Huge RC helicopter from Yamaha leads surge of unmanned aircraft for U.S. agriculture

0 May 7, 2015, 1:45 p.m.

By Aaron Waldron

LiveRC.com

While listening to public radio on a drive last week (yes, I’m an old man), I heard an interesting story talking about new FAA regulations passed last Friday to allow for RC “drones” to be used for spraying farmland. When I got home, I found this article from the Associated Press with more information, which references a helicopter built and sold by a branch of Yamaha - a company that makes everything from musical instruments to motocross bikes.

The helicopters are part of Yamaha’s “Precision Agriculture” division, which has produced the RMAX since 1997. Rather than perform complicated 3D maneuvers or carry a camera (though it can do that, too), the Yamaha RMAX is used to spray crops more accurately, safely, and inexpensively than a crazy old pilot in a rickety biplane flying mere feet off the ground.

Passing such legislation was a big milestone for the Federal Aviation Administration, which has been weary of creating potential issues by letting similar RC vehicles roam wild. The FAA had previously moved to allow smaller quadcopters to carry cameras, allowing farmers to identify and locate unhealthy crops. The RMAX is the first “drone” large enough to carry a payload that has been approved for U.S. airspace.

The RMax is not your average RC helicopter. The frame is three and a half feet tall, and the main rotor measures over ten feet in diameter. It uses a 246cc two-stroke engine with an electric starter, and can carry two 8kg tanks (a total of 35 pounds) of fertilizer, seed, or pesticides.

While looking for more information, I found this 2013 article from Wired that named agriculture as the industry with the biggest potential for growth in the unmanned aircraft (or “drone”) market. Remotely-operated flying vehicles like the Yamaha RMAX, along with thousands of competitors, are used to care for as much as 30 percent of Japanese rice fields (by 2010 numbers). The market is already so competitive that Yamaha has prepared an updated model, called the Fazer, which has a new transmitter and control system, as well as both cleaner exhaust emissions and 50% more payload thanks to a new 390cc fuel-injected four stroke engine.

Here's a video from Yamaha showing off the new Fazer:

AVWeb posted this video last summer from the AUVSI show in Orlando, with Steve Markofski from Yamaha describing the new Fazer:

Here is how Yamaha describes the RMAX and Fazer on their website, www.yamahaprecisionagriculture.com

The Yamaha RMAX is the high performance standard in remotely-piloted helicopters designed for agriculture purposes. The RMAX helicopter brings over 20 years of proven performance, reliability and efficiency to precision agriculture. Yamaha RMAX facts:

Since being introduced in 1997, Yamaha RMAX helicopters have flown more than 2 million hours.
Yamaha RMAX helicopters treat 2.4 million acres of farmland in Japan each year (2014).
Over 2,600 Yamaha helicopters are operating worldwide (2014).

SPECIFICATIONS

PERFORMANCE:

PRACTICAL PAYLOAD*: 16 kg

CONTROL SYSTEM: Yamaha Attitude Control System (YACS)

DIMENSIONS

MAIN ROTOR DIAMETER: 3,130 mm

TAIL ROTOR DIAMETER: 535 mm

OVERALL LENGTH: 2,750 mm (Overall length with rotor 3,630 mm)

OVERALL WIDTH: 720 mm

OVERALL HEIGHT: 1,080 mm

ENGINE

TYPE: 2-stroke, horizontally opposed 2-cylinder

CYLINDER DISPLACEMENT: 246 cc

STARTING SYSTEM: Electric starter

FUEL: Regular unleaded gasoline mixed with 2-stroke engine oil

LIQUID SPRAYER

CASSETTE TANK CAPACITY: 8 liters x 2 tanks

DISCHARGE METHOD: Double-acting piston with flat nozzle

DISCHARGE RATE: 1.3 liters to 2.0 liters /minute (speed-linking method)

GRANULAR SPRAYER

HOPPER CAPACITY: 8 kg x 2 tanks

DISCHARGE METHOD: Impeller (300 mm diameter)

DISCHARGE RATE: 2.5 kg/minute

*The performance may vary depending on environmental conditions, such as the temperature, humidity, and altitude.

The new FAZER from Yamaha is the result of over 20 years of experience and proven agricultural performance. Representing Yamaha's commitment to remain the leading force in remotely piloted helicopters designed for precision agriculture. Improvements to the new FAZER include the following:

Increased payload capacity (50% improvement over the previous model)

Improved controllability using a newly-designed transmitter and new control system.

Cleaner exhaust emissions and quieter operation thanks to the fuel-injected four-stroke engine.

SPECIFICATIONS:

PERFORMANCE:

PRACTICAL PAYLOAD*: 24 kg

CONTROL SYSTEM: Yamaha Attitude Control System II (YACS II)

DIMENSIONS

MAIN ROTOR DIAMETER: 3,115 mm

TAIL ROTOR DIAMETER: 550 mm

OVERALL LENGTH: 2,782 mm (Overall length with rotor 3,665 mm)

OVERALL WIDTH: 770 mm