Source: Kurt Barnhart, 785-826-2679, kurtb@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Natalie Blair, 785-826-2642, nblair@k-state.edu
K-State, Salina UAS Program Office partners with Smoky
Hill Radio Control Flying Club
SALINA -- Students in Kansas
State University Salina's unmanned aerial systems program can now use the
Smoky Hill Radio Control Flying Club's airfield for training.
Thanks to a partnership between
K-State Salina and the flying club, students will be able to use the field
when accompanied by a member of the K-State Salina faculty or the club.
"We're pleased and excited
that the R.C. club was willing to work with us on UAS flight activity.
Since many of the vehicles we will be working with, in a strictly training
environment, will be R.C. vehicles equipped with more complex avionics,
this makes the perfect local venue for us to fly and train the next
generation of UAS pilots," said Kurt Barnhart, head of K-State
Salina's aviation department and director of the Applied Aviation Research
Center, which houses the unmanned aerial systems program.
"This is an opportunity
for aspiring pilots to have a good, safe place to fly," said Marshall
Stanton, president of the Smoky Hill Radio Control Flying Club.
"A major hurdle in
learning to pilot a remote aircraft is situational awareness of that
aircraft," said Josh Brungardt, unmanned aerial systems program office
director and
pilot. "The training we'll
be able to conduct at the Smoky Hill R.C. Club will be an invaluable tool
for future UAS pilots developing that remote situational skill."
All K-State Salina faculty and
students who fly at the field must be a member of
Academy of Model Aeronautics
and have insurance.
K-State Salina will primarily
use the facility on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., which should be
compatible with the current demand for the space by most hobbyists,
according to Barnhart.
