Article provided by Ron Landman, President, Valley RC Flyers
This fall AMA asked the Valley RC Flyers club of Fargo, ND and Moorhead, MN to assist them by providing a contest director and additional workers to run the flying and safety aspects of the UAS demonstrations at the Big Iron Farm show in September.
Long time club member and retired Air Force pilot, Dick Vos, stepped up to the task and did a professional job running the event. He met with the four teams and pilots the day before the event, laid out the safety plan as well as the configuration of the field and insured that each pilot and spotter had AMA membership.
The demonstrations were done on each of 3 consecutive days. Participants gave brief overviews of the capabilities of their equipment and the potential benefits. All were interested in providing farmers with geo-referenced data from cameras or sensors that could be downloaded or viewed online to assist farmers in making timely decisions on crop care. There was a significant amount of interest in these demonstrations, lots of questions and even some farmers that were doing some experimentation of their own.
VRCF club members Ryan John, Greg Wentz, and Ron Landman also assisted on one or more days to be additional spotters, provide spectator direction and give example of how UAS flying can be handled in a safe manner.
Thanks to AMA’s Government and Regulatory Affairs Director, Rich Hanson, for asking our club’s assistance, communicating with the FAA, and for traveling to Fargo to witness the Big Iron event.
Learn more about AMA Chartered club the Valley RC Flyers