Flight Log: March 2026

Members, please join us as we revisit the past year, look ahead to the upcoming season, and elect board officers for the next term. 

You will hear updates on club operations, field maintenance, events, youth programs, and other key activities that keep the club running smoothly. It’s a great chance to ask questions, share ideas, and help shape the direction of the club for the year ahead.

🗓️ March 21, 1:00 - 4:00 pm, Scio Township Hall

The Scio Flyers will again be attending the Toledo Swap Meet on April 10 & 11, where we sell aircraft that have been donated to the club over the past year.  If you have any gently used unwanted aircraft or desirable parts, please bring them to the Membership meeting on March 21. Proceeds will go to the Club.

You are also welcome to join our club officers in Toledo. Let Jim or Ken know if you're interested.

The Scio Flyers UAS4STEM Team is officially in crunch time! Since October, our dedicated crew of student engineers have been meeting every Sunday afternoon to transform a box of carbon fiber and electronics into a high-performance autonomous aircraft. We are thrilled to report that the Holybro S500 multi-rotor build is complete, and the team is now moving into the most critical phase of the season.

Current status: The hardware is buttoned up, and we are currently deep into sensor Integration. This means teaching the drone’s "brain" (the Pixhawk flight controller) how to talk to its "eyes" (GPS and cameras). The team has been hard at work fine-tuning radio fail-safes, and ensuring our telemetry links are rock-solid for the high-stakes missions ahead.

Coming up: The Virtual Preliminaries: All eyes are on Friday, April 24th—the date of the Virtual Preliminary Competition. This is where the team must prove their readiness to the national judges. Our next few Sunday sessions will focus on:

• The Flight Readiness Review (FRR): Students are practicing their technical presentations to explain the drone’s power systems and safety protocols.

• Autonomous Navigation: Programming the precise waypoint patterns required to identify points of interest and defects hidden on the airfield.

• Post-Processing Drills: Training the team to quickly analyze aerial data to pinpoint GPS coordinates with surgical accuracy.

It's been wonderful to see the team progress. These students aren’t just flying drones; they are learning the systems engineering and teamwork required for real-world aerospace careers.

Next step: We’ll be heading outside for our first hover tests to verify motor sync, vibration dampening and weight lifting capabilities. Clear props and blue skies ahead!

On February 25, the Scio Flyers were invited to help kick off Washtenaw Community College’s STEAM Week. Our display allowed everyone to get a close-up look of our aircraft. It was cool to show that this hobby isn't just about flying—it’s a mix of Science, Tech, Engineering, Art, and Math. We spent the day talking about everything from how the physics of lift work to the electronics and the craftsmanship that goes into building our models.

WCC does a great job bringing together local pros and university partners to show students the range of careers in STEAM and we were honored to be there to represent the "Model Aviation" side of the STEAM world.