This weekend, in Masterton, is an airshow of vintage planes called Wings over Wairarapa.
At the same time there is an exhibition of drones. These are also called unmanned aerial vehicles, UAVs. Drones have been used by armies overseas for surveillance and for dropping bombs. However, in New Zealand, drones with cameras are now being used by farmers to check animals and fences, and to see how the grass is growing. Most New Zealand farms are big and it’s impossible for farmers to visit the whole farm each day. Maybe drones will replace farm dogs and tractors in the future; they could chase the sheep from the paddocks into the shed for shearing.
Drones already have many other uses in New Zealand. They are used in the forestry industry, and the oil and gas industry. They are used to inspect electricity lines, to film cricket for TV, for search and rescue in the mountains, and to film inside earthquake-damaged buildings like the cathedral in Christchurch.
About 60 companies in New Zealand are making drones. Some pilots are worried about increased air traffic; however, people interested in using drones believe there must be some laws for high risk areas to make sure they are used safely. For low risk areas, like rural areas, it is probably not so important but where drones are used in urban areas there needs to be height restrictions and maybe a licence for users.
Vocabulary
• unmanned (adj) – fly by themselves without a pilot
• aerial (adj) – in the air
• surveillance (n) – watching an area to check what the enemy is doing
• shearing (n) – cutting off the wool