FAA GIVES SHERIFF GREEN LIGHT TO FLY

UAV Option New to Law Enforcement Across the Country

By Heather S. Benjamin, PIO/Information and Communication Manager
Mesa County Sheriff’s Office, Colorado

On August 31, 2009, the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office, Colorado attained monumental authorization from the U.S. Department of Transportation – Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) operations. The authorization granted by the FAA allows the Sheriff’s Office to conduct tests and evaluation flights of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the Draganflyer X6, by receiving a Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA). The COA is granted by the FAA for a one year period allowing the agency to test their UAV.

The Draganflyer X6 was chosen mainly because it fit the COA requirements and fit the needs of our agency simultaneously, with our desire to make the FAA process as stream lined as possible. Ben Miller says he reviewed at least 50 various UAV products before selecting the Draganflyer X6.

This comes after an 18 month research project where extensive thought and comparison of UAVs, cost, application process with the FAA, and more were considered. Most recently, the Sheriff’s Office completed a six month application process through the FAA to receive a COA and has since begun to evaluate the UAV. COAs are known amongst the UAS industry as moderately unattainable and even agencies like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have been denied, according to the FAA website.

The Draganflyer X6 is a small, remotely operated, electric helicopter built by Draganfly Innovations of Saskatchewan, Canada. Built of mostly carbon fiber the Draganflyer X6 overall weight is just over two pounds and can carry a payload of just over one pound. Payloads include the FLIR Tau infrared camera and a Panasonic Lumix LX3 digital still camera. Payloads are remotely operated and real time images/video are visible via a laptop operated on a ground station.

Operations of unmanned aerial vehicles by public agencies in the National Airspace (NAS) is a predominantly uncharted territory and thus the FAA regulations are considered interim at best, according to the FAA website. The Sheriff’s Office hopes to provide flight mission data to the FAA to aid them in the drafting of federal aviation regulations to govern the use of these small unmanned systems. The COA provides the Sheriff’s Office approval to fly the Draganflyer X6 in an area two miles in diameter located five miles southeast of the Grand Junction Regional Airport with an operational ceiling no greater than 400 feet above ground level (AGL). These flights must remain visual line of sight (VLOS) and are not allowed after dark. Local air traffic must be contacted 24 hours and 15 minutes prior to flight as well as filing a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) describing specific flight operations.

“This is an applicable technology to law enforcement that I am convinced will save lives,” the Sheriff’s Office Quartermaster Ben Miller, said. Miller is one of two employees who are trained to operate the Draganflyer X6.

The Draganflyer X6 model is priced at about $25,000 US dollars in 2009, but the Sheriff’s Office currently has it under a lease agreement. The company, Draganfly Innovations Incorporated is a privately owned company who have been a pleasure to work with through this process, Miller said. Draganfly has a relationship with law enforcement in Canada, most likely based on the location of the company and thus was excited to work with a U.S. law enforcement agency who is enthusiastic about venturing in new FAA territory.

Casey Dodson flying the Draganflyer X6

Without trying any products but deciding on the Draganflyer X6, as an agency we couldn’t justify an outright purchase of the product. The FAA won’t permit demonstrations of UAVs without COAs. Thus, we were limited to on-line videos and personal recommendations, and technical articles to help us make our decision on the product that most fit our project guidelines.

“Right now we don’t own this equipment. We’re struggling to figure out how this exceptional technology that we believe will save lives can fit in an environment where out budget is cut and our employees are losing ground in employment benefits as cost savings measures are continually implemented by our County government,” Sheriff Stan Hilkey said. “Using tax payer funds for this type of important research and development has never been more unpopular. When and if the time comes to try and purchase this equipment we may attempt to use seized drug funds from our local seizure board, which will make this more acceptable to our struggling constituency, and also increase the collaboration with the resource as the seizure board has broad representation from all law enforcement agencies in our County.”

The Draganflyer X6 was chosen mainly because it fit the COA requirements and fit the needs of our agency simultaneously, with our desire to make the FAA process as stream lined as possible. Ben Miller says he reviewed at least 50 various UAV products before selecting the Draganflyer X6.

The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office has, to date, conducted over 72 Search and Rescue (SAR) missions in 2009. “With the ability to attain a bird’s eye view of a search area for a fraction of the cost of operating full-scale aviation assets, UAS technology is a great fit,” Hilkey said.

