Former Congressman Tim Ryan, right, flies a drone on a flight simulator with the assistance of Trumbull Career and Technical Center student Travis LaNeve, 16, of Girard and home school, McDonald, during the grand opening of the Dronepreneurs program at TCTC in Champion.

CHAMPION — The air was filled with a quiet buzz Thursday at Trumbull Career and Technical Center during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new drone and aviation program.

The event celebrating Dronepreneurs took place in the TCTC classroom / lab and included live drone and drone-simulator demos, as well as refreshments prepared by TCTC Culinary Arts students.

Former U.S. Congressman Tim Ryan was the ceremony’s keynote speaker. He helped acquire grant funding, which has made the two-year program in its inaugural school year a reality for the 11 high school juniors enrolled.

Ryan said, “We have young bright minds here in Trumbull County learning to understand this technology and also learning to apply this technology. The opportunities for you guys are endless. When you are on the cutting edge of technology, you are also at the cutting edge of job creation.”

The program is a collaboration between the Trumbull County Education Service Center and the TCTC, Matthew Roth of TCESC said. The project is the fourth and final stage of the original $650,000 grant received by TCESC in 2023 that Ryan helped secure.

The classroom was previously used by the ROTC program, which was eliminated from the curriculum. The space was revamped using funds from the grant.

The drone program is a pathway for students if they want to get their private pilot’s license later on,

“This program introduces students not only to drones and that technology but all facets of technology that they need to get their pilot’s license,” TCTC Superintendent Jason Gray said.

Robert Sellers is the program’s classroom instructor and the head coach of the drone racing league, which is preparing for an event at Warren G. Harding High School later this year.

“The purpose of the racing is to get students familiar with the drones, teaching them how drones operate,” Sellers said. “They are FPV, which is ‘first-person view,’ using augmented reality goggles. The drone’s camera is projecting the flight of the drone into the goggle’s view. So they are flying it as if they were riding inside the drone.”

The drone program meshes technology and entrepreneurship.

“They have to market their team and make their own team logos, create a display, and make a presentation,” Sellers said. “They must get team sponsors. It is all mock but teaches them skills they will need. There is a lot more to it than just racing drones.”

Through the program, students will have the opportunity to test for their commercial drone pilot license, Sellers said.

It’s similar to a manned pilot in terms of what the students will memorize, but they also have to know drone-specific regulations, Sellers said.

“With that license, they can operate a drone over 0.55 pounds and can use the license to make money. They can do search and rescue and because it is so new, they can come up with ideas on how to use the technology,” he said.

TCESC Superintendent Dr. Michael Hanshaw said, “Trumbull County is at the forefront for preparing our students for success in this rapidly growing field.”

Ethan Cottrill, 16, of Champion, said, “I really like it because I want to go to pilot school after this program. I want to be a commercial pilot.”

When asked why he decided to enroll in the program, Gavin Connelly, 16, of Girard said, “My brother does aviation maintenance. But I think I will go into the drone aspect of it.”

Lenny Bortz, 16, of Cortland said, “I wanted to do the Air Force program, but I went into this program instead because they took away the Air Force program. I plan to join the Air Force and do something with the aviation aspect of it.”

Sellers will be recruiting for next year’s Dronepreneurs class by attending some of the recruiting events at schools. Current students will attend some of the Trumbull County schools to help with drumming interest among other students. He’ll also host some open house recruiting events at TCTC.