LFCC launching drones webinars and camps for middle and high school girls

The use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), better known as drones, is taking off across numerous industries, and LFCC Computer Science Professor Melissa Stange is leading the effort to train those who can pilot them. Lillian Todd was the first woman in the world to design airplanes back in 1906. Helen Richey, in 1934, was the first woman to be hired by a commercial airline in the United States. Despite these pioneering female aviators, data shows that females remain underrepresented in the world of aviation. According to the FFA 2021 Women Remote Pilots By State, there are only 623 female drone pilots in Virginia and 75 in West Virginia.

Today, about 7 percent of certified remote pilots are female, with the highest proportion being women ages 25-34. Professor Stange was recently awarded a Virginia Space Grant Consortium Innovative Project grant to attract more women to become drone pilots.

Thanks to the Innovative Project grant, LFCC will have a variety of opportunities to get more young women interested in becoming drone pilots. These include:

• Webinars on Zoom March 21, March 30, April 4 and April 15, all 6-7 p.m., open to all ages
• Summer camps: June Explorers for girls ages 13-15, and July Flyers for girls ages 16-18
• Drone Community Day in August
• 10 scholarships for women to enroll in a drone course at the college this fall

To register for a webinar, camp, or scholarship please go to https://lfcc.edu/femalesinflight. If you have questions about registration, please contact Dr. Stange at mstange@lfcc.edu.

Dr. Stange began participating in the Improving Pathways into the Geospatial and Unmanned Aircraft Systems Technician Workforce (GeoTed-UAS) project earlier this winter and will attend a summer faculty institute at Virginia Tech in May.

The project, which is supported by a National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education (ATE) grant and administered by the Virginia Space Grant Consortium, is intended to increase community colleges’ ability to train drone operators. It does this through curriculum alignment, faculty professional development, student service-learning projects and internships.

Dr. Stange and other faculty members attending the institute are expected to serve as trained UAS operations technicians at their respective community colleges.

Starting this fall, LFCC will be offering drones courses. Initial coursework will train students for FAA-approved commercial operations as remote pilots and prepare them for the relevant FAA exam. Additional courses will cover maintenance, mission planning, flight data management, geospatial technology and more. Learn more about the drones courses at https://lfcc.edu/drones.

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) has recently approved a high school UAS course, and Dr. Stange hopes to work with local high schools to provide dual-enrollment opportunities.

“The world of drones might still feel futuristic to many, but technology is developing rapidly,” Dr. Stange notes. “It won’t be long until applications of drones are found in many aspects of our lives, and we need to ensure that women are part of this movement.