{"id":6591,"date":"2023-07-21T16:58:08","date_gmt":"2023-07-21T16:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/?p=6591"},"modified":"2023-07-21T16:58:08","modified_gmt":"2023-07-21T16:58:08","slug":"thanks-to-drones-north-carolinas-wing-group-has-a-life-saving-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/thanks-to-drones-north-carolinas-wing-group-has-a-life-saving-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"Thanks to Drones, North Carolina\u2019s Wing Group Has a Life-Saving Mission"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/teTIqVPz58g\" width=\"740\" height=\"415\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><br \/>\nDrones have many useful applications in the public and private sectors but few are as emotionally satisfying to drone operators as the opportunity to find and rescue a lost or missing person.\u00a0 Search and rescue (or SAR drones) are an important part of the drone arsenal of many police and fire departments frequently called upon to find a hiker lost in the wilderness or a baby or elderly person that has wandered off leaving family members distraught.<\/p>\n<p>But these aren\u2019t just one-off activities.\u00a0 After a cataclysmic natural disaster or an extreme weather event, dozens and even hundreds of people can find themselves displaced and in need of emergency rescue.\u00a0 In these settings, dedicated drone-equipped civilian volunteers working in tandem with disaster relief authorities can make the difference between life and death, not just a few individuals but for entire communities.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, North Carolina \u2013 which ranks #6 on the list of America\u2019s most \u201cdrone-friendly\u201d states, according to the Virginia-based Mercatus Center \u2013 has some of the most highly trained and well-equipped civilian drone teams in place to support SAR and other emergency response missions.<\/p>\n<p>One such team is the North Carolina Wing Group (NCWG) which has been assisting the state\u2019s Emergency Management Division for over a decade to find and rescue missing persons during natural disasters, especially hurricanes.\u00a0 Under a grant from the US Department of Homeland Security the NCWG just obtained 10 military-grade Teal 2 drones \u2013 some of the most advanced SAR drones currently available commercially.<\/p>\n<p>Previously the NCWG operated with just 4 less advanced drones and could only assist sparingly and in one or two locales, usually to help find a single lost or missing person.\u00a0 The tripling in size of its drone arsenal will allow the NCWG not only to operate the length of the state but also to respond to requests for emergency assistance in surrounding drone-poor states like Tennessee (which ranks #29 on the Mercatus list) and South Carolina (which ranks #43).<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s not just the number of new drones but also their capabilities that marks such a huge breakthrough.<\/p>\n<p>Teal 2 drones come equipped with the most advanced FLIR thermal imaging cameras available, which means the NCWG can now operate at night, identifying persons invisible in the dark based on their heat signature alone. The group can also preposition its drones in several areas of the state known for their vulnerability to disasters to allow for an even more rapid response to local rescue needs.<\/p>\n<p>And with its expanded drone arsenal, the group can also diversify its operations, adding post-disaster damage and recovering assessments to its expanding repertoire.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is an exciting time for the North Carolina Wing,\u201d said Capt. Ralph Newcomb, the group\u2019s assistant director of operations for unmanned aerial vehicles, after receiving news of the grant six weeks ago.<\/p>\n<p>The Teal 2 is well-known in military and civilian circles alike for its lightweight rugged durability.\u00a0 The drone weighs less than 3 pounds but can outperform drones more than twice its size.\u00a0 It has a top flight speed of 22 mph and a flight time of 30 minutes per battery. Its manufacturer, Teal Drones, is a subsidiary of the military technology company Red Cat Holdings Inc.<\/p>\n<p>Red Cat recently ceased production and sales of most of its civilian FPV drones and rededicated itself to work in the defense sector.\u00a0 The Teal 2, in fact, is now widely used for night-time missions along the US-Mexico border and for military surveillance and SAR operations overseas, including most recently, in the Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur partnership with the North Carolina Wing is a great example of how technology developed for military purposes can also be used for civilian purposes \u2013 helping to keep Americans safe at home,\u201d George Matus, Teal Drones founder and CEO told <em>Civil Air Patrol News <\/em>in May.<\/p>\n<p>North Carolina can use all the help it can get.\u00a0 The Tarheel State ranks #8 on the list of states most impacted by natural disasters (even ahead of Florida, at #9) and is tied for 3rd (with Louisiana) on the list of states that suffer the most hurricanes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ufeff Drones have many useful applications in the public and private sectors but few are as emotionally satisfying to drone operators as the opportunity to find and rescue a lost or missing person.\u00a0 Search and rescue (or SAR drones) are an important part of the drone arsenal of many police and fire departments frequently called&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/thanks-to-drones-north-carolinas-wing-group-has-a-life-saving-mission\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":6593,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6591"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6591\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}