Aerial enthusiasts will soon have a club where they can meet others with the same interests and swap information.
The first meeting of the Tidewater Virginia Area UAS, UAV Drone Users Group Club will be noon Sunday at the Williamsburg Jamestown Airport.
The group is designed to bring together those interested in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), small flying platforms piloted from the ground or that fly preprogrammed courses. These machines might also be called drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).
No skill is required to join and learn more. John Sutton, the organizer, said in an email that several people already signed up have extensive experience and are interested in in helping others fly — or even build — their own UAS.
He hopes the club will be a venue to exchange and incorporate new ideas in development of safe, legal and fun flying platforms.
“The UAS sparks the sense of adventure, creativeness, and a cutting edge sophistication that makes the flying of them so much fun,” Sutton said.
Amateurs and professionals can use the club to promote responsible flight practices for community service, commercial applications and recreation, including aerial photography. The UAS allow operators to launch and guide the device to a few hundred feet above ground and record the flight to watch later. In more sophisticated flying platforms, the pilots on the ground can watch the view out of the front of their platform through a pair of special glasses, just as if they were in a airplane or helicopter themselves.
Members will share experiences at meetings, through social networking and at the group’s fly-in events. Guests on Sunday are invited to bring their favorite UAS or related equipment for a session of show and tell.
The group will use the first gathering to set up a plan for future meetings, locations and speakers.
Lunch will be available from Charly’s Airport Restaurant.
For more information on the Tidewater Virginia Area UAS, UAV Drone Users Group Club, visit their Meetup website.
