Agricultural market chroniclers at Australia's Stock and Land hit the local farm fair circuit to cover the debut of "the Rmax chopper," a remote-controlled UAV that can be used for spraying crops and seeding, among other uses. Promoted by Yamaha, the craft's current design weighs in at 28kg, is powered by a 250cc water-cooled two stroke engine, and handles liquids or granules via attached equipment that can alternatively be replaced by cameras and sensors weighing a similar amount.
According to the report:
'The debut of the racy-looking Rmax chopper, essentially a flying computer...‘wowed’ visitors to the Yamaha stand at the Queensland-based [CRT Farmfest field days] event, where its business development manager, Liam Quigley [of Yamaha's Sky Division] had little trouble convincing visitors of its agricultural potential in Australia...
...Yamaha...operates a fleet of the machines to treat rice crops in Japan, [and] says the Rmax can spray just over three quarters of a hectare (two acres) every six minutes...
Mr. Quigley believes there is “a strong role” for the Rmax to be used anywhere for work that is “dull, dirty or dangerous” using a small spray boom to treat 7.7m wide swaths on each pass across a paddock.
Interested grower groups, and there have been quite a few, can’t actually buy an Rmax, only lease one, for about $120,000 over three years with training and maintenance included.
“We can recoup those costs because most operators I’ve spoken to would be looking to charge between $200 to $300/hour which is only a fraction of the cost of running a (full-sized) helicopter,” Mr. Quigley said.'
Full Story: Lift off for unmanned ag choppers (sl.farmonline.com.au)
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