The Airframe
Participants examine how the frame supports the drone and how size, weight, shape, balance, and material affect performance.
Drone and Workforce Development
Most People See Drones as Gadgets. We See Them as Gateways.
Gateways into aviation, engineering, mapping, geographic technology, construction, inspection, media, environmental monitoring, emergency preparedness, public safety support, entrepreneurship, and careers that are still being invented.
10
Ten Certified Pilots
Ten young people have earned FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificates through the growing 846s pathway. Certification is a professional milestone and proof that the pathway can move participants from first exposure into a federally recognized credential.
Hands On Drone Workshops
Build It. Understand It. Fly It.
Flying a drone can inspire curiosity.
Building one reveals how the technology actually works.
In the 846s.org drone building workshops, young people move beyond operating a finished product. They work with frames, motors, propellers, flight controllers, electronic speed controllers, batteries, wiring, radio systems, cameras, and other essential components to assemble working drones from the inside out.
The experience transforms a drone from a mysterious flying object into a system that participants can examine, understand, troubleshoot, and eventually operate with greater confidence and responsibility.
Build It.Understand It.Test It.Fly It.Apply It.
We do not only teach young people how to fly technology. We help them understand what makes it fly.
What Participants Explore
Each workshop invites participants to investigate the relationship between individual components and the complete aircraft.
Motors and Propellers
Participants explore how motors and propellers create lift, how rotation affects movement, and why correct placement and direction matter.
Power and Electronics
Participants learn how batteries, wiring, connectors, and electronic speed controllers distribute and manage power throughout the aircraft.
The Flight Controller
Participants discover how the flight controller acts as the central decision system, interpreting pilot commands and helping the aircraft remain stable.
Communication Systems
Participants explore how radio transmitters, receivers, antennas, cameras, and video systems allow the pilot and aircraft to communicate.
Assembly and Troubleshooting
Participants learn to follow instructions, identify connections, test systems, recognize errors, and work methodically when something does not function as expected.
Every Component Creates a Learning Opportunity.
A drone building workshop is about more than assembling parts.
Young people practice observation, mathematics, spatial reasoning, electronics, engineering, hand coordination, safety, communication, teamwork, and problem solving.
They learn that successful technology depends on understanding how individual components work together as one system.
When a connection is incorrect or a component does not respond, participants are encouraged to investigate rather than give up. A problem becomes information. A mistake becomes an opportunity to test, reflect, adjust, and try again.
This process builds technical confidence while helping participants see themselves as creators, problem solvers, and future professionals.
Skills developed
- Systems thinking
- Engineering awareness
- Electronics
- Mathematics
- Spatial reasoning
- Fine motor coordination
- Technical vocabulary
- Problem solving
- Troubleshooting
- Safety awareness
- Communication
- Teamwork
- Patience
- Persistence
- Creative confidence
Technical Skills and Human Skills Grow Together.
Drone building naturally creates moments of uncertainty, frustration, discovery, cooperation, and accomplishment.
These moments allow participants to practice Emotional Intelligence and African Inspired Emotional Intelligence in real situations.
Self awareness
Participants notice when they feel confused, excited, impatient, confident, or discouraged.
Self regulation
Participants learn to pause, examine the problem, and choose a thoughtful next step rather than reacting with frustration.
Motivation
Participants remain connected to the goal of seeing separate components become a functioning aircraft.
Empathy
Participants recognize when a teammate needs encouragement, additional explanation, or an opportunity to contribute.
Social skills
Participants ask questions, share tools, communicate observations, divide responsibilities, and solve problems together.
The drone becomes a technical project. The building process becomes a human development experience.
A Doorway Into Engineering, Aviation, and Emerging Careers.
Building a drone can introduce young people to a much larger world of learning and opportunity.
Participants begin to encounter concepts connected to aviation, electrical systems, robotics, engineering, computer science, radio communication, photography, mapping, public safety, infrastructure, environmental work, entrepreneurship, and emerging technology careers.
The workshop helps young people understand that technology is not something created only by people somewhere else.
They can open it. Study it. Build it. Repair it. Improve it. Use it responsibly. Imagine what might come next.
The workshop journey
From First Look to Next Step
- Step 01
Discover
Meet the aircraft and identify its major components.
- Step 02
Build
Assemble the frame, motors, electronics, wiring, communication systems, and supporting components.
- Step 03
Understand
Explore the purpose of each component and how the systems depend on one another.
- Step 04
Troubleshoot
Test connections, identify problems, make adjustments, and learn from what does not work.
- Step 05
Prepare
Review safety, balance, communication, power, and readiness before operation.
- Step 06
Fly
Connect technical understanding to safe and responsible flight practice.
- Step 07
Document
Capture the building process, lessons, technical vocabulary, teamwork, and completed project in a participant portfolio.
- Step 08
Advance
Continue into flight training, mission planning, FAA Part 107 preparation, mapping, photography, storytelling, entrepreneurship, or other workforce pathways.
Learning Becomes Visible.