In direct reference to a SAR mission, anytime you have terrain that takes time to get across, you will save significant time by flying it. The perspective of having eyes at ground level – essentially

Ben Miller at the Command Center

six feet off the ground, versus having ‘eyes’ 200 feet off the ground – is greatly beneficial when looking at a vast amount of terrain. We can over lap that view with maps, information from the reporting party and this is one way to make a quicker incident action plan, and in Colorado less time to rescue equals more lives saved. We do anticipate that an initial

deployment during the first phases of a ‘hasty searching’ that occurs in SAR events could potentially save man hours and volunteer hours in the field.

Our effort is solidly based on the desire to add tools to make our jobs easier and safer, Hilkey emphasizes. In the SAR aspect, if we can deploy and find either our objective or clues to it, then it has proven to be valuable, especially in circumstances where persons are at risk due to climate, terrain, health, etc. In a tactical aspect, the measurement would be more in officer safety. How can we measure the ability to see hostile threats, or tactically be safer because we know the layout of a compound, terrain, etc., Hilkey went on to say.

Over the summer months of 2009, about 40 miles outside of Grand Junction, in a remote area along a two lane state highway, a pick-up truck with a trailer attached and a semi-truck crashed spilling hundreds of gallons of an acidic material. The Grand Junction Haz-Mat team arrived, but not before a number of first responders who attempted to control traffic and assist the occupants of the vehicles were exposed to toxic gases. Hazardous fumes were a major concern and trying to determine a safe boundary for all involved as well as the media took several hours. It is anticipated that the Draganflyer X6 could have been put in the air, above the spill with either live video and/or sensor payloads to quickly determine a safe range from the acidic fumes and total size of contaminated area.

Casey Dodson and Ben Miller

The X6 can also provide crime scene photographs, evidentiary search support and real time mission data to special response teams inside law enforcement. Tactical operations, such as a previous incident where we had a man who was thought to have barricaded himself in his house or position himself in the field surrounding his house. But deputies knew he had weapons and he was believed to be a danger to law enforcement. Looking back on that SWAT operation that took several hours through the night and into the early morning, Commanders on-scene believe that if we had the Draganflyer X6 in operation at the time, it could have been used to clear the farm field surrounding the suspect’s house. The man hours, the labor and the time it took to surround a large farm field – covering about ¼ of a mile around the house – could have been cut down to 20 or 30 minutes with one man operating the Draganflyer X6.

These are only a few examples of how Hilkey and his staff hope to put the Draganflyer X6 to use over the next year, really putting it to the test of this agency’s needs and thoroughly testing it for all the benefits to law enforcement. For any agency interested in learning more about the testing phase or the equipment being used by the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office, email Miller at Benjamin.Miller@mesacounty.us.

Saskatoon Saskatchewan Canada December 23 2009 – Draganfly Innovations operating under the approval of Transport Canada was called to the scene of a traffic accident in order to assist Saskatoon Police in gathering evidence for their investigation.

The weather was extremely cold with winds blowing at 20kmh/12.4mph creating a wind chill of -37°C / -34.6°F . The Draganflyer X6 and held hand transmitter unit performed extremely well in these harsh conditions. The only limitations that were encounter were that of the operators’ hands becoming too cold to fly. In order to remedy this, the operators switched off. While one operator was flying the Draganflyer X6 the other operated sat in a warm vehicle to warm their hands.

The Draganflyer X6 UAV RC Helicopter was used to take aerial photos of the scene of this urban traffic accident. The aerial of photos of this accident will be used by the Saskatoon Police to provide clear evidence for use in their investigation of this traffic accident.

Draganfly Innovations operating under approval of Transport Canada is able to provide assistance to police agencies with Draganflyer UAV helicopters day or night with in a 250 km radius of the city of Saskatoon in rural or urban environments. This 250 km range covers 10 of the 15 cities in Saskatchewan.

The Ontario Provincial Police (Kenora and Thunder Bay) operating under transport Canada approval is able to operate Draganflyer UAV helicopters in the province of Ontario. The Draganflyer X6 represents the first federally approved, commercially produced Unmanned Aerial Vehicle by an emergency service in North America.

NorthStudio.com used pictures they got from the Draganflyer X6 to make this visually stunning aerial 360° panoramic interactive virtual tour. Play around with this virtual tour and you have the ability to control where you want to look.

Draganflyer UAV Helicopter Virtual Tour Panorama

To build one of these panoramic virtual tours aDraganflyer X6 or Draganflyer X4 is flown to the desired altitude. At which point aerial photos are taken at every 20° for a total of 18 aerial photos. Then a photo is taken with the camera facing directly down. Then the photos will be combined by using panorama tools graphical interface (PTgui) software.

