Alaska News

Alaska celebrates International Drone Day

Drones of all shapes and sizes took to the Alaska skies on Saturday, the second annual International Drone Day.

At South Anchorage High School, commercial drone operator Alaska Aerial Media held a hands-on workshop with students, teaching them safe flying practices with the popular DJI Phantom drone. After the students left, the crew from Alaska Aerial Media stayed to test out some of their more advanced equipment, including a fixed-wing surveying drone and a 6-propeller heavy-lift vehicle.

On the other side of the Anchorage Bowl, recreational flyers were gathering along the Knik River to meet and swap tips for safe and fun flying. Organizers Deb Winkelman and Chris Coyle organized the official drone day event to promote positive drone use and foster a community of drone fliers.

"We feel like there's not really a community of drone fliers here in Alaska yet, and that's what we're trying to establish and promote," said Winkelman.

John Forbes showed up to drone day with his 3DR Solo drone, but before he got it out he strapped on first-person viewer (FPV) goggles and took a ride in Chris Coyle's DJI Inspire. Forbes was able to move the drone-mounted camera just by moving his head, an experience that he found disorienting.

"When you're old you need to hold onto your daughter for balance," he said, gripping her hand tightly as he soaked in the view from 200 feet above the Knik River.

14-year-old Billy Thomas was at the Knik River as well, wearing his own FPV goggles and flying a homemade racing drone along the shoreline. He didn't seem fazed by the experience, not even flinching when his drone made a crash landing into the gravel, rolling a few times. "It's fine; I just kind of ran out of juice at the end there," he said.

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