Drone Used To Keep Birds Away

Drone Used To Keep Birds Away BIRD CONTROL Richard Maddever’s drone keeps pigeons out of his rapeseed fields better than anything else he has tried Maddever farms with his father Peter in Suffolk England He is a licensed helicopter pilot and is also licensed to operate drones commercially “I started using it to chase pigeons and it was brilliant ” says Maddever “The birds got used to everything else we tried Perhaps because this flies high it looks like a bird of prey We added LED eyes and a siren We also can change the flight pattern height As a result they haven’t yet gotten used to it ” The pigeon drone is a DJI F550 with 6 rotors and a 12V lithium battery It came as a kit Top speed is 40 mph and it can stay airborne for 15 to 20 min It is equipped with GPS and autopilot capability At the time of purchase it cost about $1 500 “I can program a route to take it over those areas where the pigeons are 4 or 5 times a day ” says Maddever “It only takes a few minutes to cover a field ” Maddever has received so much attention for his success scaring pigeons away that he has since started a company called East Aviation He uses multi-rotor drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles for aerial photography agricultural surveys and mapping He gathers high definition aerial photos and video of farm fields as well as wind and storm damage of buildings for insurance purposes He also offers protection from pigeons “We have yet to decide whether to produce drones to sell for that purpose or simply offer the service ” says Maddever “I do know it has met a need for us and overcome the problem we faced with pigeons ” Check out a video of the East Aviation drone at FARMSHOW COM Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Richard Maddever Headlands Cavendish Sudbury Suffolk C010 8BL United Kingdom rhmaddever@yahoo com; www eastaviation co uk

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