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sUAS Agricultural Aerial Application Spreading Efficiency

The use of UAS in agricultural operations is increasing under the 14CFR Part 137 regulations. However, there is little data on the efficiency of using UAS to spread gradual products. This research seeks to determine efficiency through flight testing.

Project Details

Campus: Worldwide Campus
College: Worldwide College of Aviation
Department: Worldwide Department of Flight
Type: Faculty-Staff
Start Date: 04/01/2023
End Date: 09/25/2024

One of the most promising uses of aerial applications by a sUAS is in small farms such as cranberry bogs, Christmas tree farms and vineyards, where traditional crewed aerial applicators (like crop dusters) were not practical due to the limited size of the operations (Velusamy et al., 2022). The ERAU-controlled field test for this research aimed to assess the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of using a sUAS spreading system compared to the traditional manual application of weed killer and fertilizer on cranberry bogs that were less than 10 acres.

The specific research questions were:

  1. What efficiencies are realized by aerial application of granular material on small farms?
  2. What flight planning and operational considerations will maximize the efficiency of aerial application of granular material on small farms?

Research Team

Principal Investigators

David Thirtyacre
David Thirtyacre

Assistant Professor and Chair

  • Department of Flight
  • Worldwide College of Aviation

CO-Investigators

Joseph Cerreta
Joseph Cerreta

Associate Professor and Chief of Standardization and Training

  • Department of Flight
  • Worldwide College of Aviation
Scott S. Burgess
Scott S. Burgess

Professor and Chief of U.S. Flight Operations

  • Department of Flight
  • Worldwide College of Aviation