The UAS Team of the Battlespace Modeling and Simulation Division from NAVAIR at Patuxent River Naval Air Station brought their remotely piloted “flying fish” last Thursday to a local Kindergarten in Leonardtown.
With their shark and clown fish “Air Swimmers” in tow, Gary Swain, along with civil servant Tim Hurley and fellow American Electronic Warfare Associates employee Archie Stafford, entertained students ages 4 to 6 years old with a hands-on flying lesson, allowing teachers and students alike to operate the remote controls used to guide the floating fish through the air.
“My wife, Laurie, is a teacher here, and I had mentioned that we had purchased these fish,” Swain said. “So she suggested we bring them in and do a demonstration. The shark and clown fish, or ‘Nemo’ as the kids are calling it, are hot air balloons, just filled with helium, and then they have the basic infrared controls to make their tails go back and forth.” A weight balance system adjusts altitude and pitch.
“They’re very simple to control and give the kids the chance to operate something like this and see how the systems work,” Gary Swain said.
“We thought this demonstration today would be great for our science programme,” said Laurie Swain, who teaches.
[Wow! – I want one for Xmas! -Ed.]
Source: South Maryland News