May 1, 2018
Quinita Thomas
When Jason Seper started attended UCCS, he noticed that few people used drones on campus. So, he decided to start a drone club of his own.
Drone Club offers students the chance to both learn more about drones and participate in organized drone racing events, according to Seper, club president and a junior mechanical engineering major.
“Overall, as a club our goal is to help students to learn about drones and drone racing, which is a big sport right now, as well as the technology involved with drones,” said Seper. Six students are in the club as of this semester.
A drone is a quadcopter with four propellers on each arm, resembling an “X.” Drones can be programmed by students in the club, said Seper.
“There’s a camera attached to it, so we’re able to see what the drone is seeing when we’re flying through. We are currently trying to get some places to fly it at, like open fields and different tracks,” he said.
According to Seper, drone racing is a popular activity. There is a Drone Racing League, or DRL, that can be seen competing on the ESPN or ESPN2 channels. Seper said that similar to track meets, people are competing for the best drone pilot.
“They fly through this course. Some people crash going through the course, and they are timed,” he said.
Seper hopes to get more people involved once he is able to obtain additional drones and organize more events.
There is currently one drone available for the entire club to use, according to Seper. However, he hopes to have more funds in the upcoming semester to purchase drone parts so students can work together to assemble a drone themselves.
The club is open to all students of all majors. The membership fee is $10, which will cover the events students attend.
“In order to fly the drone, it’ll cost money to either take it to an indoor track, or to go out to a field,” said Seper. “If we’re going to have an event and have a lot of people there, it’ll cost money for us to provide food and beverages, as well as to rent stuff so that we can get people over there from UCCS.”
To learn more information about the Drone Club, students can visit Mountain Lion Connect.