For more information on how to get your Draganlfyer X6 or Draganflyer X4 pictures made into a virtual panoramic tour we recommend you check out the PTgui forums or contact NorthStudio.com.

Draganfly Innovations assisted the Saskatoon Police Service with collecting evidence at the scene of a traffic accident on December 7 2009. Despite the cold temperature of -28°C / -18 ° F, -36° C / -33° F with wind chill.

Using the Draganflyer X6 UAV RC Helicopter to take aerial pictures of the scene provides the police with clear evidence to use in their investigation. Because the Draganflyer X6 can be rapidly deployed the police are able to minimize the amount of time the road way had to be closed from traffic. It is far quicker and easier for the police to use the Draganflyer X6 than to use a conventional aircraft or boom truck.

This is not the first time the Draganflyer X6 UAV RC Helicopter has been used by the Saskatoon Police Service. On May 28 2009 the Draganflyer X6 saw its first operation use in traffic collision photography.

Both the Ontario Provincial Police and the Saskatoon Police Service have been approved by Transport Canada to use the Draganflyer X6 in their daily operations. Recently the Draganflyer X6 and the Ontario Provincial Police were featured in Blueline magazine. Blueline magazine is the premiere Canadian Law Enforcement magazine.

The Draganflyer X6 has also received approval by the United States Federal Aviation Authority in the form of a certificate of authority (COA) to be operated by the Mesa County Sheriff for use in their policing operations.

UAV RC Helicopters are becoming extremely useful tools for police agencies. They have the benefits of reducing the cost of obtaining aerial photographs in evidence gathering as well as being very quick to deploy. By being able to be deployed quickly they help the police gather evidence faster and in the case of traffic accidents allow the police to get traffic moving again sooner.

Draganfly Innovations released their new Draganflyer X4 earlier this summer. The Draganflyer X4 RC Helicopter is an ultra portable aerial video and aerial photography platform. As seen in these videos:

This video depicts the Draganflyer X4 RC Helicopter being quickly set up and flown from its case which has an optional detectable back pack harness.

In this video we see the Draganflyer X4 being transported in its soft pack with back pack harness on a man riding a mountain bike. This truly shows has easy it is to pack the Draganflyer X4 into a remote location.

One of the camera payloads the Draganflyer X4 RC Helicopter can carry is the Panasonic FX-580 12.1 Mega Pixel Digital Still camera. This video gives a good description of how this camera integrates with in the Draganflyer X4 System.

This video gives us a picture in picture of what the camera sees as the rc helicopter is flying. The video is transmitted live while recording to the on board digital video camera.

Another camera payload option for the Draganflyer X4 is a micro video board camera with a on board digital video recorder. This video gives you the details of the Micro Video board camera.

The Draganflyer X4 RC Helicopter, as demonstrated by these videos, is a very versitile and portable UAV aerial video and aerial photography platform. We here at RCHelicopter.com will be looking for new videos from Draganfly Innovations.

The Colorado Grand Junction Free Press reports in this article that the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office has been working with Draganfly Innovations to test the Draganflyer X6 for policing operations.

Flying unmanned aerial vehicles in the United States is governed by the FAA as they control the airspace. In order to operate a UAV in US airspace you must receive authorization from the the FAA. The FAA currently classifies all UAVs’ including the Draganflyer X6 as a reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle. This is the same classification used for the aerial vehicles that the military uses in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Mesa County Sheriffs office had to complete a complicated permitting process, meeting all the stiff FAA requirements specifically in the area of safety. The Draganflyer X6 was able to met all the requirements imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration. This allows the Mesa County Sheriffs Office to obtain a certificate of authority (COA) from the FAA. By obtaining the certificate of authority the Mesa county Sheriffs office can submit a Notice to Airmen to the FAA which in turn allows them to conduct operations with the Draganflyer X6. Read more in this article by the Grand Junction Free Press.

If you are in the New York area go out to the 2009 Gizmodo Gallary . There you will find a host of high tech gadgetry including the brand new Draganflyer X8 RC Helicopter.
The Gizmodo Gallery is a place for the tech world to celebrate gadgetry as art and history. Check out the post on Gizmodo

The Gizmodo 2009 Gallery is Open

• Wednesday, September 23 through Friday, September 25

  12noon – 8pm

The Gizmodo Gallery is located at :

View Larger Map

Draganfly Innovations releases their latest UAV helicopter, the Draganflyer X4. Several hundred hours of research and development went into its design, bringing about a sleek, sophisticated  UAV RC helicopter, available to more people than ever. The Draganflyer X4 features much of the same technology as the Draganflyer X6, but is available at a fraction of the cost. Designed for commercial, government, and military applications, the Draganflyer X4 RC helicopter provides affordable aerial photographs and video surveillance.

