their children will have bus transportation available. I hope to continue the program in the years to come and eventually add an airshow performance for the rest of the school.
