Unmanned helicopter on display at Ag.Trade.Life show in Mackay
David Sparkes
One of the biggest unmanned aircraft in Australia, designed to reduce spray drift, will be one of the attractions at the Ag.Trade.Life show in Mackay, Queensland this weekend.
Whitsundays-based business WASP NQ has purchased the three-metre-long remote controlled helicopter to use for agricultural tasks including spraying and seeding.
Media player: “Space” to play, “M” to mute, “left” and “right” to seek.
Director Louise Brown said the helicopter is the biggest unmanned aircraft allowed by the Civil Air Safety Authority, and one of only four operating in Australia.
“Essentially it started as a hobby and in our research we stumbled across the [helicopter] and thought it was a really good thing,” she said.
“The whole aircraft has been specifically designed for the down-wash effect from the rotors to push any spray drift straight down as opposed to having the spray-drift going out everywhere.
“There is a great deal of control about where the spray actually goes.
“We are the first and only in Queensland (to use this aircraft) so we are hoping to make quite a difference in the agricultural industry.”
The Ag.Trade.Life show begins on Friday, May 1 at the Mackay Showgrounds and continues on Saturday.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-28/unmanned-helicopter-to-go-on-show-in-mackay/6426438