Diverging from the Draganflyer X6′s larger 6 rotor design, the Draganflyer X4 features the same quad rotor design used by older RC helicopters. Four brushless motors independently drive four carbon fiber rotor blades, all controlled by an advanced flight computer.

The flight computer uses SteadyFlight technology to process the inputs of seven individual sensors, including:

• A barometric pressure sensor
• Three accelerometers
• Three gyroscopes

The avionics computer reads sensor outputs and precisely determines the motor speeds required to keep the helicopter flying straight and level. If selected by the pilot, a barometric pressure sensor is used by the helicopter to maintain altitude. Properly trimmed and balanced, the helicopter will hold its position in the air allowing you to do excellent aerial photography and videography.

Four different cameras have been customized to work with our latest RC helicopter, including:

• A 12.1 MP digital still and video camera
• A micro color video camera
• low-light black and white video camera
• A FLIR (Forward Looking Infra Red) video camera

These cameras transmit wireless video via a 5.8 GHz radio transmitter built into the mount. Wireless video can be received using either the handheld controller (which includes its own flat patch video antenna) or the video base station. HD Video glasses plug directly into the handheld transmitter, allowing you to see what the helicopter is seeing and get perfectly aimed aerial photographs and video. The video base station is compatible with any modern PC running Windows and features three standard RCA output jacks. This allows you to use your own recording equipment with the cameras or even broadcast the video stream if needed.

Because all wireless communication is subject to interference, all of our cameras now feature a built-in DVR that records a pristine, interference-free copy of your aerial video to an SD card. After you finish flying, plug the SD card into your computer and edit the video using the software of your choice. Each camera also features a custom designed mount with a remote tilt feature. Designed to give you the best quality video possible, each camera mount features balanced, oil-filled shock absorbers. The shock absorbers keep the recorded video free from vibration, guaranteeing that you get the best possible results.

The Draganflyer X4 UAV helicopter features an innovative case system that makes transporting the helicopter easier than ever. The entire Draganflyer X4 helicopter presses neatly into its pre-cut slot in the case. Each part and accessory fits into molded high-density foam inserts for safekeeping during transport. The transport case features a dual layer design with flight accessories in the top layer and the base station in the bottom layer. A patented, load-bearing system clips on to the transport case allowing it to be worn like a backpack. Made from flexible Cordura™ nylon, the load-bearing system is securely attached using Fastex™ hardware and adjustable straps.

The entire transport case fits neatly into an ATA (Airline Transport Association) certified hard case, rated to last over 100 flights as airline baggage. The padlockable, all-metal, carpet-lined ATA case allows you to safely transport the helicopter anywhere in the world without worrying about damage caused by the rigors of airline travel.

Designed for small enterprises and projects on a budget, the Draganflyer X4 is one of the most affordable UAV RC helicopters ever. Use the power of a full featured UAV RC helicopter for your project – the Draganflyer X4 makes professional quality aerial photographs and video easier to obtain than ever before.

For the past several years, Mark Sharpe of the Ontario Provincial Police force has been using aerial pictures and video to help with law enforcement. From homemade devices made from commercial electronics to hobby aircraft with cameras, he has saved the police department approximately $20,000 in aircraft charter costs. Working with makeshift equipment helped the OPP greatly, but with today’s world issues and a vast area to patrol, they began looking for something more.

The OPP found a solution with the Draganflyer helicopter, North America’s first commercially available UAV legalized for law enforcement applications. Fast deployment and an advanced autopilot make the Draganflyer UAV the perfect choice for police departments who need aerial pictures and video.

So why would a police force based out of a small city need aerial surveillance? For one thing, the Ontario police need to cover a huge area ranging all the way from the U.S border to Hudson Bay. It is hoped that using remotely operated vehicles can help reduce charter costs to remote areas. Aerial pictures and video are also very useful in court, helping judges and juries to visualize crime scenes effectively.

Featured on www.canada.com, the Winnipeg Free Press, and the Saskatoon Star Pheonix, it’s clear that there’s definitely a market for UAVs in law enforcement applications.

