District I - 2015/04
Travel to AMA Expo 2015
The trip to AMA Expo 2015 was slightly unnerving. We flew into a Chicago blizzard and spent most of the day in the airport or seated in the airplane while several deicing operations took place before it was safe to take off for California. During takeoff, the airplane fishtailed and everyone went silent as it struggled to lift off the snow-covered runway. Fortunately, the rest of the Expo experience went very well.
Expo highlights
There was a good mix of exhibitors, products, speaker presentations, and demonstrations. The static display area was well populated with a variety of the latest scratch-built masterpieces from scale craftsmen. The swap shop included an estate sale and nice items at bargain prices. Attendees were treated to awe-inspiring flights of airplanes, helicopters, and multirotors performing aerobatics in the demonstration area.
Multirotors and accessories
Every aisle had vendors showing multirotors in all sizes and configurations for video, aerobatics, racing, and FPV flying. All types of accessories were available, including radio systems designed specifically for multirotor flying with color HD displays, FPV telemetry, and Google Map navigational features. Nearly all the multirotor companies were offering “follow-me” flight mode functions.
Notable multirotor features on display:
- Color HD displays and FPV telemetry
- Google Map navigation integration
- Follow-me flight modes for automated tracking
Meetings and safety programs
The AMA membership meeting was well attended on Saturday, and we had a productive council meeting on Sunday. We are asking all AMA members to be aware of the Know Before You Fly program, which provides the dos and don'ts of sUAS and model aircraft flying. Program information is available at www.knowbeforeyoufly.org.
Recommended presentation
I recommend watching the AMA Expo video presentation by Tyler Collins on PrecisionHawk's aerial data collection systems at www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJBpejLYC2c. The Low Altitude Tracking and Avoidance System (LATAS) that Tyler created may be a solution for the FAA to safely track drones and avoid aerial conflicts by utilizing cellular networks to share location data of all sUAS flying in the National Airspace System.
Thanks to all who made AMA Expo 2015 another exceptional event.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
