Week 4 is the emotional peak of the program. The drone gets its eyes — FPV camera, video transmitter, and the Raspberry Pi NDVI rig — then powers up with propellers for the first time. Monday and Tuesday install the FPV stack and configure the video downlink. Wednesday integrates the NDVI rig and calibrates capture on the bench. Thursday drills the 22-item pre-flight checklist and runs the first props-on test on a tether (no actual flight). Friday is the moment the build becomes a drone — each trainee, in turn, performs a 30-second tethered hover at ~30 cm altitude. After three weeks of "no propellers yet," this week the wait ends.
This page is the day-by-day expansion of Week 4 in the curriculum overview. Each day is its own panel below — click a day tab to see the morning and afternoon schedules in detail, the hands-on activities with steps, the materials list, common pitfalls, and the end-of-day check.
Designed for two audiences. Cohort instructors running a Week 4 cohort use this as the lesson plan — block-by-block timing, the rubric for the hover assessment, where trainees in earlier cohorts typically struggle (NDVI Pi configuration and the first-arm anxiety on Friday). Trainees use this as preview-and-review — what to verify before each test, the FPV configuration steps to revisit, the pre-flight checklist items to memorise before Friday's hover.
The emotional peak. Week 1 was foundational; Week 2 was hands-on hardware; Week 3 was the cognitive grind. Week 4 is the reward. The build that's been growing for three weeks gets its eyes Monday-Wednesday, then takes flight on Friday. Most cohort 02 trainees describe Friday's first tethered hover as the most memorable moment of the program — three weeks of "no propellers yet" finally ends. Difficulty curve drops back to Week 1-2 levels (~5% Saturday rate); the cognitive demand is lower than Week 3, the emotional stakes are higher. Instructors plan accordingly: more celebration on Friday, more presence at the tether station, more cohort photos.
Week 4 mixes hands-on FPV soldering, software configuration on the Raspberry Pi, and the program's most-anticipated event — Friday's first hover. Trainees should arrive Monday with their Week 3 builds (locked in workshop, FC and radio configured) and an appetite for the wait being almost over.
Recommended pre-week reading (optional but useful)
Trainees who arrive having read these handle Week 4 noticeably better:
Total: ~50-70 minutes of pre-reading. Less critical than Week 3's pre-reading (which made a big difference); Week 4 covers everything practically. But the pre-flight checklist memorisation is the one item with measurable Friday-performance impact.
Schedule: Mon–Fri, 09:00–16:00 with a 1-hour lunch break. 4 contact hours per day; 20 hours total. Workshop opens 08:30; trainees retrieve their builds and set up workstations. Workshop closes 16:30. Notable Week 4 differences: Tuesday afternoon includes ~30 min indoor video link testing with goggles; Wednesday afternoon includes ~45 min outdoor NDVI calibration sweep; Thursday afternoon and Friday entire day are outdoors with props installed. Bring sun protection and water for Thu-Fri sessions.
Each day below is a self-contained lesson plan. Click a day to see the morning and afternoon detailed schedules, the hands-on activities with specific steps, materials, common pitfalls, and the end-of-day check that confirms learning. Days are sequenced — running them out of order will produce gaps.
Day 1 gives the drone its eyes. Morning: physically mounting the Foxeer Predator FPV camera on the camera plate, setting tilt angle (10–15° for survey work), and wiring the 5V/GND/video signal. Afternoon: installing the RushFPV Tank Solo VTX with attention to heat dissipation, wiring SmartAudio to a free FC UART, and routing the 5.8 GHz antenna. By end of day, each build has a camera and a video transmitter — ready for tomorrow's video link testing.
Common Day 1 pitfalls
End-of-day check. Before leaving, each trainee shows the instructor:
Builds covered at workstations. Trainees with persistent issues stay 15-30 min for one-on-one troubleshooting.
Tonight's prep for Tuesday. Optional: read sensors.html Section 2 (FPV downlink theory). Required: come ready for video link configuration tomorrow morning. We'll be in BetaFlight's Ports + VTX tabs configuring SmartAudio, then putting on goggles for the first time. ~30 min of indoor goggles work.
Day 2 brings the video to life. Morning: configuring the SmartAudio link through BetaFlight's Ports and VTX tabs, setting the VTX channel and power, then pairing with workshop FPV goggles for the first time. Afternoon: introducing NDVI — what it is, why we measure it, and the Raspberry Pi rig that captures it. Today is the bridge between the FPV stack (yesterday) and the NDVI stack (tomorrow). By end of day, each build has a working video downlink and trainees understand what NDVI gives the cooperatives that motivates the whole cohort program.
Common Day 2 pitfalls
End-of-day check. Before leaving, each trainee shows the instructor:
Trainees with persistent video issues stay 15-30 min for one-on-one troubleshooting.
Tonight's prep for Wednesday. Optional: read sensors.html Section 4 (NDVI rig assembly) and the Raspberry Pi capture script source (linked in sensors.html). Required: rest. Wednesday is a build day with multiple new components; trainees benefit from energy.
