Page 2 of 2

Re: Tips and Interesting Points for UAV Ops

Posted: Tue Jun 9 2015, 13:28
by Saucepan
Not really. Are you in law SS1 you've answered nothing? 'This' is a pronoun, as well you know, so not so complex for users of the English language. So, where is your farm that my property ends on please?

Cheers, Saucepan.

Re: Tips and Interesting Points for UAV Ops

Posted: Wed Jun 10 2015, 02:42
by GreenRange
Troll much Saucepan? pop;

Saucepan wrote:..... one lawyer does better then another.....


I believe that should have been "than another"?

Saucepan wrote: not so complex for users of the English language.
Cheers, Saucepan.


Queue retort continuing the English lesson, or instead, perhaps we get back on topic?
pop;

Re: Tips and Interesting Points for UAV Ops

Posted: Thu Jun 11 2015, 05:13
by SuperSix1
The minimum age for the issue of a remote pilot licence is 16.

Re: Tips and Interesting Points for UAV Ops

Posted: Sat Jun 13 2015, 00:38
by SuperSix1
One of the most useful things a UAV driver can do for a Farmer is a simple overhead photo. This can show things such as germination patterns, weed/disease outbreaks, drainage issues... I used one yesterday to prove the extent of damage to a mung-bean crop by a herd of bovines who were supposedly 'only in there for a few minutes'.

But where UAV drivers could really help is in feral animal detection and control. Pigs and wild dogs can kill thousands of dollars worth of cows in just one attack... our knowledge of NVG, IR, NIR and TI needs to translate into the drone space. But until we get there, I guess the mung-beans might remain a bit safer... :/

Re: Tips and Interesting Points for UAV Ops

Posted: Sat Jun 13 2015, 08:19
by Saucepan
Hey, if you can help, does anyone have any first hand information on Ausacademy.org? I have a couple of students who want to branch out into drones after their CPL. They advertise on Bladeslapper but apart from the website I have no further testimonials for them.

Cheers, Saucepan.

Re: Tips and Interesting Points for UAV Ops

Posted: Sat Jun 13 2015, 22:15
by flighttech
If you want value for money you need to look at what theory training is relevant and what practical training is provided. You often need to talk with their course admin/ instructors as with your case your guys have theory credit for PPL already so 3 days of head bashing in the classroom is a waste. They will need some systems and performance and law relevant to drones. Then on the controls learning to fly. Any provider worth its salt will tailor make a course to suit you. I can suggest FPV AUSTRALIA but you make your own decisions. John is great to deal with.

Re: Tips and Interesting Points for UAV Ops

Posted: Sun Jun 14 2015, 14:30
by SuperSix1
Those with a PPL or higher just need a day worth of UAV Manufacturer Training to get their UAV Controller Certificate. Clearly I have been teaching many of these days lately, and I am happy to admit, I always feel like an extra half-day or so would be great to get all that UAV specific info into the trainees.

Re: Tips and Interesting Points for UAV Ops

Posted: Tue Jun 16 2015, 12:24
by SuperSix1
CASA are hopeful the updated Regs for UAV ops, will be release by the end of the year... but due to the complexities involved with all regulating, one should not deliberately extend the normal cyclic inspiratory pause in anticipation... that is all... carry on...

Re: Tips and Interesting Points for UAV Ops

Posted: Wed Jun 17 2015, 06:00
by SuperSix1
What do we go through on the UAV Manufacturer Training Course?

The course is CASA Approved UAV manufacturer training on the DJI Phantom. This (other than some paperwork) is all a qualified pilot needs to get CLARC to issue a UAV Controller Certificate. I also train on 3 other UAV types as it is good learning for all and allows me to add those types to the manufacturer training certificate if an individual wants to pay for that too.

The course entails about 6-7 hours of training.

We start off with intros and discussion about our interest and where the industry is / is heading.

Next is the regs CASR 101, where they are, how they are being interpreted and where they are heading. We also talk about Controller Certificates and UOCs.

We then talk TEM, which I know we are all qualified in, but I relate it and do some practical exercises to UAV Ops.

Next is drone tech and systems. Just a different scale to what we do with our manned helos and some systems far more advanced than we have on our sit-in versions.

Fuel and batteries.

A brush up on some helo and plank aerody as related to drone aerody.

Flight planning , area inspection and pre-flight.

Normal flight operations - drone manoeuvering, control modes, crew co-ord.

Abnormal flight operations including failsafes and emergencies.

Intro to the CASA-style UOC practical test.

Debrief. Admin. Issue Manufacturer Training Certificates.

Re: Tips and Interesting Points for UAV Ops

Posted: Wed Jun 17 2015, 07:43
by Saucepan
FFS Ss1, I'll give you 10 out of 10 for tenacity....but you failed to mention your company. Maybe the Mods can point us all out with that one? :roll:

I will return to the home of the Australian Helicopter community when it comes back. In the meantime I shall revert to Rotorheads on the dark side for my news.

