UAS Pilot, OSU Student Presents Flag to Mayor

Shane Viera, a junior at Oklahoma State University in the Aviation Management degree program, presented a U.S. flag to Mayor Homer Nicholson at last week’s City Commission meeting, which he flew in an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle on a mission in Afghanistan.

Viera also works for Navmar Inc. and has made one tour to Iraq and one tour to Afghanistan, with a third due this summer, as a UAV Tigershark pilot with a mission to locate Improvised Explosive Devices and other ground threats. He has facilitated other OSU students’ efforts to become certified Tigershark UAV pilots, and has worked closely with Dr. Andrew Arena, J.D. Jacob and R.J. Geata at OSU.

He has acted as a chief UAS pilot at the OSU-UML OTC facility at Fort Sill, testing UAV aircraft for military applications. Most recently he brought in a former U.S. Air Force pilot to speak to the Aviation School.

Viera presented the flag to Nicholson in a display case with a signed certificate honoring Ponca City’s commitment to national defense. He also will present a flag to honor OSU’s support for the development of UAS technology to be used in theater. He was accompanied by Jon Dollan, Director of the UML in Ponca City.

http://www.poncacitynews.com/2-24-2-flag-presentation-2013-03-31