1-29 IAT Drones & Ag

 Spraying crops from the air but without the use of a crop duster, make that without the use of a pilot, at least not in the cockpit.

 Not long ago, I did a story on a fish biologist by the name of Phil Groves who used what he called a hexacopter, a remote-controlled little helicopter drone in order to count salmon in Idaho’s waterways. While talking with Phil, he also told me a story about remote-controlled planes being used in agriculture. “In doing some of our research we have seen folks using radio controlled aircraft in Japan.  They are  using a small miniature scale remote control helicopter  which is 6 to 7 feet long. It actually carries tanks and they are using it for spraying small acreages.  They use this stead of commercial aircraft to be paid to come over and spray. These are small drones that they use for spraying crops and small areas.”  You can also use high resolution images to determine what areas need watering.