Round Rock residents might have noticed a hovering presence in the sky in the past few years.
Locals have taken to building and flying remote aircraft, often referred to as drones, in and around the Round Rock and Austin area. These drones often have four to five rotors and feature a High Definition video camera capable of beaming real-time video to the pilot, who uses the footage to navigate.
Round Rock resident Joe Doran said he came to drones after flying single-rotor remote-controlled helicopters for 10 years. He said about four years ago the unmanned aerials with multiple rotors started to gain attention, and he was interested in their first-person view capabilities.
“The thing that interested me the most was the fact you can use them in so many applications,” Doran said. “It’s like an opportunity to fly in a full-sized aircraft. You can fly through trees and other [obstacles.]”
Doran now operates an aerial photography business that utilizes drones. Doran said he has done work for the city of Round Rock’s Parks and Recreation Department photographing potential parkland. He said he has also photographed notable local events such as the July 4 Frontier Days celebration and the Rock’N Lights Holiday Tour.
Robert Youens, an Austin resident who lives just outside Pflugerville, operates Camera Wings Aerial Photography. Youens said he has shot photos and video for clients ranging from real estate agents to feature movie productions.
Youens said in the past four to five years awareness about drones has increased.
“There’s a learning curve regardless of the technology,” Youens said. “Ford [Motor Co.] had an issue [when it’s automobiles were first being built] where cities were writing laws saying you couldn’t drive through town because it was disturbing their horses.”
Round Rock resident Timothy Martin said he enjoys the experience of flying drones in Old Settlers Park. However, he said the low cost of entry and ubiquitous presence of the drones can make them seem easier to fly than they actually are.
“[If the pilot loses control] and it loses GPS lock it’ll do exactly what a helicopter without a pilot would do,” Martin said. “It’ll fly away and crash.”
Doran said drones are a safer and cheaper alternative to previous methods of aerial photography such as using traditional, manned aircraft.
“If a drone crashes you just rebuild and go out again,” he said.
Although people such as Doran and Youens have turned piloting drones into a business, many people who fly them do so for strictly recreational purposes.
Round Rock resident Benjamin Tovar said he is interested in starting a drone racing group in the area. Tovar, who works at TechShop Austin-Round Rock, said there are drone races that occur currently, but he would like to organize them and give out prizes to winners.
“Right now it’s more of an underground thing, people just get together and do it,” he said. “People are into the idea of building and racing these things.”
Tovar said he hopes to have the first race organized by August.