Hello everyone,
I’m new to the group and wanted to introduce myself. I’m located just north of Washington, D.C., near Damascus, MD.
I’ve been an FAA Part 107 remote pilot since early 2020. For the past three years, I've served with the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) as an sUAS Mission Pilot, Instructor, Check Pilot, and Group sUAS Officer. I also operate as an airborne Mission Observer and aerial photographer in crewed aircraft. Because of that dual perspective, I see massive potential for sUAS to reduce operational costs and risks while serving as a powerful force multiplier for ground and crewed teams.
My primary focus areas include:
Joint Ops & Situational Awareness: Integrating sUAS with traditional aircraft and ground teams, including leveraging live-video feeds for real-time situational awareness.
Advanced Imaging: Utilizing thermal imaging, 3D scanning with platforms like the Skydio X10, and AI-driven color anomaly and object detection.
Tactical Deployments: Exploring the tactical capabilities of FPV platforms for SAR, including aircraft like the Skydio R10 and systems equipped with 360° cameras to search tight or hazardous spaces.
I am becoming increasingly involved in planning SAREXs that integrate sUAS, and I joined this working group to collaborate on best practices, refine operational strategies, and learn from this community's collective experience. Additionally, I’ve joined the cUAS working group, where I look forward to contributing my experience testing sUAS detection and tracking systems for securing sensitive airspace.
I look forward to the upcoming sessions and connecting with you all!
The SAREX I participated in last weekend turned out great. While not at all what I anticipated due to wind, low cloud cover, and rain forecasted, I ended up driving cadets all around to find two PRACTICE 122.X ELTs as we could not send up aircraft and use the Becker as expected. We had a direction finder and my simple Uniden scanner worked very well when we got close with tricks like body blocking and removing the antenna. The following day I led a team on a follow-up mission to get an ortho (~350 acres) using a WingtraOne Gen II (something we don't do much on the East Coast as is done in the West). Flexiblity was key in the exercise, and it brought some real context to the quote from the outstanding Pilot Institute/Captain Kyle Nordfors SAR webinar last week... "You show up on scene with 50% of what you need, and 50% of that is not correct."