What is the RAD Aerial Drone Competition
The REC Foundation, in partnership with For the Win Robotics, offers a low-cost, in-person, aerial drone competition. Experience an educational drone sporting RAD Competition event to see the dedication, innovation, and excitement unfold among students who are reaching new heights and leveraging real-world skills to amplify their futures.

How to Join the Competition
To register your team, visit RobotEvents.com, and register to participate in RAD events. Please note that local event registration is required and may include an additional event registration fee. As an officially registered team, participation in local events may qualify you for applicable championship events. This culminates in the RAD World Championships at VEX Worlds, the largest robotics competition in the world!

For more information about joining the RAD Aerial Drone Competition please contact us directly.


Age Ranges and Competition Categories
The competition is for Elementary and Middle school students interested in learning about drones, robotics, and computer programming. Not all categories are available in all areas.


Learning Outcomes
    - Autonomous and piloting skills
    - Drone design and construction
    - 3D printing/CAD
    - Understanding motors, electronics and PCBs
    - Multiple coding platforms
    - Block-based, JavaScript, and Python options

o Principles of Flight
o Four Fundamental Forces: lift, thrust, drag, weight
      o Yaw, Pitch, Roll
      o Newton’s 3rd Law & Bernoulli's Principle
      o Airfoil and angle of attack
      o Weight and balance
      o Quadcopter motor and propeller rotation and torque
● Identify quadcopter parts and functions
● Apply FAA Airspace principles through the competition flights
● Understand and use aviation operation terms
● Develop and use models to pre-plan flight patterns
● Design and strategies solutions to navigate complex game tasks and objectives
● Perform evaluation to optimize flight operations and performance.
● Use block-based coding to design and navigate a drone's flight path.
● Identify the connection between programming and real world applications.
● Gain a foundation in computational thinking and problem solving.
● Incorporate 3D printing techniques*
      o Using 3D modelling software, the workings of which can translate into other 3D modelling programs.
      o Designing within constraints
      o Overall project management
      o Principles of geometry and measurement, as well as algebra and general mathematics required to calculate dimensions
      o 3D printer can be used to teach designing for manufacturing and assembly, the principles of tolerance and safety factors, and other engineering principles
      o Documenting the design process and discussing the project in judged interviews teaches written and verbal communication skills.
* Optional – Teams are not required to have 3D printers
● Practice Remote Pilot safety procedures
● Demonstrate awareness of the ethics and historical aspect of unmanned aerial systems