Nice one, Saucepan.

Re: Tips and Interesting Points for UAV Ops

Posted: Wed Jun 17 2015, 14:02
by Twistgrip

Re: Tips and Interesting Points for UAV Ops

Posted: Fri Jun 19 2015, 10:48
by Jampot
SS1,
Interesting points you place here.
The course entails about 6-7 hours of training
Debrief. Admin. Issue Manufacturer Training Certificates.

How could anyone be expected to be proficient enough to obtain a commercial license (that's what a UAV Controller certificate is) after a paltry 6 hours of instruction total?
My main question is - what percentage of your students fail to meet an acceptable standard after the 6 hour course?
I hold a PPL and a UAV controllers certificate, and find the immaturity level of most people flying drones is alarming! CASA may well be a long way behind the field, but the amount of drone operators that think they are the only ones that are in the sky, is testament as to why CASA needs to be very careful. It will only take one incident and the whole UAV industry will be held to account. While they don't understand the risks, members of the general public has a right to expect they are safe as they go about their daily lives.
Maybe the training course should be at least a fortnight.
Regards,
Jampot.

Re: Tips and Interesting Points for UAV Ops

Posted: Fri Jun 19 2015, 13:42
by SuperSix1
I know where you are coming from Jampot, but a couple of corrections and illuminations if I may...

To say 'only six hours training', doesn't do justice to the fact any to whom this course applies, already have a CASA FCL. In fact CPL is the lowest qual I have trained thus far. There is also an hours requirement they must achieve outside of manufacturer training before CASA will issue a Controller Certificate.

Also, this is not a UAV Controller course, this is simply CASA Approved manufacturer training. As it happens, this is the primary requirement for FCL holders to have UAV Controller added to their FCL. So I can't agree with your thesis concerning giving a commercial licence, participants already have that, this is an additional acft type, which they don't sit in to fly.

The only reason TEM and other Aviation specifics are even covered, is that from experience I know FCL holders need a good deal of interpretation from manned to unmanned. They do not complete any assessments on manufacturer training, hence no participant is found 'NYC'.

I also teach the full CASA Approved RPAS Basic to non-FCL holders. This is a week-long intensive course. On this course there are written and practical examinations, and yes, a number of students are found 'NYC' at various points, in fact I am conducting 2 re-assessments in Adelaide next week.

Like any committed instructor, I would always like to spend more time with my trainees. I think the optimum time for Manufacturer Training of FCL holders would be 1.5 days, and I wouldn't mind sneaking an extra day or so onto the RPAS Basic course for those without an FCL.

But, the realities of the Regs, CASA Approvals and trainee time available mean Manufacturer Training gets a day, and RPAS Basic gets a week. So I use my 20 years of helo instructional experience to achieve the best-possible knowledge transfer in the time available, and, possibly more importantly, stay available to my trainees thereafter to resolve the inevitable questions that arise as they progress into the UAV branch of their careers.

As for a two week course? Overkill. The only reason to spend that much time would be due to training on planks, they are so hard to master... cheers

Re: Tips and Interesting Points for UAV Ops

Posted: Sat Jun 20 2015, 03:54
by Twistgrip

Re: Tips and Interesting Points for UAV Ops

Posted: Sun Jun 21 2015, 06:17
by SuperSix1
Yep, many UAV tilt-rotor designs are not far away from the consumer market.. let's hope they see more success than the manned tilt-rotor market..

Re: Tips and Interesting Points for UAV Ops

Posted: Mon Jun 22 2015, 11:41
by SuperSix1
The Army are presently recruiting UAV drivers. Direct entry, knowing that you will end up operating 'shadow' at the end of basic training. A recent student of mine has been selected, a key issue being his experience with UAVs and his UAV Controller Certificate. Not a bad gig for a young bloke...

Re: Tips and Interesting Points for UAV Ops

Posted: Mon Jun 22 2015, 21:37
by Zebt
Whilst I think it's great that your student has been selected I find it a little bit of a tenuous connection to say that his controller certificate was a key issue, the military recruit across a very broad criteria however they will also provide full and comprehensive training in whatever discipline THEY decide, for example, if you enter the RAAF you MAY be selected to fly, you can make it your desire and wish but at the end of the day they will assess you fully, having a pilot's licence will not necessarily mean you end up a pilot (having been through selection for the RAF with many ME commercial pilots who were not selected to fly but offered other positions!). So, a UAV cert I doubt makes any difference, perhaps a good conversation piece in the interviews but not much else. The practice of flying a military grade RPA and a hobby type multirotor is chalk and cheese, almost everything about the two is different.