Participants should be encouraged to document their drone building experience as part of Portfolio Based Workforce Development.
- Photographs of the building process
- Identification of major drone components
- A description of each component's purpose
- Problems encountered during assembly
- Troubleshooting decisions
- Safety lessons
- Team responsibilities
- Technical vocabulary learned
- Reflections on persistence and teamwork
- Photographs or video of the completed aircraft
- Future technical or career interests
A participant does not leave with only a completed drone. They leave with evidence that they can follow a process, understand a technical system, work with others, solve problems, learn from setbacks, and transform separate parts into something capable of flight.
Workshop learning connects directly into FAA Part 107 preparation and Portfolio Based Workforce Development within the same program.
Bring a Drone Building Workshop to Your Community.
846s.org can work with schools, youth programs, neighborhood organizations, community partners, and supporters interested in creating hands on pathways into drone technology, Emotional Intelligence, aviation, engineering, and workforce development.
What we learn together
No previous experience is required, and no one has to pursue certification to participate.
Drone discovery
First contact with flight, in a park or a pop up, with no experience required.
Flight simulation
Indoor simulation builds control and confidence before a drone leaves the ground.
Building drones from scratch
Components, wiring, frames, and systems. Participants fly what they built.
Flight mastery
Repeated, supervised practice until control becomes second nature.
Aviation safety
Pre flight checks, risk assessment, and shared responsibility in the air.
Weather and airspace
Reading conditions, airspace classes, and the rules that keep operations legal.
Community mission planning
Planning flights that begin with people, purpose, privacy, and community need.
FAA Part 107 preparation
Structured study, practice testing, coaching, and examination support.
Professional portfolio development
Documenting work so employers and clients can evaluate it.
Paid experience
Real assignments with professional expectations and accountability.
Employment
Employer connections and continued mentoring. Outcomes are supported, never guaranteed.
Entrepreneurship
Business fundamentals, compliance, pricing, and client relationships.
Peer leadership
Certified participants return to teach, mentor, and open doors.
Community Mission Planning
Drones are operated through shared responsibility
A mission should begin with people, purpose, privacy, safety, community needs, and communication — long before anything takes off.
- 1What problem are we trying to understand?
- 2Who is affected?
- 3What does the community want to know?
- 4Is a drone appropriate?
- 5What permissions are required?
- 6How will safety and privacy be protected?
- 7What information will be collected?
- 8Who will interpret the results?
- 9How will findings be returned to the community?
- 10What human benefit should the mission create?
From Certification to Economic Mobility
Certification Is Not the Finish Line
Select a stage to see what a participant learns, what support 846s provides, what barriers may arise, and what partners can contribute.
Exposure
- What the participant learns
- That aviation, engineering, and emerging technology are open to them.
- What support 846s provides
- Drone Pop Ups, park based flight experiences, and community demonstrations.
- What barriers may arise
- Never having seen someone from their community in this field.
- How AIEI supports persistence
- Curiosity is treated as a strength rather than a distraction.
- What partners can contribute
- Host a demonstration, open a space, or invite us to a community event.
- What success may look like
- A young person says: this could be for me.
846s does not promise or guarantee employment, income, certification results, or business success. We build the conditions, preparation, and relationships that make those outcomes more possible.
Program pathways
Many Ways to Begin. One Connected Program.
Participants may enter the drone program through different experiences based on their interests, readiness, and goals.
Some begin with a public demonstration.
Others begin with building, simulation, outdoor flight, mission planning, FAA preparation, or a community project.
These experiences can connect over time, but they are not presented as enrollment in a formal academy.
- Building drones from scratch
- Flight simulation
- Outdoor flight training
- FAA Part 107 preparation
- Mission planning
- Two person crew coordination
- Safety and responsible decision making
- Aerial photography and videography
- Mapping and community storytelling
- Portfolio development
- Entrepreneurship
- Career exploration
Two People. One Mission.
Drone operations are rarely about one person holding a controller. Participants learn to work as a coordinated crew. One person may serve as pilot in command. Another may serve as visual observer, mission support, safety coordinator, or community liaison. Together they review the purpose of the mission, conditions, risks, responsibilities, community concerns, and desired outcomes. This approach develops technical competence, communication, trust, situational awareness, and shared responsibility.
A Résumé Tells What You Know. A Portfolio Shows What You Can Do.
Participants build professional portfolios through authentic community projects.
- Drone photography
- Aerial videography
- Mapping
- Mission planning
- Safety procedures
- Storytelling
- Leadership
- Teamwork
- Community service
- Technical demonstrations
- Entrepreneurship
- FAA Part 107 certification
Learn it.Practice it.Document it.Demonstrate it.Share it.Build from it.
Career directions drones open
- Aviation and remote piloting
- Engineering and fabrication
- Mapping and geographic technology
- Construction and inspection
- Media and storytelling
- Environmental monitoring
- Emergency preparedness
- Public safety support
- AI and emerging technology
- Entrepreneurship and small business
- Instruction and training
- Research and evaluation