Introduction to a UAS Pilot and Aerospace Engineer
Hello all, I am John-Paul Burke, a Aerospace Engineering Graduate student at the University of Oklahoma and Research Assistant for Dr. Andrea L'Afflitto at the University of Oklahoma's Advanced Dynamics Laboratory. My hobbies and work overlap, with most of my current projects being the design, testing, coding, and flying of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) also known as drones. Personally, I own 3 different UAS models, and enjoy flying them whenever possible. As an FAA licensed UAS pilot, the ability to fly and allow others to experience the joy of piloting is amazing, because seeing the excitement on others faces when they fly (and crash) a UAS for the first time is infectious. Below are several of my videos taken of or by my drones, with an apology in advance for the quality of the one taken by the drone, due to the UAS being a restoration project and so the camera is not quite up to full quality yet.
Restored Parrot Drone First Flight Test, personal video
This was the first flight test of a restored Generation 1 Parrot Drone. When initially received, the drone was inoperable, without proper stabilization, propeller balance, or working cameras. Now the drone is flyable, with auto-landing and stabilization protocols added, as well as a mostly working camera. The following is a front camera view of what the drone sees during flight, as well as my view while operating the drone when using my First Person View (FPV) headset to get better view and control of the UAS.
First Person View from Parrot Drone, personal video
This view is the most fun to fly in, because it gives you the real flight sensation as well as increased spatial awareness and control. It is what I usually use when teaching people to fly because it helps them get an actual sense of direction rather that trying to create their own reference frames in which to orient themselves. In addition to this larger model, I also own a small drone for indoor and trick flying, and a stable beginner model in order to help others learn to fly.
My classwork at this point is all geared to design and control of autonomous aerial systems, basically, working on taking the human element completely out of UAS models and having the drone not only fly itself, but perform other tasks such as mapping and surveying, maintenance inspection, tool usage, etc. This means a lot of time spent staring at a computer trying to get a simulation to run as it "ideally" should, then taking the ideal simulation and trying to get it to work out in real life. The end goal of all this is to get a job in the aerospace industry, with my focus currently being one of the areas being heavily invested in moving forward, I am interested in seeing where my years of study will take me.
Wow, this is very cool, John-Paul: you are the first student I've met who is involved in learning about drone technology and all the things it can be used for. Talk about a future-oriented education! That is really exciting! My husband is a pilot (he did a career stint in the Air Force as a meteorologist), and he will be very interested to know about this great opportunity for OU students (pause... I just called him in here so he could look at one of your videos: that is so fun to watch!).
ReplyDeleteAnd listen, for a connection to India, do you know about the vimanas? It's a kind of "chariots of the gods" thing... some of the gods do have chariots or other kinds of flying animal vehicles (vahanas), but the vimanas are more like actual flying machines. Maybe that is something you will want to explore for class! Wikipedia has an article about them: Wikipedia - Vimanas ... and you will see a famous vimana named Pushpaka in the Ramayana because it is the vehicle used by the villain, Ravana, which he stole from Kubera, the god of wealth. Very cool stuff powered by the ancient imagination!
Hey John Paul! Nice to meet you! I see that you are interested in aerospace engineering. During my time in the US Air Force, I was a mechanic for the Airborne Warning and Control System, also known as E-3 AWACS. It definitely was a stressful job but it was very rewarding and gave me experience that I couldn't have gotten anywhere. Drones are also very cool and I luckily had the chance to work on the Navy's Global Hawks while I was deployed!
ReplyDeleteHey John-Paul, I was pretty happy to see you're also in this class. It's awesome that you got into Dr. L'Afflitto's research, and if you're ever up at North campus at his lab, make sure you come next door and give us a visit in the block house. Nice job on fixing up that drone by the way. And have you seen the DJI Spark? It's not much for tricks or maneuverability, but they did put in gesture control.
ReplyDeleteHey John-Paul! I remember you from most of my classes! Your research sounds really interesting and both of those videos were pretty cool as well. While I don’t personally like working with control systems, I am glad to see you have found a field you are interested in. Best of luck to you in finishing school and finding a job!
ReplyDeleteHowdy John-Paul, I a Mech-E major, I know the dumb version of Aerospace, I think it is incredibly cool that you have a pilots license. I have a few friend that got theirs and some still working on getting theirs and I know it is no easy task. Good luck on getting your dream job and getting to work with drones. I believe in you.
