As drones have moved from fringe hobbyist gear to mainstream expertise, they’ve taken off in faculties, too. What as soon as was an extracurricular curiosity is now a core a part of STEM training in school rooms throughout the U.S. And into this area steps Drone Legends, a full-service platform promising to carry aerial robotics to college students from kindergarten by means of twelfth grade.
Drone Legends provides a spread of kits and curricula designed to show every part from fundamental science ideas to real-time first-person view (FPV) drone racing. It’s formidable. It’s comparatively polished. But — for a lot of faculties — it’s costly. I spent hours digging by means of the curriculum supplies, analyzing the {hardware} partnerships, evaluating opponents and evaluating whether or not Drone Legends is well worth the price ticket.
My take: it’s one of the complete choices accessible, particularly for faculties that wish to transcend one-off drone demos and construct a long-term, standards-aligned program. However it’s not the most cost effective, and it’s not for each classroom.
Drone Legends: What you get
Drone Legends will not be one product. Somewhat, it’s a set of instructional applications designed for various age ranges:
Little Legends (Grades Okay–3): A narrative-based program centered on teamwork, play, and early STEM publicity. There’s no drone piloting right here. As an alternative, youngsters observe characters by means of themed challenges designed to show ideas like problem-solving and cooperation. (Worth: $2,999)
STEM Fundamentals (Grades 4–8): The flagship program for higher elementary and center college. This consists of precise drones and missions that process college students with fixing simulated real-world issues, like catastrophe response or environmental mapping. College students work in groups and use fundamental coding, crucial considering and design expertise. (Worth: $5,499, although it’s modifiable with small or massive class choices)
Egyptian Expedition (Grades 5–8): A digital extension of STEM Fundamentals that brings coding and drone simulation right into a narrative set in historic Egypt. It’s excellent for faculties that need a digital-only possibility or a budget-friendly add-on.
FPV Initiator (Grades 8–12): That is Drone Legends’ most formidable program. It’s designed for top faculties and primarily constructed round actual FPV racing. It’s a precision drone pilot coaching course that culminates in dwell multiplayer competitions by means of the Unified Scholastic Drone Racing Affiliation (USDRA). College students use actual drones, fly in simulators and even compete in livestreamed races. (Worth: $12,500, although there’s a small class possibility for $6,499)
Why the highschool program focuses on FPV
The standout piece of the Drone Legends course sequence is its FPV Initiator program, geared toward highschool college students.
Now I’ve reviewed many highschool drone applications. Some are generic to simply constructing drones or coding them to fly autonomous in a selected route. I significantly take pleasure in drone gentle present programs, the place highschool college students can truly choreograph their very own customized drone present (supplied by means of websites like DroneBlocks).
However few provide a complete curriculum devoted to FPV (one of many few others being DroneBlocks). And sure, devoting a complete curriculum to FPV is a no brainer for at present’s college students. FPV drone racing is gaining recognition quick, and Drone Legends has leaned into this with a aggressive benefit: a structured path from classroom studying to national-level scholar leagues.
By means of the Drone Legends FPV Initiator program, college students are geared up with Orqa FPV goggles, controllers, and the light-weight NewBeeDrone AcroBee65 drone. These are legit racing instruments — the identical form utilized in entry-level skilled drone racing. College students additionally use Orqa’s free FPV SkyDive simulator to observe flying and race on-line in e-sports-style occasions. For faculties trying so as to add a high-skill, high-reward exercise alongside their esports or robotics workforce, that is arguably essentially the most turnkey racing curriculum accessible.
Extra about Drone Legends prices — and when it’s value it
For lecturers on a restricted price range, the largest caveat with Drone Legends will probably be the associated fee.
The FPV Initiator full classroom package, which incorporates {hardware} for 10 college students, software program, and the complete curriculum, retails for round $12,500. That’s a steep funding, even by instructional expertise requirements. Although, there’s additionally an possibility for smaller courses accessible for $6,499.
The STEM Fundamentals package begins decrease, however it’s concentrating on a youthful demographic (elementary and center college for STEM Fundamentals, versus highschool for FPV Initiator). Nonetheless that one prices $5,500.
The upside? Every part is included, from lesson plans to flight gear. For a college trying to roll out a multi-year drone curriculum with aggressive racing choices, this can be a one-stop store. However for smaller applications, or faculties testing the waters, the up-front price is likely to be prohibitive.
