On Thursday the BYU-Idaho UAS (drone) Team taught team members how to fly a drone in the BYU-Idaho Center courts.
At the start of the event, the team discussed how to fly a drone safely. They introduced a pre-flight checklist and went over best practices for operating a drone.
“Drones are human blenders, so we want to keep the flying propellors away from people’s faces and fingers,” said David Burchfield, professor and a UAS Team faculty lead.
Each team member got the chance to fly a drone; Skylar Brown, UAS Team co-president, and Burchfield gave personal feedback and instruction to the attendees as they flew the UAS.
Burchfield said that the hardest part of flying a drone is manual flight skills, this skill requires intricate movements.
Omega Thiel, co-president of the UAS Team and a senior majoring in international studies, wants the team’s activities to be available to more students on campus. Thiel shares that the team is great for networking with others who want to work with drones in the future.
The UAS Team will meet next Thursday at 4:30 p.m. in Romney 141. Brown will share his experience building his drone business: Skyhigh Innovations.
Burchfield and Julie Willis lead the UAS Team, behind the scenes, as faculty.
As a graduate student in 2012, Burchfield worked with unmanned aircraft systems. He has worked with drones for the past 11 years.
Those interested in the UAS Team can view their Facebook page.