August 14, 2012— Three videos detail the Unmanned Aircraft work from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). In March, Greg Walker, UAF’s Unmanned Aircraft Program Manager, led research in the Aleutians. Walker flies the UAVs in just about all conditions except freezing rain which would stick to delicate equipment. “We’ve regularly flown in showers, we’ve flown in snow and 25 knot winds,” said Walker.
In the Aleutians, Walker while supporting Lowell Fritz, National Marine Fisheries Service, flew two UAVs: the Scout, a quadcopter, and the Puma, designed for Maritime operations, to assist the examination of sea lions along the Aleutian chain. Watch the videos FLY SCOUT FLY, FLYING TOOLS, and LEARNING TO FLY IN THE ALEUTIANS. These videos take you into Walker’s world of UAV research.
Wired magazine in the July 2012 issue acknowledged the University’s work inspecting BP’s gas flare equipment that burns off excess gas from drilling. Walker’s UAV spotted a crack in one of the nozzles while it was burning. The UAV inspection should have minimized down time and allowed the repair team to have required parts on hand before shutting down for the repair.
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Liz O’Connell 2012
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