Drone Building Workshop

You walk in with a curious mind. You walk out a drone builder.

This is not a demo you watch from the back of the room. Over the course of 15 days, you assemble a working FPV racing drone from scratch, wire it, configure it, tune it, take it to the field, and fly what you built.

Every builder gets their own kit and a bench. AlgoAtWork facilitators work alongside you at every stage, so you never get stuck on a solder joint or a setting you don't understand.

What you'll build and learn

1. The frame - Assemble a carbon fibre racing frame and learn why its shape, weight and stiffness decide how your drone flies.
2. Motors and propellers - Mount and wire four brushless motors, set the correct spin direction and fit your props for thrust and balance.
3. ESCs (electronic speed controllers) - Solder and connect the ESCs that turn your battery's power into precise motor control, and understand how they talk to the flight controller.
4. The flight controller - Install, flash and configure the brain of the drone in Betaflight: receiver binding, flight modes, arming and failsafes.
5. PID tuning - Learn what P, I and D actually do, then tune your own drone so it flies locked-in and responsive rather than wobbly and twitchy.
6. Fly it live - Take your drone to the flying zone, go through pre-flight safety checks and fly it — first on a simulator warm-up, then for real.

Who it's for

• High school learners (Grade 8 and up), students and young adults curious about robotics, electronics and aviation
• Hobbyists who want to stop buying ready-to-fly drones and start building their own
• Educators who want hands-on drone skills for their classroom or robotics club
• No experience needed. If you've never held a soldering iron, you'll learn here.

What's included

• Full drone build kit: frame, motors, ESC, flight controller, receiver and props
• Use of soldering stations, tools, batteries, chargers and safety gear
• Flight simulator session before your first live flight
• Expert facilitation from AlgoAtWork's drone systems team
• Certificate of participation

Why AlgoAtWork

AlgoAtWork Robotics Academy is a hardware-first talent development hub delivering QCTO-accredited programmes in robotics, IoT, AI, drone systems, digital fabrication and ethical hacking. We teach the way engineers actually learn: hands on the hardware, building real things that work.

Schools, companies and funders can book this course as a private group session, a training programme or part of a longer skills development pathway. Get in touch to tailor it.

Good to know

• Wear closed shoes and comfortable clothes — part of the day is outdoors
• Safety goggles are provided and required at the soldering benches
• Under-18s need a signed parent or guardian consent form on the day
• Flying takes place in a controlled, netted or marked flying zone under facilitator supervision