Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/744696
www.goodfruit.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER NOVEMBER 2016 21 rotor span, marking the first time a drone has been used for commercial spraying in the United States. The work stemmed from three years of trials with the University of California-Davis. The results were encouraging, Brad Anderson, man- ager for Yamaha's U.S. unmanned systems division, said in a phone interview. The company plans to expand next year after setting its price schedule. However, the unmanned flights can't cover anywhere near the same amount of ground as a conventional crop duster. "We are a much better platform for smaller fields, tight spac- ing, hillsides, things of that nature," Anderson said. The company has been using the unmanned heli- copters to spray crops in Japan for 20 years and cur- rently operates about 2,400 unmanned helicopters in that country. In the U.S., it has six. Most other drone work is still in the research arena. In July, Washington State University researchers from the Center for Precision and Automated Agricultural Systems used an octocopter — an unmanned helicop- ter with eight rotors — to collect overhead images of a test block during an apple fire blight resistance trial at the Columbia View Orchard in Wenatchee. Researchers are still analyzing data from those trials. Last year, the Yamaha RMax group worked with researchers at WSU's center to dry cherries grown on modern architecture at Washington State University's Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center in Prosser. It worked. The unmanned helicopter removed water from cherry trees at a rate of 5.4 to 11 acres per hour depending on flying speed, more than the 3.7 acres per hour a grower would do with a tractor-pulled airblast sprayer, but much less than the 18.5 acres pos- sible with a manned helicopter. TJ MULLINAX/GOOD FRUIT GROWER Jeff Lorton, the coordinator of the Ag Drone Rodeo, welcomes attendees to the event. Drone up I nterested in using a drone in your orchard now? The Federal Aviation Administration recently made the permission process easier. In late August, the FAA opened up applications for a Part 107 waiver, which allows a broad range of commercial activity for operators of unmanned aerial vehicles under 55 pounds. In the past, the FAA required anyone who wanted to use a drone commercially to apply for an exemp- tion for a narrowly defined specific purpose and place — the "Section 333 Exemption," in regulation parlance. That exemption is still required for air- craft above 55 pounds, which includes the Yamaha RMax, the only drone so far big enough to carry pesticides or dry off cherries with its downwash. To find out more about Parts 107 and 333, visit this comparison sheet on the FAA website: www.faa.gov/news/updates/?newsid=86285. —R. Courtney TJ MULLINAX/GOOD FRUIT GROWER One of three 3DR Solo drones lands in front of spectators. The 3DR drones, equipped with GoPro cameras, were flown together to show how multiple drones could be used together to quickly collect agricultural data from the air. 1611 W Ahtanum Union Gap WA 98903 Paul Clark Phone: (509) 457-9196 Ext 101 3766 Iroquois Wenatchee WA 98801 John Vickery Phone:(509) 662-2753 Ext 201