Heinan Brothers Agra Services, a stalwart in the aerial crop spraying industry, is taking a significant leap into the future with the launch of its new subsidiary, Kelly Hills Unmanned Systems. Known for their manned crop spraying airplanes, Heinan Brothers is now venturing into unmanned aerial systems (UAS) with Kelly Hills, which promises to be “the most advanced aerial and ground-based agricultural robotics enablement platform in the world.”
To mark its ambitious launch, Kelly Hills is hosting an ag drone testing event in Seneca, Kansas, on August 22. The event will spotlight Pyka’s ‘Pelican Spray,’ the largest commercially available UAS in the United States, making Kelly Hills its first U.S. customer. This drone is also the largest UAS authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for commercial use. Lukas Koch, Heinan Brothers’ CTO and the newly appointed CEO of Kelly Hills, emphasized the transformative potential of UAS in agriculture. “As experts in aerial application, we see the potential for UAS to revolutionize our industry, offering significant cost-saving benefits to American farmers,” Koch stated. “Pelican Spray is the first autonomous agricultural solution that delivers the necessary work rate and spray performance needed to provide a viable commercial solution to begin augmenting our current fleet.”
The event will feature a live flight demonstration of the Pelican Spray, showcasing its capabilities to a diverse audience of customers, vendors, researchers, policymakers, and agriculture industry leaders. This initiative underscores Kelly Hills’ commitment to advancing precision agriculture and enhancing safety for traditional pilots. “Ultimately, we want to keep the pilots of our manned aircraft safer, so we are adopting a proactive approach that will allow UAS to handle certain workloads that will get our traditional pilots home safely to their families and loved ones,” Koch added.
A notable aspect of this venture is the 49,000 square mile drone testing range, which spans Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa. This range, approved by the FAA through a partnership with the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, allows for advanced drone testing on systems not readily available to the public. Koch highlighted the significance of this range, stating, “Unmanned aerial application in agriculture is accelerating faster in other countries than it is here in the United States. We invite American agriculture and international players to Kansas on August 22 for an opportunity to look over the horizon, glimpse into the future, and learn more about climate-friendly precision agriculture and economically feasible agricultural unmanned aerial systems.”
The expansive test range provides a unique environment for evaluating the efficacy of fixed-wing, multirotor, and rotary-wing systems on ten different crops, including corn, soybeans, and milo. This initiative aims to accelerate the commercialization of new technologies by fostering collaboration among developers, manufacturers, and key stakeholders in the agricultural value chain. “Our goal is to become the epicenter for unmanned aerial systems in the agricultural space. We seek relationships with those who want to capitalize on these assets and utilize a one-of-a-kind test range to move the agricultural industry forward,” Koch explained.
Koch also reflected on the origins and evolution of Heinan Brothers, noting the challenges faced by the manned aerial application industry and the potential of spray drones. “We started in 1994 with two brothers and one airplane in northeast Kansas; today we cover states from Illinois to Louisiana. Along the way, we got into ag retail, selling inputs and fertilizers and some ground rig applications,” he said. The increasing difficulty in finding pilots, coupled with the hazardous nature of manned aerial applications in regions with challenging terrain, has driven the company to explore unmanned solutions. “Northeast Kansas is quite hilly, we have a lot of trees and smaller fields and the airplanes are constantly having to go into pretty dangerous situations with power lines and trees and other obstacles. In these cases, it’s just better to use unmanned systems,” Koch concluded.
In an industry where safety and efficiency are paramount, Kelly Hills Unmanned Systems represents a forward-thinking approach that could reshape the landscape of agricultural aviation. The August 22 event in Kansas promises to be a milestone in this transformative journey.