Module 15: sUAS Systems and Technology
The Part 107 knowledge test focuses on regulations, airspace, and operating rules, but flying safely and professionally also depends on genuinely understanding the technology inside the aircraft: how it knows where it is, what powers it, how it captures the images or data a client is paying for, and how the remote pilot's commands actually reach it. This module is background technical knowledge, not tied to a specific ACS Task, that underpins real-world decision-making covered elsewhere in this course — GPS loss procedures, in-flight battery failure, wind-induced camera shake, and more.
Learning outcomes
- Explain how GPS/GNSS positioning works through satellite trilateration, and identify the main sources of position error
- Explain LiPo battery chemistry, safe charging, storage, and disposal practices, and recognize thermal runaway warning signs
- Explain the difference between rolling and global shutter sensors, the jello effect, and the purpose of 3-axis gimbal stabilization
- Explain RF spectrum basics for drone control links, the common frequency bands used, and the FCC Part 15 framework that governs them
- Distinguish the aircraft's control-link radio from Remote ID broadcast and two-way voice radio communications, three separate RF systems covered across this course
The four lessons in this module each go deep on one technology system that a working remote pilot relies on every flight. Lesson A covers GPS and GNSS positioning: how satellite trilateration actually determines the aircraft's position, why that position is sometimes wrong, and the deeper technical foundation behind the loss-of-GPS-signal emergency procedures covered in Module 11. Lesson B covers lithium polymer (LiPo) battery technology in full: the chemistry, the safe charging and storage practices every remote pilot needs, and the warning signs of a genuinely dangerous battery, extending the loading and power-budgeting material from Module 6 and the in-flight battery failure scenario from Module 11.
Lesson C covers the imaging side of the aircraft: sensor types, the difference between rolling and global shutter designs and the "jello effect" that rolling shutter can produce, gimbal stabilization, and how mission type (mapping, inspection, agriculture) drives sensor selection, building directly on the wind and vibration content from Module 5. Lesson D closes the module with radio frequency fundamentals for the control link between the remote pilot and the aircraft — a genuinely different radio system from both Remote ID broadcast (Module 12) and two-way voice radio communication (Module 9), governed by an entirely different regulatory framework (FCC Part 15, not the FAA).
None of this module is tied to a specific ACS Task the way most of this course is, but a remote pilot who understands why GPS sometimes drifts, why a swollen battery is dangerous, why footage looks warped after a rough gust of wind, or why a control link drops out near a crowded Wi-Fi network is simply a better-informed operator — and several of these concepts show up as background context in real knowledge-test scenario questions even without their own dedicated Task.
Satellite trilateration, multi-constellation GNSS, sources of position error, and RTK/PPK precision positioning.
Lithium polymer chemistry, C-rating, balance charging, storage voltage, and thermal runaway warning signs.
Rolling versus global shutter, the jello effect, 3-axis gimbal stabilization, and mission-specific sensor choices.
Common control-link frequency bands, FCC Part 15, and how the control link differs from Remote ID and voice radio.