News

The New Frontier

Posted July 10, 2015 11:00 pm

By Pete Spitler The Herald Tribune

EDITOR'S NOTE: To see videos of the Buskohls' drone coverage, see their YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2KRzxS6-XoWnIOi3GCT7Qg/videos.

What started out as a hobby has become much more for the husband and wife team of Jason and Jodi Buskohl.

The Chester residents own a DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ drone and recent coverage of area Mississippi River flooding for the Herald Tribune has led to requests for aerial footage on other projects, including from the Illinois Department of Transportation.

"The director of IDOT for our region was talking to a lady in Rockwood about the flooding," Jason Buskohl said. "He was checking their traffic diversion and (the lady) mentioned the flood coverage on (the Herald Tribune's Facebook page). He got my name off the videos and stopped by my house and asked if I would do some work for them."

According to Jodi Buskohl, IDOT wanted to film a 3,000 foot stretch of Route 4 in Sparta that was to be resurfaced last week.

"They wanted to know what what parts of the road, streets and culverts had been patched with asphalt instead of concrete before they covered it up," Jodi said in a Facebook message to the Herald Tribune. "So they can go back to the video when other repairs come up for that stretch in the future."

Jason said IDOT plans to use his YouTube videos to reference what areas would flood at certain stages. He said IDOT has also asked him about filming the tractor-trailer traffic through Chester so the footage could be used to help aid in getting road funding requests approved from the state government in Springfield.

"It's kinda different having people asking me to do different projects for them," Jason said. "I would personally like to turn it into a business of sorts, but until the FAA relaxes on their rules, that's not going to happen."

Without an exemption from the FAA, it is currently illegal to fly drones - also referred to as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) - for commercial purposes. The FAA recently approved an exemption for Kansas-based Blue Chip Unmanned Aerial Solutions, the 24th drone company to receive an exemption in the U.S.

The rise of drones are ushering in a new frontier in the nation, one in which land surveys can be done for the fraction of the cost of renting a plane or a helicopter.

The news media have also been salivating over the possibility of using the machines to cover hard-to-reach stories, but have had to rely on the help of owners such as the Buskohls for footage.

"I think there's a lot of uses for it," Jason said. "I think there's a possibility for real estate photography. (The FAA) has given out some special exemptions for farmers and movie companies, but that's about it right now."

The Buskohls' most recent project was filming the fireworks show at the 4th of July Picnic in Steeleville. The video, which was preapproved by event organizers and shot from around 400 feet up, reached more than 5,000 views in 24 hours on YouTube.

"I think the coolest part was seeing the fair going on below it," Jason said. "I think it's neat to see things from a different angle. People don't get to see (fireworks) from 400 feet up and see them soar up to the explosion point."

The Buskohls' drone has a range of 2 miles after Jason added an extended antennae and other features. It also requires a connection to six GPS satellites for proper function.

"Jodi chose it based upon her cousin had one here one day and was flying it," Jason said. "I think it's the No. 1 brand right now as far as personal drones.

"I've got several small remote-control helicopters, that's how the hobby started for me."

As far as future projects, Jason Buskohl said he hopes to do some more landscape photography.

"I would like to go back to the Caribbean and do some filming around the Virgin Islands," he said. "That's one thing I would like to do in the next year. In the near future, I don't have any immediate plans."

Article Categories
News