All RC  helicopters are controlled by servos – small, electrical devices that allow controlled flight. So what are servos? How do they work? And how do you choose the ones that will work best in your model? We’ll answer all these questions, and show you how these amazing devices work.

Servos In General:

A servo is a device rotates a shaft to a position set by the user, and holds this position until further input is given. Servos usually consist of a small DC (direct current) electric motor, several gears, and a head where an arm or wheel can be attached. When the user tells the servo what angular position to move to, the servo rotates and holds position until further input is specified. Servos are designed to hold position because external forces are always interacting with the aircraft, and would set control surfaces to undesired positions unless stopped. Servos exert a torque on external forces, that prevents them from changing the position of any control surface.

How RC Helicopter Servos Work

A servo’s job is to convert the angular movement of a servo arm to the linear movement of a control surface. This is done by attaching linkages, called control rods to the servo arm and the associated control surface. When the servo head rotates, it pushes the control rod back and forth. The rod is linked to a control surface, and can move it up or down as the servo rotates.

Three wires control a RC helicopter servo: two to provide the DC electricity that the motor needs, and one that sends the signal, controlling the servo. The signal wire works by sending the servo a series of pulses, which are interpreted by it’s internal circuitry. By varying the timing of each pulse, the servo knows exactly which position to move to.

Choosing the Right RC Helicopter Servo

Servos have a number of qualities that make them suitable for different applications:

• Torque – This is a measure of the servos “strength”, or how much “push” it has. Torque is the product of force and the radius at which it acts, or the . This is shown graphically in the figure on the right. Bigger planes need high torque servos to move their large control surfaces. In general, servo size goes up with rated torque.
• Speed - Speed measures how fast the servo can move from one position to another. Different RC airplanes and helicopters will need servos with different speeds. For example: a trainer doesn’t need to change control surface positions rapidly, but a 3D helicopter or plane does. High speed servos are many times more expensive than standard ones.
• Dimensions – As stated previously, the dimensions of a servo increase with the torque that it provides.
• Weight – The weight of a servo depends on several variables. Most often recorded in grams, the weight of a servo is always reported on the package.
• Bearings – There are two ways to support the output shaft of a servo – bearings and brushes. Brushes are cheaper, but bearings last longer and operate more smoothly. Very small and very cheap servos tend to be brushed, while high end and very large servos generally have bearings. It’s possible to upgrade a brushed servo to bearings, with several upgrade kits being available on the internet.
• Gears – Most hobby grade servos use nylon gears, while higher end servos use metal gears. Metal gears add more weight, but their advantage is that they can’t “strip”, causing an RC helicopter or airplane to crash. Metal gears wear over time, which can cause “slop” in their rotation, but the gears can be replaced somewhat economically. In general, nylon servos are adequate for sport flying. If you’re particularly worried about losing a model in a crash, or are flying intense aerobatics, a metal geared servo could be the right choice.

Digital Vs. Standard RC Helicopter Servos

Servos can be of two types: digital, or standard. Both digital and standard servos can be used with a normal receiver, the real difference is performance.

All servos use a series of short pulses as signals that determine what angular position they should maintain. The series of signals is usually very fast, somewhere around 50 pulses per second at maximum. On a standard RC helicopter servo, the rate is so fast that very small movements of the control sticks may not have an affect. This means that there is a “deadband” on the control sticks, in which no servo movement takes place. Although it’s not a problem on trainers and most sport class models, the deadband becomes a significant issue with 3D aircraft. Even a small delay with a 3D aircraft could cause a severe crash.

Digital servos remove the deadband by speeding up the rate at which it receives pulses. Usually, this is increased from around 50 to 300 pulses per second. This increase in resolution allows the servo to operate much more precisely.

RC Servo Motors

The motors that drive RC servos come in several different types. Here’s a list of the most common varieties, and some information on each to help you decide which ones to use:

• Coreless – Conventional electric motors use copper wires wrapped around metal cores to form electromagnets. In a coreless motor, there is a metal mesh that rotates around the permanent magnets. Coreless motors respond more quickly than conventional motors, because they don’t have to overcome the momentum associated with heavy metal cores.
• Brushless – RC helicopter Servos can be powered by brushless motors, giving them longer life, faster response time, and more torque.
• 3 Pole and 5 Pole – DC Electric motors have permanent magnets, called poles, that electromagnets are attracted to. Servo motors can have either 3 or 5 poles, with more poles providing better torque. If you’re new to RC or have a regular sport model, you probably won’t notice the difference between 3 pole and 5 pole servos.