The AggieAir Flying Circus is a service center at the Utah Water Research Laboratory that provides high resolution, multispectral aerial imagery using a small, unmanned aircraft system called AggieAir.
Because AggieAir is a low-cost, easy-to-use platform it is able to map small areas quicker, more frequently, at finer resolution, and at a smaller cost than conventional remote sensing platforms (satellite and manned aircraft). Furthermore, AggieAir is independent of a runway, which gives the user the ability to launch the aircraft from virtually anywhere.
Some applications for AggieAir include monitoring of soil moisture and evapotranspiration in irrigated agriculture, riparian habitat mapping, surveying construction projects, wetland mapping and monitoring, fish and wildlife tracking, etc..
The original Flying Circus was a World War I German fighter squadron led by Manfred von Richthofen, the “Red Baron”. The squadron got its name from the bright distinctive colour schemes and high mobility of its fighter planes.
Source: Web Site