Drones in Agriculture: The Big Boys — DJI T16 and MG-1P

David: Hey, everybody. David Plummer and Michael Ferguson here from Aerial Influence. This is Season 3, Episode 4 of our blog, and we're talking drones and agriculture today. We're getting into the big drones, the DJI T16 and the MG-1P. These are the spraying drones. Everybody wants to know about these. Everybody wants to see these fly, they’re biggest hits every time we do any sort of a demo. 

Michael, what got you interested in these drones? You are one of the early adopters, and for sure, before I came on board here, you were one of the first people in the country probably to have one of these drones in your hands before anybody else did. So what got you interested in them originally?

Michael: I guess the biggest thing was that it was definitely a tool. I mean, it was a drone that was specifically made for one or two purposes, in this case it was spraying some type of liquid or spreading something. As we found out, it's not just crops, like corn or soybeans. I mean, you could do anything from ponds to golf courses. There are all kinds of things that you can do. So I think that was the big thing is it was a very specific tool, you know, where everything else was just a camera and people were trying to do other things with it or attach other things. At the same time, there's some things that you have to look at. It’s different than just getting a 107 license.

David: Right, you got a lot to do actually. That's one of the things I think that, initially, was a surprise. ‘Cause I think a lot of people think, “Oh cool, I can just go buy a drone and my 107, I can go spray my backyard for weeds or whatever.” First of all, that probably wouldn't be very cost effective, but secondly, it's not that easy. In the next episode we're going to talk about the difference between the 107 and the 137. But there are a lot of hoops you have to jump through to be able to spray from these drones legally. Before we get into that in the next episode, let's talk about the differences in these two drones, the MG-1P and the T16. 

Michael: Just a little bit of background. I mean, they first came out in 2015-16 with the MG-1, then they had the MG-1S, the 1SRTK then they came out with the MG-1P. With the MG series, it's always been an octocopter. They've then added more precision with RTK. They've added the FPV camera, so you can see different things. They actually added lights on the MG-1P as well, for if you were doing night operations or something at dusk. 

Then the T16 came out and that was basically a complete rebuild. It's also heavier, so it's over the 55 pound mark. So now you've got to ask for an exemption for something that's over 55 pounds. Most people know that the 107 unmanned aerial certificate is 55 pounds and under. So the T16 is a hexacopter, it's bigger, and everything is top-mount. It’s much easier to get to the battery and the tank.

David: You can refill it. Because basically the idea is that these drones are automated, so they're going to fly on their own path. The pilot is really there after they've made the map, just to refill pesticide, recharge the battery and make sure it’s all working properly.

And we want to be clear as well, because we get a very mixed reaction from crop dusters. Some of them think that this is the coolest thing ever, and they see drones as great tools for them to maybe reach areas they've not been able to reach with a traditional airplane. Others are terrified of us. They think we're trying to take away their business — and we're not. We understand that drones are a tool in the agricultural world. They're not going to replace crop dusting planes or anything. They're going to be an addition to somebody's farm that will help them get things done more economically, safer, and hopefully faster as well. 

That’s it for today’s installment, thank you so much for reading. In the next one we're going to be talking about the FAA 137 and the FAA 107 license: what they are, what the difference is, and why you need them if you want to fly a spraying drone especially. See you next time.

Prefer to listen? Enjoy this episode as a podcast!

DJI has a wide range of useful drones for various applications. In the world of agriculture, the two that stand out most are the T16 and the MG1P. In this week's episode we're talking about these two powerhouse spraying drones.

Michael Ferguson