Oakridge airport gets drone swarm from LCC Aviation Academy class

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Several of the UAS craft on the tarmac readying for flight with their pilots.

The Lane Community College Lane Aviation Academy Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) class took a field trip to the Oakridge Airport to conduct operations. The operations were approved by the Oregon Department of Aviation, manager of the state airport.

The visit began with a description of the equipment and operation, followed by a safety briefing the students who numbered around twenty.

Drones of all types were involved in Thursday’s class at the Oakridge Airport.

Then the students took their UAS to the air, following the federal regulations 14 CFR Part 107, which govern drone operations. The class did a mapping exercise, mapping the runway at the airport using sophisticated GPS and camera equipment. The exercises were performed by fixed wing, rotary wing and Vertical Takeoff and Landing UAS (which takes off vertically and transitions to fixed wing flight once airborne).

A partial list of attendees other than the students and members of the public were:

Kenji Sugahara, Director, Oregon Department of Aviation

Solomon Singer, Program Director, Aviation UAS Program

Kelly Packard, Westfir City Councilor (filling in for Mayor Williams)

James Cleavenger, Oakridge City Administrator

Bryan Cutchen, Oakridge Mayor

Ready for takeoff! A fixed wing drone is taxied by its pilot.

More training events for the LCC UAS students at the Oakridge Airport are in the works. This is a critical part of their instruction as it teaches them about real world operations in an airport environment.

Oakridge mayor Bryan Cutchen tries on the controller of a UAS to watch it’s flight. Westfir city Councilor Kelly Packard is watching from the right rear.

Students listen to instructions prior to beginning their “flights” of their UAS’s at the Oakridge Airport on Thursday.

George Custer

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George Custer lives in Oakridge with his wife Sayre. George is a former smokejumper from his hometown of Cave Junction, a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. and ran a construction company in Southern California. George assumed the volunteer duties as the Editor of the Highway 58 Herald in 2022. He loves riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, building all things wood, and playing drums on the weekends in his office.

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