Drone Day hosted by AIAA and Retriever Robotics SUAS teams!

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and the Student Unmanned Aerial Systems (SUAS) hosted an event known as Drone Day. This event brought together students from diverse academic backgrounds to foster interests in aviation and STEM. In less than six hours, participants dove headfirst into what is typically a month's worth of activities and learning. Teams designed, constructed, and test-flew their very own remote-controlled quadcopters and airplanes, being able to learn and enjoy the engineering process at their own speed. With guidance and advice readily available, this condensed format provided participants an authentic taste of the full building process. Everyone was given the opportunity to learn flying in simulators and receive flight authorization. It enabled students from STEM and humanities majors to learn a vast amount of knowledge quickly, apply it, and enjoy the fruits of their hard work. The response was overwhelmingly positive and attendees were extremely excited for the prospect of future events.

Drone Day was a testament to our goal to encourage students of all backgrounds and interests to learn and enjoy new things they have not yet experienced. Unlike many other intellectual sports events, Drone Day extended its warm welcome to non-team members and individuals from various academic disciplines. Notably, participants with backgrounds in fields such as Biology and Global Studies actively engaged in the event, broadening the horizons of what is typically considered a STEM-focused area. This further solidifies our goal to encourage and promote the inclusion of all people to experience AIAA for themselves and establishing that those who are not STEM majors can still learn and enjoy themselves through our club and events.

AIAA's Drone Building events become bigger and better with each semester. From approximately 20 attendees in last year's Build Day event, this year's Drone Day had an excellent turnout rate of 27 RSVPs but 28 attendees. Seeing the larger number of individuals show up to try a new hobby, learn about our club, and gain hands-on experience in design, build, and fly truly sums up the major goals of AIAA as a whole. Providing a nurturing and open environment where knowledge, experience, and relations can be formed with no boundaries is extremely important to us and seeing others recognize and take advantage of these opportunities only encourages us to push to further grow this environment.

However, Drone Day is not just about education; it's an opportunity for academic entities and corporations to align themselves with the future of aviation and technology. By supporting us, you can showcase your commitment to STEM education, accessibility, and community engagement. It's a chance for you to foster connections and collaborations with the brightest minds in the field and simultaneously promote yourself to our members.