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FEBRUARY NEWS Mini Helicopter Could Spray Vines UC Davis engineers demonstrate unmanned aircraft in Napa Valley O akville, Calif.—Professors at the University of California, Davis, recently demonstrated an unmanned helicopter that could have numerous vineyard uses including spraying liquid and granular pesticides, seeding cover crops and sensing and implementing precision agriculture. Professor of agricultural engineering Ken Giles and development engineer Ryan Billing demonstrated the Yamaha RMAX Type IIG aircraft at the university's Oakville Experimental Vineyard in Napa Valley. The helicopter is in use in Australia but still in experimental stages here. Giles said, "Our project is to investigate the performance and feasibility of using the unmanned aircraft in high-value crops as an aerial application option—especially in complex terrain or small fields where conventional aircraft may not be suitable or too expensive." The helicopter doesn't compact ground and can be used over wet fields. Giles said that the spray capacity is low. The liquid sprayer tank holds less winesandvines.com Learn more: than 4 gallons, and the application rates are Search keywords more typical of aerial (1-5 gallons per acre) "Mini helicopter." than ground application (25-100 gallons per acre). Further, Giles noted that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) tightly regulates the use of unmanned aircraft, and halfpghorz.pdf 1 10/12/11 2:17 PM the aircraft can be used for experimental purposes only. Agriculture professors are experimenting with unmanned aircraft. Steve Markofski of Yamaha Motor Corp. told Wines & Vines that regulatory changes are under way. "Yamaha's goal is to be in position to begin commercial sales of the RMAX by end of September 2015." Markofski said the FAA has approved Yamaha's partnership with UC Davis to conduct experimental flights for data collection and demonstration for agriculture uses such as in the Napa vineyards. The project is receiving financial support from Yamaha. —Paul Franson Variety and Consistency. Two very important reasons to create Barrel Profiling. We understand a winemaker's inherent need for a wide variety of barrels that provide consistent results. Over the years we have spent time listening to our customers and partnering with them to provide the barrels they want to produce award winning wines. C M Y CM MY CY CMY OF BARREL PROFILING Quite simply, Barrel Profiling was developed to bring you the variety and consistency your wines deserve. This state-of-the-art technology ensures advanced control over the toasting of every single barrel we make. By combining this technology with oak meticulously sourced from our own mills, we produce a barrel that you can depend on time and time again. To learn more about THE INSIDE STORY, visit www.worldcooperage.com. K 707.255.5900 PRESENTED BY COOPERAGES 1912 NAPA facebook.com/worldcooperage Win es & Vin es F EB RUA RY 20 13 21