Now that Great Bend High School owns its own fleet of drones, students are learning how Unmanned Aerial Vehicles could fit into their future.

Sam Thier, owner of Precision Crop Imaging, visited GBHS technology teacher Jake Hofflinger’s classroom on Tuesday to talk about UAV uses.
GBHS has four mini drone flyers, all four-rotor, remote controlled quadcopters that can fly about a classroom without causing damage.

Near the end of the last school year, GBHS Assistant Principal Randy Wetzel said he found a larger quadcopter at a great price, so the district bought a Typhoon Q-500 drone. It is strictly for outdoor flying, but students have to prove themselves on the smaller drones first.

Thier, a 2006 graduate of GBHS, showed students a fixed wing AgEagle drone that could be used to fly over a field and capture photo images.
He said he loved remote controlled model planes as a boy, but modern drones aren’t just for hobbyists.

“It’s turning into a huge industry,” he said. He’s heard estimates than in 10 years drones will be a $3 billion industry in Kansas alone, creating 100,000 jobs in the state. That includes not only the people who make, repair or sell drones, but the people and industries that use them.

Electric companies are preparing to use camera-equipped UAVs for line inspections. In California, it’s no longer necessary to make expensive helicopter flights over miles of ocean to look for sharks; a fixed wing drone with a good battery can fly for hours. And in Arizona, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is interested in using drones to fight drug trafficking on the Southern border.

There are also agricultural uses. Near-infrared camera images shot from a drone can reveal problems not readily seen by a casual view. One farmer, whose insurance company wanted to compensate him for 20 percent damage to his crop, hired Thier to fly a drone over his fields. The resulting camera images showed almost 50 percent of the stalks in one field were snapped off and dying, Thier said. The savings to the farmer was around $15,000.

Another producer may use camera images from a drone to see which parts of his acreage need more nitrogen, and which do not. The photos can be uploaded on a flash drive to create a prescription map, Thier said.

In the cattle industry, flying over a pen with a thermal imaging camera can be an efficient way to detect sick animals.

There are definitely careers in the drone industry, Thier told the students. “It’s poised to explode; the jobs are going to be huge.”
With this growing industry, the rules are still be written. But Kansas State University has one of the best drone pilot schools in the nation, he said.

“Hobby flying does not require a license,” Thier said, but commercial uses do, and the Federal Aviation Administration hands out stiff penalties to those who break the rules.

One student asked Thier if a drone could be used to look for the best place to hunt deer. The answer is no.
“You cannot use drones to hunt,” he said. In addition to a fine, offenders risk losing their guns and hunting licenses. However, a drone might be useful in searching for an elusive downed deer, he said. “Most game wardens I’ve talked to have no problem with that.”

There are many UAV rules for students to learn, Hofflinger noted. A drone can’t fly within 5 miles of an airport, more than 400 feet above the ground, or beyond the operator’s line of sight, without a licensed operator.

The instructor was pleased that his students listened politely to the guest speaker, and asked questions, especially since it was a larger-than-usual group. Hofflinger brought all three of his Mass Production classes together at one time to watch the program.
“Student interest (in drones) is really great,” he said.

The school district is working to increase student interest in the STEM classes – those focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
With that in mind, Great Bend Middle School also has a quad-copter, for use in a new Robotics class. Both schools are involved in Project Lead The Way, that introduces students to principles of design and engineering.