ReplyDeleteHi John-Paul!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great combination! You get to see both sides of flight, drone and human. My dad used to build model airplanes till, well, he had kids and was terrified we'd destroy them... and of course that's exactly what happened. Drones have come so far in recent years, definitely a solid choice for future job security! And it sounds like you really enjoy what you do, which is the most important thing. I think you're going to go far!
Hello John-Paul, What a crazy fun time you seem to be having! This is a subject I know nothing about. I grew up near a small private plane station but drones weren't really a thing when I was growing up. It is something that really makes you stand out in this word and I hope you go places with this degree. I can't wait to learn more about drones now!
ReplyDeleteHey John-Paul!
ReplyDeleteWow, that is so cool that you have 3 UAS! I enjoy physics, but anything after basic physics just goes over my head. I have a younger brother who is into drones, rockets, and really anything that flies. He is the person who takes apart a toy completely and puts it back together and it works. Technology is never going to stop developing, and from what it sounds like you are going to go places. Can't wait to hear about what all you do throughout the semester!
Hey John-Paul,
ReplyDeletethe experiences you have are ones that I wish I could've had. I sucked at physics when I was a chemical engineer and it's part of the reason I no longer am an engineer. Can't wait to read your stories.
Hey John-Paul! I've always wanted to get into drones, but I have been ultimately deterred by the costs involved, haha. I guess I'll stick to flight sims. It's really cool that you were able to get a totally broken drone back into working condition, and it must have been really satisfying to finally fly it. Anyways, you're definitely not going to find a shortage of job offers, since the drone industry is really blowing up right now!
ReplyDeleteHey John-Paul!
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I love the design and layout of your blog! Also, I think the personal videos you added to your introduction was a nice touch. I especially liked the first person view from the Parrot Drone video and it was really cool to watch! Further, I hope you are having a great semester and I can’t wait to explore the rest of your blog!
Hello John-Paul!
ReplyDeleteI never had a drone but I would really like to get one and it must have been really awesome flying drone. I am a MIS major and I know how it feels like coding and spending lots of time on computer to fix and figure it out what is messing up and how to make operate much better. Good luck and I hope that you have a great semester.
Hello John-Paul!
ReplyDeleteFirst and foremost, it's nice to meet you! It's crazy how after being in this class for 6 weeks we still haven't met everyone in the course.
I really enjoyed watching your video. I haven't seen any other introduction posts with a video, and it was nice to get a personalized tidbit from your life! I really enjoyed reading about classwork and interests because they are so unique! I can't wait to read your posts!
Hey John Paul. I am really happy you found something you enjoy so much. When I was younger my dad, brother, and I would often fly remote controlled airplanes and helicopters. Those were the times. Your research looks interesting. It has a wide range of applications and I hope it goes well. I look forward to reading your work this semester!
ReplyDeleteHey John Paul. You are the first aerospace grad student I have met so that is pretty cool! Your Introduction was so fun to read. Its awesome to hear how you are able to restore these drones. I imagine they are relatively complex for someone that has little experience with them like myself. Ive always thought having my piolets licenses would be fun to have as well so hearing that you have that is awesome to me. I know it takes a lot of time and work. I hope all your graduate classes are going well and your designs are working out well!
ReplyDeleteHello John Paul! You seem like an intelligent person! It is so cool to see how your interests and career path are able to overlap. I like how you embedded videos of your flying so we can have a sneak peek of your life! I think it is so cool. I wish I was able to do what you can do. It seems like a difficult task. I hope you have a good semester! This class must be a nice break from your graduate work. Best of luck!
ReplyDeleteHey John-Paul!
ReplyDeleteWow, what an awesome, exciting career path! Have you always wanted to work in the aerospace industry? I love that you included videos and explanations of what they are in your introduction. It really gave a cool picture (no pun intended) of who you are and what you love to do. I look forward to reading your work!
Hi John-Paul!
ReplyDeleteI find your major to be extremely interesting and I know it takes some serious brains to excel in, so congrats on all that you have done! It's so fun when you truly find something that you can enjoy AND get paid for it. Thank you for including videos for people like me that were trying to visualize drones flying as I read.
