Drones take off as hobby
MIDDLESEX TWP — Opinions differ on a high-tech, remote-controlled craft that is the latest trend in flight, but it helps fulfill a lifelong dream for one flying enthusiast.
When Keithwood Drive resident Reid Joyce was a child, he experienced in each night's dreams the thrill of flying like a bird. Naturally, he got his pilot's license once he became an adult to recreate the visuals he had during his slumber.
“Then the dreams stopped,” Joyce said.
During the nearly five decades that followed, Joyce flew small planes, helicopters and hot air balloons. After retirement, he served as a consultant for a Pittsburgh flight simulator company by flying several interesting crafts to gather flight test data.
Then six or eight months ago, he happened upon a series of online videos that showed the view from the camera mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV, known as a drone.
“The thing that struck me about the video was that it was very much like my dreams,” Joyce said.
He first bought a small 1.5-ounce UAV — Joyce eschews the word “drone” because it smacks of a military spy plane — for $100 to learn the ins and outs of flying the craft before moving to a larger, outdoor model.
He said the smaller craft is battery operated indoors, has a small camera attached that can take still photographs and video, flies for six to seven minutes on a full charge, and is durable enough to withstand the inevitable crashes into lamps and walls as its pilot learns the controls.
After three or four months of practice on the tiny “micro-quad,” Joyce moved up to a DJI Phantom 2 Vision Plus model, which weighs about five pounds and can be flown outside. Joyce said most enthusiasts buy their UAVs online, and he expects dealers to crop up in the area as the hobby's popularity increases.
Joyce said the camera is much larger and situated on a gimbal on the bottom of the four-rotored UAV, which allows him to take clear pictures and video regardless of the movement of the craft. The high-definition video is stored on a digital memory card that can be inserted into a computer for viewing.
Operating the UAV is much more involved than working a simple remote-controlled helicopter or other craft, Joyce explained, because several processes are going on during the UAV's flight.
First, the operator must keep the UAV aloft by using the controller to manipulate pitch and roll with one lever, and climb and descend with the other. The speed of each of the craft's four rotors is also controlled by the operator.
Another controller is used to manipulate the craft's camera.
“So there are two tasks facing the pilot,” Joyce said.
A Wi-Fi connection between the craft and a smart phone or tablet gives the pilot information on speed, altitude, distance, battery power and other details.
Once aloft, the UAV's internal GPS picks up all the satellites available and displays that number on the tablet or smart phone being used by the pilot.The tablet then displays what the camera is seeing as the UAV flies.“This is really impressive stuff,” Joyce said as he violently rocked the hovering UAV to demonstrate that the camera suspended beneath remains still.Joyce said the average American needn't worry that a UAV will spy on him through a window because the craft, which sounds like a huge swarm of bees, is much too noisy to go undetected until it is about 300 feet in the air.He said the wide-angle pictures and video the camera is able to take at that distance also preclude covert uses.“It's great for landscapes, and not so good for spying on people,” Joyce said. “A lot of people are worrying about nothing.”As in any high-tech hobby, Joyce said there will be those who are reckless with the craft. He called flying UAVs over large crowds “absolute stupidity.”A larger concern, Joyce said, is the UAV's ability to fly at the same altitude as small airplanes.He said model aircraft enthusiasts have agreed to fly no higher than 400 feet since the hobby began. But now, the UAV crafts are available to people who are not following the 400-foot rule.“It has the ability (to come in contact with a small airplane) and the dilemma is you can legislate all you want, but you're not going to fix stupidity,” Joyce said.
The Model Aircraft Operation Limits section on the Federal Aviation Administration's website lists these restrictions as part of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012:• The aircraft is flown strictly for hobby and recreational use.• The aircraft is operated in accordance with a community-based set of safety guidelines and within the programming of a nationwide community-based organization.• The aircraft is limited to 55 pounds or less unless otherwise certified through a safety program administered by a community-based organization.• The aircraft does not interfere with and gives way to any manned aircraft.• The operator must notify the manager and flight control tower if the aircraft will be flown within five miles of an airport.• The aircraft must be flown within visual line of sight of the operator.In addition to his enthusiasm for flight, Joyce bought his UAV to help the Glade Run Lake Conservancy document the repair of the faulty dam and refilling of the lake. The lake was drained in 2011 because of the dam, and the conservancy pressed to have the governor and the state Fish and Boat Commission fund the repair and refilling of the popular lake off Overbrook Road.“I think documenting the process of this project from the air has value,” Joyce said, “And the conservancy thinks it's pretty cool too.”On one occasion, Joyce was flying his UAV on the lake property at the same time that the township engineer, John Rusnak of HRG Engineering, was meeting with conservancy president Siggy Pehel and a state Fish and Boat Commission official. The meeting was on the plans for an upgraded and handicapped-accessible fishing jetty to be built at the lake.Rusnak said he asked if Joyce could get clear aerial pictures of the dry lake and existing jetty for the purpose of drawing up conceptual plans for the new jetty. Joyce agreed.Had Joyce's UAV shots not been used, the conservancy would have had to hire a helicopter or airplane to take the photographs.“It saved them the effort and the money for that,” Rusnak said.Rusnak said UAVs could be helpful and lower the cost of such projects in the future.Steve Bicehouse, the Butler County's director of emergency services, said he is not aware of any fire or police departments in the county that use UAVs.“Within the next several years, we will probably have one,” Bicehouse said.He said the crafts could determine whether explosives exist around a fire scene before sending firefighters in, give rescuers a clear view of the scene of a remote accident, or for police safety.“Law enforcement can fly over a house they are getting ready to raid so they can have a basic understanding of the property,” Bicehouse said. “There are definitely applications out there for it.”Bicehouse predicted that a few UAVs throughout the county would be shared by all emergency services once the crafts begin being used.He added that he will tread cautiously regarding unmanned-craft regulations before spending money on a sophisticated UAV that would be suitable for emergency services purposes.Joyce said UAVs could be used in agriculture, where farmers could program a craft to fly over preset grids. The UAVs could give farmers information on irrigation, growth failure and other facts.Joyce said he is having responsible fun with his UAV, which has received the approval and fascination of his neighbors.He noted that the biggest unmanned craft has eight rotors and is three feet tall.“That's what the pros use who shoot movies and TV commercials.”
