AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 62

FIELD WORK

Sloane and Branch exchanged a lot of
emails and eventually met and, working
together with Kroll, trained the eight
UAS operators for Blount County 911,
many of whom now have their FAR Part
107 remote pilot certificates. But Blount
County's relationship with Skyfire didn't
end with purchasing the drone and initial training. Skyfire returns to clients
like Blount County for recurrent training. On this pitch dark night in the
countryside, Skyfire is helping operators
conduct night flight around a fire, specifically getting them comfortable with
the visual illusions the fire creates and

criminal-in this case, played by a local
law enforcement officer. To increase the
fun, they enlist the aid of a local EMT
and his expertly trained search and rescue dog. Neck and neck the drone and dog
sniff out the elusive felon. Dog 1, drone 0.
Next Branch wades into the river
so the Skyfire crew can demonstrate
the use of the drone to rescue someone
in the water. Kroll says the DJI drone
can carry about five pounds so they've
attached a lightweight inflatable raft.
Unfortunately, the wind and the weight
appear to be too much for the drone and
it flails wildly, nearly smashing into the
bridge. It crashes and the small raft opens

"Blount County is a relatively small department compared to others we work with, but
I actually think the drone is more useful in
places like this. It's a force multiplier."
-Matt Sloane
helping them learn to keep track of the
drone in the dark. Oh, they also supplied
barbecue, macaroni and cheese, and fixins from a famous local restaurant to
the responders and owners of the farm.
There's a lot of discussion about the merits of Southern banana pudding.
"Drones are important to public safety," Sloane says. "It allows first
responders to do their job more safely. A
drone allows them to get close to a fire or
chemical spill without putting their lives
in danger, and to do so more quickly and
efficiently."
The next morning the Skyfire crew
and Blount County 911 operators drive
down to the Swann Covered Bridge on the
Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River.
The longest covered bridge in the state,
built in 1933, it looms high over a hiking
trail, which Skyfire will use to demonstrate drone use for finding a hiding
62 | AOPA PILOT April 2018

when the drone hits the water, leaving
Branch to fend for himself-and to rescue the damaged drone as it and the raft
attempt to float away.
Sloane is unfazed. "We have clients all
over the country from big departments to
small departments and major cities. Blount

STARS FELL ON...

Alabama's automobile license
plates once paid tribute to
the Leonid meteor shower of
November 1833 and the book
and song of the same name:
"Stars Fell On Alabama."

County is a relatively small department
compared to others we work with, but I
actually think the drone is more useful in
places like this. It's a force multiplier. If
Caleb goes out and responds, there's often
not many with him and the drone can give
information and intelligence he couldn't
get as quickly on his own."
Soon after the purchase of its drone
and training from Skyfire, Blount County
911 responded to a missing person report.
The drone assisted in recovering the lost
dementia patient. And although the local
television station called the DJI Matrice
210 drone "Blount County's fancy new
toy," Branch is sure of his move: "It's
worth the investment. This is where public safety is headed."
AOPA
EMAIL julie.walker@aopa.org

THE INFRARED CAMERA SHOWS the location of people on

the ground (top left). Kroll and Sloane prepare the DJI
for launch with its life raft (top right). The drone watches
over a local EMT and his dog (bottom left). The opened
raft "saved" from the river (bottom right).



AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018

Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - Intro
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - Cover1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 4
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 6
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 7
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 8
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 9
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 10
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 11
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 12
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 13
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 14
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 15
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 16
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 17
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 18
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 19
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 20
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 21
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 22
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 23
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 24
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 25
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 26
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 27
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 28
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 29
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 30
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 31
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 32
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 33
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 34
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 35
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 36
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 37
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 38
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 39
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 40
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 41
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 42
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 43
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 44
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 45
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 46
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 47
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 48
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 49
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 50
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 51
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 52
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 53
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 54
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 55
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 56
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 57
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 58
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 59
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 60
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 61
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 62
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 63
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 64
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 65
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 66
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 67
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 68
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 69
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 70
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 71
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 72
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 73
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 74
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 75
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 76
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 77
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 78
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 79
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 80
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 81
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 82
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 83
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 84
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 85
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 86
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 87
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 88
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 89
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 90
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 91
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 94
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 96
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 97
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 98
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 99
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 100
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 103
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 109
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 110
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 111
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 112
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - Cover3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - Cover4
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