John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences

News and information from the UND John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences.

UND Aerospace Announces UAS Fly Days

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences
Contact: Bob Concannon/Phone: 701-777-3611
July 24, 2008

Media Advisory

UND Aerospace Announces Unmanned Aircraft System Fly Days

(Grand Forks, North Dakota): The University of North Dakota (UND) John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences will be flying its own Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs) at Camp Grafton South on July 29, 31 and August 1, 2008. UND Aerospace will be flying the CropCam, a six-pound UAS that was designed for agricultural uses. The CropCam is designed around a high performance power glider. It uses a standard Pentax digital camera to take aerial photographs. The brain of the system is the MicroPilot autopilot that is designed and built just north of Winnipeg in Stony Mountain, Manitoba.

The UND Engineering department will be flying the Bruce Tharpe Super Hauler. This is a modified RC aircraft that Tharpe designed to meet the Engineering Department’s specifications. The aircraft is 10 feet long and has a wing span of 12 feet. It weighs 48 pounds but has the capability to lift another 30 pounds. The aircraft was designed to carry payloads designed by UND engineering students.

UAS flights should start about 1000 AM and go until 4 PM weather permitting. Flights may go later if weather delays the early flights. The site location is 8870 Highway 15, Building 9165, which is behind the M60 range.

Press and visitors are welcome. Food will be available on site. The Club from Camp Grafton will be setting up a BBQ for cash sales of food and drinks.

For further information, contact Bob Concannon, UAS Curriculum Coordinator at 701-777-3611.

About UND Aerospace:
UND Aerospace, which includes the Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences at the University of North Dakota and the UND Aerospace Foundation (UNDAF), is an international leader in collegiate and contract aviation education and training services flying over 90,000 hours per year in over 120 aircraft. UNDAF also has facilities in Spokane, Washington, with Spokane Falls Community College; Lumberton, North Carolina, with Robeson Community College; Phoenix, Arizona, in conjunction with Chandler-Gilbert Community College; and Crookston, Minnesota, with the University of Minnesota in addition to its home-base in Grand Forks, North Dakota. With more than 1,900 students from throughout the world, the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences is the second largest college at the University of North Dakota. Undergraduate and graduate programs leading to a variety of rewarding careers in aerospace are offered through five different academic departments: aviation, atmospheric sciences, computer science, earth system science and policy, and space studies. The UND Aerospace training complex is the most technologically advanced environment for aerospace education, training and research in the world.

In 2008, UND Aerospace will be celebrating its 40th anniversary. A series of regional alumni gatherings will be held across the country, as well as several events during UND’s Homecoming and 125th anniversary on October 13-18. For an updated listing of events, see www.undaerospace.com or www.undalumni.org.

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The Odegard School news releases are available on-line at http://www.aero.und.edu and click News for a list of news releases.