A’Janay Lurry considered the wind pattern and airport traffic flow before she made her descent onto the runway.
Only this runway was a dotted line of blue masking tape in a classroom at Chicago’s Corliss High School, and the conditions of the air were instructions from her teacher.
Lurry is among participants in Corliss’ new aviation program known as “pilot school.” It gives students the chance to train for the Federal Aviation Administration’s unmanned drone pilot certification exam, a license that permits flying drones for hire or any nonrecreational purpose.
Five students from Corliss — an early-college science, technology, engineering and math school in the Pullman neighborhood on Chicago’s Far South Side — passed the two-hour, 60-question exam this year. That included Lurry, a senior who, according to Chicago Public Schools, became the first commercially licensed Black female drone pilot under 21.
“It was a good learning experience,” Lurry said. “And flying the drones is kind of like video games, and I enjoy video games.”
Corliss, Air Force Academy High School and Dunbar Vocational Career Academy are the three buildings in CPS that host aviation programs.
At Corliss, “pilot school” was specifically designed to focus on the drone-flying certification and is taught by someone with experience in air traffic control from his time in the Marine Corps, Brandon Parks.
So by the time senior Vincent Smith took the exam this November, he was ready. Though he said some questions stumped him, he scored an 88%, well above the 70% he needed to pass. “It was easier than I expected,” he said.
The entire program started with one student’s curiosity, said Phylydia Hudson, Corliss’ STEM program manager.
After participating in a previous summer program learning automotive detailing, the student asked Hudson, “Do we have drones?”
“Of course, I knew nothing about drones,” Hudson said. But the questions prompted her to look online for resources on drone education and to learn about the licensing process. At first, Hudson thought she could learn the material and teach it. She quickly realized it was beyond her scope, with a curriculum loaded with science, math and weather.
When the students indicated an interest in sitting for the actual FAA licensing exam, Hudson thought it was a bit ambitious.
But Hudson said Parks, the former Marine on staff, told her he thought he could help the students prepare for the test, and pass it.
With donations from Corliss staff, as well as the school’s corporate sponsors, the school covered the cost of the exam for the students, normally about $175. The instruction was also free to the students. Online test prep courses for the exam can cost $200.
Out of 12 students involved in the program, five sat for the exam, Hudson said. Just the fact that the students were willing to try was a win for her, she said. Then, defying her expectations, two students passed on the first try — the student who inspired it all and is now a college freshman, and senior Jonathan Turner.
Turner, who hopes to study computer engineering in college, joined the summer program because he didn’t know much about drones. But he learned about the smart features and artificial intelligence technology continuing to develop with the machines.
With this license, his understanding of what he can do in the engineering field has expanded, he said. While he may start out flying the drones, he hopes eventually to work on the research and tech development side.
“This really gave me a lot of options in life, a lot of interesting options too,” Turner said.
Hudson said that…
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