Re: Tips and Interesting Points for UAV Ops

Posted: Tue Jun 23 2015, 07:07
by SuperSix1
That might be normal Zebt but not in the direct entry recruitment process. He enquired about opportunities in the Army, he was actually thinking tech-elec trade. In the initial interview it was established he was a Certified UAV Controller and the whole recruitment process encouraged him to pursue direct entry to UAV operator, which he has now achieved.

As for the Shadow v the 3DR Aero M .. they are different, but many concepts are similar. Obviously the Army see an experienced civilian UAV driver, as something of value to them.

Good luck to him. If the UAV scene was like it now is when I first joined... maybe I'd be Shadow3 rather than SS1...

Re: Tips and Interesting Points for UAV Ops

Posted: Mon Jul 6 2015, 04:11
by arrrj
Yamaha aims high with crop-spraying drones
One in three bowls of rice in Japan has been treated with chemicals by flying robots
KANA INAGAKI — TOKYO
Until Amazon secures regulatory approval to deliver parcels to our homes using drones, one of the hottest battlegrounds in the fast-evolving market for unmanned aerial vehicles is where you might least expect a technology revolution — agriculture.
And that is where Japanese drone technology, dating back to the late 1980s, comes in.
In May, Yamaha Motor became the first company to secure permission to fly a crop-spraying drone in the US that resembles a helicopter and is called RMax.
It was the largest commercial drone to win approval from the Federation Aviation Administration, with a body that is 2.7 meters long, 1.1 meters tall and weighs 64kg. Currently, unmanned aerial vehicles used for commercial purposes are banned in the US unless a special exemption is obtained from the FAA.
Yamaha, which already sells agricultural drones in Japan, South Korea and Australia, hopes the FAA exemption for the RMax in the US will not only unlock this market but also those in European countries.
“Our drones work well in spraying pesticides and fertilisers on slopes so we’re aiming for vineyards at Napa Valley in the US and Champagne in France,” says Osamu Ishioka, Yamaha’s senior general manager.
Yamaha, the world’s second-largest motorcycle maker, has been developing drones for about three decades, prompted by a request from the Japanese government.
These have quietly become embedded in Japanese agriculture. Their use is so widespread that about one in three bowls of rice consumed by Japanese households has been sprayed with agricultural chemicals by Yamaha drones.
As Japan grapples with a rapidly ageing population, these drones help to ease the back-breaking work of the country’s elderly rice farmers.
Yasuyoshi Kasama, a 36-year-old rice farmer and a regular user of Yamaha’s latest drone called the Fazer, says he and his parents used to take about 10 days to complete one of their most important tasks — the planting of rice seedlings and the spraying of pesticides. Using the drone, it takes just two days at most, he adds.
But the investment is not small. Mr Kasama spent more than $200,000 to purchase two of Yamaha’s drones, but he says they are worth the price considering the amount of manpower and time they save.
Mr Kasama, who obtained a licence to operate the drones, believes the technology will help to ease the backward image of farming.
“I want to change the image of agriculture,” he says.
“Unless it’s cool, we won’t be able to attract young people.”
With annual revenue of just Y5bn ($41m), Yamaha’s drone business was a tiny portion of the group’s total sales of Y1.5tn last year.
But the company hopes to increase sales from an expected 320 drones this year to at least 500 by 2020.
Analysts say the potential for agricultural drones is huge. The market for commercial drones is expected to reach $1.7bn in 2025, of which $350m will be generated from unmanned aerial vehicles focused on agriculture, according to data group Lux Research.
The economic benefits of commercial drones in the US should be $13.6bn in the first three years after they gain permission to fly, of which agriculture and public safety will account for 90 per cent, according to the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.
The FAA in February released long-awaited draft rules governing the use of commercial drones, permitting flying alongside other aircraft but requiring operators to keep them in their line of sight.
These rules have not been finalised, but the FAA decision on Yamaha’s drone highlights “the tremendous potential unmanned vehicle systems have in agriculture, helping farmers to more safely, effectively and efficiently manage their crops and improve yields”, says Brian Wynne, chief executive of AUVSI.
Still, competition in the commercial drone market is fierce. Globally, there are already hundreds of companies that claim to make agricultural drones with “little technical differentiation”, says Maryanna Saenko, analyst at Lux Research.
“Yamaha is sure to see an insurgence of competition over the next year as companies vie to be the next system approved by the FAA.”
In the area of consumer-focused unmanned aerial vehicles, DJI, the Chinese maker of remote-controlled “quadcopters”, has become a market leader with its Phantom range of camera-bearing drones. California-based 3D Robotics in April launched its $1,000 Solo drone to compete with the Phantom.
Industrial drones have a higher barrier for market entry as rules on safety and durability are stringent.
One of Yamaha’s strengths is the group’s engine expertise and safety record, but Mr Ishioka says: “Cheaper drones in agriculture will pose a threat for us.
“For now, we hope other players don’t come in, since [crop spraying] is a niche market.”

Image