Day 10 – Taking flight

What a great day in the field. Today I was able to help out the vegetation group with their data collection, which was a welcome change from bare ground – much prettier than dirt. It is amazing how much they have learned in just a few days about the local fauna. The Ka’a’awa Valley is home to so many interesting native and alien species of plants, and seeing a number of them was a treat.

Back at the base station, we were lucky enough to have a pilot from Hawaiin Airlines on site to show us some of his personal UAV’s. He even had one that he built from  a conglomeration of household parts including Tupperware, paint sticks, ping-pong balls, and a $10 motor from China.

The highlight of my day was being able to fly my own Pentex WG-2 over the valley using the Phantom Quadcopter and the video function. I need to get comfortable flying higher so that I can see more. It is amazing how different it all looks from above. The detail in the images was outstanding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzNBs5VhKII

After returning to the farmhouse, we spent some time on the beach and then got back to work, tweaking our data and beginning to prepare for our Sunday presentations. Today’s photos are here.