Blending Flipped Classroom and Hands-on Activity for Aerospace Education at the French Air & Space Force Academy

This paper describes a recent learning experience in aerospace education at the French Air & Space Force Academy. This original approach blends flipped classroom as well as hands-on activity to obtain a high level of engagement while fostering autonomy. A Parrot Mambo Fly minidrone is provided to the cadets and studied as a support to the stability and control course. Following a fictive scenario where the cadets have to perform a technical study to the benefit of the French Air & Space Force, several flights are performed autonomously by the teams and analyzed. This study requires theoretical material available through online resources. The progress is regularly assessed thanks to oral presentations and intermediate reports. The results show noticeable enthusiasm from the cadets, a deeper understanding of complex concepts, and more critical thinking.