Testing the limits of drones and being part of history.
Andy Olesen
Strategic Advisor - Emergency response robot operations Air/Ground/Water based systems
Neither the irony or the impact of the moment was lost on any of us.
We were in a wind effect research facility about to test the limits of operating drones in a variety of wind situations and had just been told that the exact area we were in had also been used to test the capabilities of the then revolutionary Avro Arrow jet interceptor aircraft in the 1950's. Portions of that test apparatus had been left intact because of their historical significance but the legacy of a piece of aeronautical history would be watching over us. The importance of operating a drone system at its limit was already a lot to think about. Doing so in an area with that kind of historical significance added an entirely different importance and one that we all fully appreciated.
We, myself and two other drone operators from Canadian Emergency Responders Robotics Assoc. canadienne de robotique des intervenants d'urgence had been invited to a National Research Council(NRC) National Research Council Canada / Conseil national de recherches Canada of Canada laboratory in Ottawa to operate a variety of drone systems in situations that were designed to better understand the effects of wind on the systems at their limits.
The wind for the tests was not just the breezes that happen at altitude, these were the dynamic, rapidly changing winds that occur around buildings and structures that at best can add considerably to the operators mental workload and at worst can quickly overwhelm the capabilities of both the system and operator and turn a tough day into a very bad day. .
The NRC has published the results of their study so that the lessons learned can be shared with operators from around the world. I have added the study link below.
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The flights we did and the information learned will hopefully help operators everywhere but, on a personal level, being able to participate directly in these types of programs is invaluable and makes me a much better operator. I am extremely grateful for challenges like this that make me better.
And, having the spirit of the Avro Arrow watching over us was pretty amazing too!
Former Navy fighter pilot and airline pilot Nuclear/biological/chemical warfare officer Patent on aircraft that is the best designed aircraft in history
1 年I have a recent patent on the safest silent most efficient electric VTOL aircraft in aviation history. It uses one propeller for all vertical flight and one propeller for horizontal flight It has a maximum speed of 510 knots and be any gross weight and is effectively solar powered
I will be sure to share to the DR network (now over 8000 members). Thanks Andy!!!
Owner, Flying High Productions, LLC. FAA Part 107 Certified Drone Pilot. Certified Veteran Owned Small Business, SBE, MBE, DBE.
1 年Was this done only using one drone (M30?) or did you try different sized drone?
Amazing Andy, and congratulations.
Retired fire officer with over a decade experience in public safety UAS operations, 2/3D mapping, and Level 1 thermographer. Specializes in performing UAS inspections for utilities, infrastructure, and buildings.
1 年Very cool