JOIN USThe two-day national seminar and exhibition on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) Technologies and an air show that was organised by the Rotary Club of Bangalore, supported by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), National Aerospace Laboratories and Jain University, turned out to be a perfect space for aero-modelling hobbyists and aviation enthusiasts.
The idea of organising such an event was to get as many youngsters as possible to participate and understand the nuances of aero modelling. Held at the Jain Global Campus on Kanakapura Road on February 1 and 2, the show generated a great amount of curiosity among children.
The seminar focussed on creating awareness about the potential of UAVs for aerosports and defence application. Encouraging and nurturing aero sports would provide challenging opportunities for these students to build their career.
The seminar also had discussion on topics such as avionics, design and fabrication of aero models and UAVs. The exhibition had spaces displaying aero models of about 30 aero modellers from the 100 registered participants. Students did well in exhibiting special skills of flying aircraft, helicopters, quad copters and RC models. There was also a specialist team that performed aerobatic display of radio control planes and helicopters.
Rotarian MRK Menon, an aviation enthusiast, presented a paper on ‘unmanned aerial vehicles’ (UAV). “Our idea is to propagate unmanned aerial vehicles as a hobby among the student community. UAVs are going to be the next big thing that will be generating not only profit but creating jobs as well,” he explained.
Aditya Pawar, a student of Delhi Public School, caught the attention of spectators as he piloted two aircraft and demonstrated their aerobatics.
Aditya learnt piloting the aircraft when he was six years old. “My father taught me how to handle air vehicles. I started taking interest in aircraft when I was five. When I turned six, I started practising with my dad every Sunday for a year. I also have a simulator at home. Working on that frequently gave me an idea of how to fly and conduct aerobatics.
My father too has been in the UAV air display field for several years and I take off from there,” Pawar said, receiving applause after he completed his flights successfully. Pawar handling the joystick with confidence is sure about himself as his father would continue to be active in UAV flights.
His father Abhay R Pawar said, “There are a few of us aero modellers who meet on a regular basis. This show has been chalked out to ignite the interest of aero modelling in children. Here, at the show, the smallest aero model is a metre-and-a-half and the biggest one is about two-and-a-half metres.”
The Rotary Club of Bangalore is thrilled with the response to the show. They not only hope to make it an annual affair but hope to take the show to an international level.
Rotarian R Raghunathan, the event coordinator, explained, “This weather condition is perfect for an air show and besides our intention was to bring all the aero model enthusiasts under one roof. We also wanted to showcase the public image of Rotary Club of Bangalore and bring together latest development in defence organisations such as DRDO and NAL, for instance.”