The REC Foundation's Aerial Drone Competition provides a hands-on STEM experience—fostering drone piloting, programming, teamwork, and real-world problem-solving skills. Everything you need to compete, in one place.
Teams compete across four distinct missions that test piloting, programming, documentation, and communication skills.
Two Drone Teams compete as an Alliance in fast-paced Matches, working together to score points by clearing zones, completing warp loops, and landing precisely.
Students program their Drone to operate fully autonomously—no human control allowed. Fly through gates, tunnels, panels, and identify color mats to earn points.
Navigate an obstacle course with precision. Fly through, under, and around various challenges to score as many points as possible. A calm, focused pilot wins.
Submit your Competition Logbook and sit for a judge interview. Teams answer questions about management, coding strategies, STEM connections, and career links.
The Head Referee has ultimate authority. Rules are designed for fair play—if something isn't explicitly prohibited, it's generally legal.
Real-world FAA airspace classifications are part of the ADC curriculum. Know where drones can and cannot fly—and when ATC permission is required.
CONTROLLED AIRSPACE — Classes A through E require varying levels of ATC communication and approval. UNCONTROLLED AIRSPACE — Class G is generally free to operate in without ATC unless a control tower is present.
Above Class E / above 18,000 ft MSL. Requires ATC permission. Instrument Flight Rules apply.
⚠ ATC PERMISSION REQUIREDFrom surface to 10,000 ft MSL surrounding major airports like ORD or LAX. Requires ATC clearance.
⚠ ATC PERMISSION REQUIREDExtends to 4,000 ft AGL around medium-sized airports. Two-way radio communication required.
⚠ ATC PERMISSION REQUIREDLess than 2,500 ft AGL for airports with a control tower. Must establish radio contact before entering.
⚠ ATC PERMISSION REQUIREDBelow 18,000 ft MSL. General controlled airspace that does NOT require ATC permission unless temporary VIP airspace is active.
✓ GENERALLY NO ATC NEEDED700 or 1,200 ft AGL, can extend to 14,500 ft MSL in remote areas. Usually drone-friendly without ATC—unless a control tower is present.
✓ NO ATC NEEDED (generally)Temporary VIP Airspace: The outer ring requires ATC permission and mandates you be "talking and squawking" with ATC — meaning active two-way radio communication while on an IFR or VFR flight plan. The inner ring is typically a no-fly zone entirely.
Practical wisdom gathered from real competition experience. Study these before you fly.
Walls and corners restrict airflow around the drone, making it harder to control and increasing crash risk. Stay in open air whenever possible.
Batteries below 80% noticeably reduce drone efficiency, responsiveness, and stability. Always check charge level before a match or practice session.
A thorough pre-flight check (per rule <S4>) is required at competitions—but treat it as great practice every single time you fly to build strong habits.
Logging crashes helps identify your team's most consistent pilot. Panic leads to overcorrection. The best pilots stay composed under pressure.
Crash logs are a powerful team tool. Track who was flying, what happened, and how to prevent it. Data-driven improvement separates good teams from great ones.
A stuck drone won't generate enough thrust to climb a ramp. If you're not clearing obstacles, check battery level and ensure the drone isn't wedged against a surface.
For autonomous flight, trial and error is your primary tool. Iterate fast, test often, and document what works. Don't assume—test it on the field.
Your Visual Observer is your second pair of eyes. Communication between pilot and VO during a match can prevent crashes and improve navigation accuracy.
Chemistry and physics directly affect drone performance. Understanding molecular weights helps explain how humidity and air composition impact your flights.
Why humidity affects drone control: Water vapor (H₂O at 18 au) is significantly lighter than N₂ (28 au) and O₂ (32 au). When humidity is high, water molecules displace heavier air molecules, making the air less dense. Less dense air means less lift for the same rotor speed. Higher humidity = harder to control the drone, especially during precision maneuvers.
A complete guide to how your CoDrone EDU senses the world, maintains stability, and why environmental conditions affect every single flight.