What’s new with Drone Legends? A Half 107 prep course
Drone Legends is continually evolving, and its new, classroom-ready Federal Aviation Administration Half 107 Distant Pilot Examination Prep curriculum is proof of that. Passing that examination provides you the license that you must legally fly drones commercially.
Not like many Half 107 on-line take a look at prep programs, this one is designed for in-person use, with group actions to maintain college students engaged. It additionally consists of quizzes, mini exams and a full-length observe take a look at, alongside printable supplies and Google Types.
The Drone Legends Half 107 course comes included free of charge with the FPV Initiator and STEM Fundamentals programs. In any other case, standalone college web site licenses are $2,900 per college web site.
Although taking the Half 107 take a look at is simply accessible to individuals ages 16 and older, it nonetheless can work for center and highschool college students to given them crucial drone security and operational info — and to prepared them for after they flip 16.
How Drone Legends compares to different drone applications
Drone Legends is a number of completely different curriculums geared toward college students of various ranges, every tackling completely different topic areas.
And naturally, Drone Legends isn’t the one drone training recreation on the market. Opponents like DroneBlocks, Drone Cadets and CoDrone all provide extra modular or coding-focused experiences.
Drone Legends versus DroneBlocks
DroneBlocks is nice for educating programming, significantly block-based and Python coding. It’s extra inexpensive and versatile however you would possibly discover it lacks team-based curriculum depth that Drone Legends provides. Nonetheless, it’s probably the closest competitor to Drone Legends.
Like Drone Legends, DroneBlocks has its personal drone racing package, this one created in partnership with the MultiGP STEM Alliance. The DroneBlocks FPV package consists of {hardware}, curriculum and racing simulation software program, plus registration for 2 groups to enter the MultiGP “Drones in Colleges” League. That package begins at $3,500 and consists of 5 drones (so you could end up shopping for extra so every scholar can have one).
DroneBlocks additionally takes issues a step additional with different course choices. For instance, there’s a DroneBlocks gentle present package that features each the curriculum in addition to 10 swarm drones so you possibly can construct your personal drone gentle present. That package prices $7,500, although there are alternatives so as to add extra drones which will increase the worth (the 90-drone package would price $58,000).
Drone Legends versus Drone Cadets
What differentiates Drone Cadets is that it leans into group engagement, management, and social-emotional studying. It’s a compelling program for faculties with robust youth mentorship objectives, however its technical curriculum is much less intensive.
Drone Cadets locations a heavy emphasis on making drone gentle reveals, which can be enjoyable. If you happen to’d reasonably make drone gentle reveals versus do FPV racing, Drone Cadets would possibly make extra sense to you.
Drone Legends versus CoDrone
CoDrone is a strong mid-tier possibility, providing programmable drones with sturdy lesson plans. It’s not as wealthy in story or mission-based studying as Drone Legends, and doesn’t have the identical esports or racing integration. However, it’s seen success in some powerhouse faculties, together with Kentucky’s Kammerer Center College. The truth is, their college students wrote a evaluation of the CoDrone (together with some reliable complaints) for The Drone Lady.
CoDrone EDU is accessible as a standalone drone for $249 every. Or, you should purchase a whole 18-pack CoDrone EDU package with lesson plans for $5,700.
The place Drone Legends suits into the combination
Drone Legends stands aside by combining all three: flight, coding, and competitors. It’s a superb long-term choose as college students can progress by means of the programs as they become older. And that closing course is maybe essentially the most enjoyable, providing structured entry right into a nationwide scholar racing league with livestreamed multiplayer occasions.
Drone Legends: is it value it?
Drone Legends is among the most thoughtfully developed Okay–12 drone training platforms we’ve seen. The supplies are classroom-ready. The drones used are sturdy and applicable for college kids. And the combination of mission-based studying, simulation and actual FPV flight retains college students engaged and challenged.
That mentioned, it’s a severe dedication — financially and logistically. Colleges with a powerful STEM or esports pipeline will probably discover this program well worth the funding, particularly for the FPV Initiator monitor. However should you’re simply trying so as to add drones as a STEM enrichment exercise or membership, you is likely to be higher served by a lower-cost, extra modular platform like DroneBlocks or CoDrone.
I like to recommend Drone Legends for faculties which might be able to go all-in on drones — not simply as flying toys, however as severe instruments for constructing teamwork, tech fluency and future careers.
Enroll in Drone Legends right here.
Associated
Uncover extra from The Drone Lady
Subscribe to get the newest posts despatched to your e-mail.