Thanks for sharing and I look forward to reading more of your posts in the future!
Hey John-Paul! I think its awesome that you are in Aerospace engineering. That must be a very exciting area of study and I'm sure grad school is very interesting. It's awesome that your hobbies align so well with your area of study and I'm sure there is a lot of overlab between your hobbies and your coursework. The videos were a very cool addition as well.
ReplyDeleteHey John-Paul! I don't know many people who have done Aerospace engineering so I think that is pretty awesome being I'm in the typical biology classes everyone takes. I also think your videos from the drone are really cool. Over the break one of my friends took some beautiful pictures of the mountains with his drone so I can see why you love it so much. Good luck with the rest of this class!
ReplyDeleteHey John-Paul, nice to meet you. Your work sounds super impressive! Flying scares me, but I also love it. I can’t imagine also having to think about how the plane is running and all the other stuff that comes into it. I know you’re not flying commercial airlines but haha still. We sell drones at my job as a fun accessory (just consumer toys basically) and we used to fly them in the store, but we stopped doing that when we had a close call with one of them! Yeah, maybe not the best place to fly a drone. ;)
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Hey John-Paul. Nice to meet you. I am in the mythology class. Wow, an aerospace engineer that is very impressive. You have a very unique skill and you could make a lot of people happy with it. I would love to be able to do that for people. Drones are interesting objects. This is super cool to read about. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHello John-Paul,
ReplyDeleteYou have such an interesting major and introduction! The only drones I have ever seen are camera drones like a dji phantom. They are kind of scary to me but also super interesting. I saw Ready Player One this weekend and there are drones in the movie that are used to track people and that is just a terrifying thought to me. Thanks for sharing the videos!
Hi John-Paul! Flying UAS sounds really cool and designing and modifying them sounds even cooler. I have only ever seen the small, basically toy, drones in person, so hearing about the much more advanced ones out there is really interesting.
ReplyDeleteI'm a computer science major, so I can definitely relate to spending hours in front of a computer screen trying to figure out how to get something to behave the way you expect it to, but it's all worth it when you finally make something that works and solves the problem you were working on.
Hey there, John-Paul!
ReplyDeleteI am happy to see that you are studying something that you are very passionate about. It seems you have extensive knowledge about drones and how to operate them. That is really awesome. I have never operated a drone. However, I would always be willing to try. I hope that everything goes well for you as you finish school. I am sure you will be able to find a job that you are very passionate about.
Hello John-Paul!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your passion and enthusiasm for drones. The videos you included in your post are oh so interesting! My little brother who is 7 years old wants to be a pilot when he grows up. I'm going to show him your videos! Anyway, what brings you to taking this Indian Epics course? I think it's awesome how all of the students who I've met thus far are so diverse in backgrounds and majors. Good luck with your studies and I look forward to reading your stories!
Hey John-Paul,
ReplyDeleteI think drones are so cool. I don't know to much about them but they seem to have so much potential in today's society and it is so cool that you are involved with them. I also think it is cool that you want to be a pilot. My dad actually is in the airplane industry, so I have always been fascinated with flying. So, good luck on the rest of the semester and goodluck as you pursue your career. Thanks for sharing!
Hi John-Paul great introduction! It's awesome that your coursework and hobbies line up. It makes going to class and researching a lot easier. Reading about what you are doing is really interesting. I never knew that there were plans to have drones become completely autonomous. Creating programs to make them become completely unmanned must be extremely difficult. Good luck with the rest of the year and with finishing up your graduate degree!
ReplyDeleteHello John-Paul!
ReplyDeleteI've always seen people fly drones around town and in parks, and when I visit my brother in California I see them a lot more, whether they are delivering packages or God knows what. I know absolutely nothing about drones, other than Amazon's usage of them, but I think your job sounds awesome! Sitting in front of the computer trying to get programs to work exactly the way you want it also part of my major (MIS) so I completely understand where you are coming from. I hope you have a great rest of your semester!
Hi, John-Paul! It’s nice to meet you. What an interesting subject to be studying. I envy people who are mathematically minded. I’m certain that it is so exciting to be researching new technologies like that. Thanks so much for sharing part of your story with us! I wish you the best of luck on the remainder of the semester!
ReplyDelete