Day 3 turns the NDVI rig from a kit into a working sensor on the build. Morning: physically mounting the Pi Zero rig on the top plate, wiring 5V power from the FC's BEC, and connecting the GPS feed (so the rig can geo-tag captures). Afternoon: bench calibration — the build sits on a workbench, the rig captures a sweep of a calibration target, trainees verify image capture, exposure, and EXIF geo-tagging. By end of day, each rig is producing real geo-tagged NDVI imagery (just not in flight yet).
ssh lumipad@<pi-ip>. Pi default IP is fixed in the cohort default Pi OS image (workshop wall has IP-per-trainee chart).systemctl status lumipad-capture. Should show "active (running)".cat /dev/ttyAMA0 | head. Should show NMEA sentences ($GPGGA, $GPRMC, etc.) when GPS has lock; empty otherwise (build is indoors so no lock).ls -la /home/lumipad/captures/. Should show JPG files growing every 2 seconds.exiftool image.jpg | grep GPS)?Common Day 3 pitfalls
End-of-day check. Before leaving, each trainee shows the instructor:
Trainees with calibration failures: documented work for Thursday morning (some can be addressed in 30 min, others Friday afternoon).
Tonight's prep for Thursday. Optional: read flight-training.html Section 1 (pre-flight discipline) and the 22-item checklist (handout). Required: memorise the 22-item checklist before Friday. Trainees who hand-copy the checklist into their notebook tonight perform measurably better at Friday's hover assessment. Thursday morning is checklist drill; Thursday afternoon is the first props-on tethered power-up — hands close to spinning props for the first time.
Thursday is the dress rehearsal. Morning: the 22-item Lumipad pre-flight checklist, drilled three times with a partner observing. Afternoon: the first props-on tethered power-up — outdoors, tether attached, props installed for the first time, brief throttle test (no flight). The day teaches the discipline that keeps cohort graduates and bystanders safe: never spin props without the checklist, never trust memory over the card. Friday's hover succeeds because Thursday's drill prepared for it.
Common Day 4 pitfalls
End-of-day check. Each trainee demonstrates:
Trainees with checklist memorisation gaps stay ~30 min for additional drill. Trainees with rough motor sound during tethered test get diagnostic time before tomorrow.
Tonight's prep for Friday. Optional: re-read flight-training.html in full (covers the moment of first hover). Required: rest. Friday is the program's most-anticipated event; trainees who arrive rested perform better. Cohort default suggests no late-night practice on the simulator — let the muscle memory consolidate. Bring your assigned transmitter (workshop pool, same one bound to your build).
Friday is the moment the build becomes a drone. Morning: each trainee, in turn, performs a 30-second tethered hover at ~30cm altitude under instructor supervision. Afternoon: cohort celebration — group review, photos, food, and visits from cohort 02 graduates who share what's coming in Weeks 5-6. After three weeks of "no propellers yet," and a Thursday rehearsal, today the drones fly. The first hover is short and tethered, but it is unambiguous: the build flies.
Common Day 5 pitfalls
End-of-day check. Each trainee's Week 4 hover assessment rubric is signed and goes in their cohort folder. Status options:
Cohort default historical: ~95% pass cleanly Friday morning, ~5% Saturday session. No trainee is removed from the cohort over Week 4 assessment; nobody fails to fly.
Weekend. Builds stay in workshop (props removed for storage; cohort default policy is no props on stored builds — prevents accidental arming). Saturday session for trainees who need it. Otherwise: rest. Week 5 is fly-school week; trainees benefit from being well-rested. Cohort default optional reading: flight-training.html in full (covers Week 5's entire arc) and missions.html (covers what cooperative survey missions actually look like — Week 6).
Aggregated materials list for an instructor running Week 4 with 6 trainees. Cohort default budget: ~₱4,800 per trainee for Week 4 add-on components (FPV camera, VTX, NDVI rig, props, antennas). Workshop FPV goggles and outdoor flight equipment (tethers, anchors) are reused across cohorts.
Per-cohort cost: ~₱32,000-37,000 total for 6 trainees (dominated by 6 × ~₱4,800 add-on kits = ~₱29,000, plus ~₱3,000-5,000 for Friday's celebration including lunch and graduates honorarium). Workshop goggles, tethers, brackets, and printed materials amortise across many cohorts. Per-cohort consumables: ~₱2,000-4,000 (props are the main consumable — Friday's hover assessment damages ~10-20% of installed props through hard descents and minor tether contact).
The Week 4 assessment is the tethered hover. Four specific demonstrations performed by each trainee on Friday morning. Like prior weeks, the assessment is diagnostic — trainees who don't pass cleanly get Saturday support, not removal. Cohort default historical: ~95% pass Friday morning; ~5% need Saturday tether practice; all complete Week 5.
Hover assessment rubric
Each trainee performs the following four demonstrations Friday morning, with instructor observing:
Pass: 4/4. Conditional pass: 3/4 with documented issues. Saturday session: 2/4 or less.
Cumulative end-of-week verification (passive)
By Friday morning, each trainee's build should also have demonstrated (during the week, not as separate Friday assessment items):
If any of these aren't demonstrated by Friday morning: trainee gets Friday afternoon open-lab time to verify before being signed off for Week 5.
Cohort default historical for Week 4: ~95% of trainees pass the hover assessment cleanly Friday morning; ~5% need Saturday tether practice. The Saturday rate is the lowest of any week — Week 4 is technically less demanding than Week 3, and trainees arrive Friday with full Thursday rehearsal behind them. Every cohort 02 trainee who finished Week 4 graduated. The hover is the program's emotional checkpoint as much as it's a technical one.