The CoDrone EDU uses a combination of five sensor systems working simultaneously — optical flow, range finders, barometric pressure, air flow, and IMU — to calculate a real-time stability algorithm that keeps the drone hovering. Understanding these sensors is critical to understanding why your drone behaves differently from day to day.
Downward-facing sensor that estimates the drone's X and Y position. Locks onto visual patterns to hold position and follow coded boundaries. Looks like a tiny cog/gear with a small shiny lens inside at the very center bottom of the drone.
Reads the distance from the drone's underside to the nearest surface below — up to 1.5 meters. Controls altitude during hover and landing. Flying above 10 ft may cause this sensor to lose its surface lock.
Reads the distance from the front of the drone to the nearest surface — up to 1.5 meters. Detects obstacles and maintains clearance during forward flight. Avoid flying too close to walls as turbulent airflow affects sensor accuracy.
Air is drawn in through the louver holes on the underside. The air flow sensor samples air pressure across all four propellers, measuring pressure differences to feed the real-time stability algorithm. Never block the louvers.
The Inertial Measurement Unit combines a barometric pressure sensor, gyroscope, and accelerometer. Tracks altitude, orientation, roll, pitch, and yaw. Barometric readings are continuously sampled through the louvers underneath the drone.
Air temperature changes air density, directly affecting how propellers generate lift. Hotter air = less dense air = less lift. The drone compensates in real-time, but performance varies day to day.
Atmospheric pressure shifts affect altitude-hold and hover stability. The sensor continuously samples pressure through the louvers underneath the drone to track these changes in real time.
Humidity changes air density and the amount of moisture (condensate) in the air. Combined with temperature and pressure, it forms the Wet Bulb Globe Reading used by the drone's stability algorithm.
The Wet Bulb Globe Reading (WBGT) is the three-input calculation the CoDrone EDU uses to calibrate its real-time stability algorithm via the air flow sensor and louvers. All three values change daily — which is why your drone may behave differently even when your code is identical.
The air flow sensor samples air across all four propellers simultaneously, measuring pressure differences and airflow velocity between the louvers on each side of the drone.
This data is combined with all other sensors — optical flow, range finders, barometric, and IMU — to calculate a stability algorithm in real time. The combination of all sensors is how the computer samples data to produce a stable, hovering drone.
Ensure no debris blocks the optical flow sensor, bottom range sensor, or louvers underneath the drone before every single flight.
Push the optical flow sensor cog back into place with your fingernail before powering on the drone. Never skip this step after any crash.
The optical flow sensor works best on well-lit, patterned floors. Avoid dark carpets, reflective surfaces, or parallel-lined surfaces.
Being too close to walls creates turbulent airflow that destabilizes the drone's air flow sensor readings.
Temperature, pressure, and humidity change daily. Recalibrate expectations — your code is the same, but the air is not. Log conditions with each session.
Flying higher increases crash risk and can prevent the bottom range sensor from reading a surface for altitude hold. Stay low and in control.
The Competition Logbook is submitted as part of the Communications Mission. Judges score it using a formal rubric—treat it as a living document throughout the season.
Teams must use the RECFevents platform to manage and submit their logbook. Your logbook is your team's story—document everything from day one.
During the Communications Mission, judges will interview your team. Preparation is key. Study these sample questions and practice as a team before competition day.
Safety is non-negotiable. Violations can result in a team being Grounded — required to land immediately and stop flying for the remainder of the match.
Teams may only fly their Drone in a designated Flight Zone. Never fly outside sanctioned areas.
Students must be accompanied by an Adult at all times when operating the drone.
If a Team is Grounded by a referee, they must land immediately — no exceptions, no delays.
Teams must pass Flight Clearance Inspection and complete the Pre-Flight Checklist before every competition match.
Flight Team Members must stay in the Pilot station or Visual Observer stations. Never enter the field during a Match.
Maintain positive control of your Drone at all times. If you lose control, attempt to land safely immediately.
All participants in the flight zone must wear safety glasses. This is mandatory and non-negotiable.
Flight Team Members may not stand on chairs, boxes, or any objects during a match.
Every Student Team member must have a completed participant release form on file for the event and current season.
A complete reference glossary of drone terminology. Click any letter to expand the terms for that section.