Yankee Air Museum putting up Fly Zone Exploration Station

The Yankee Air Museum (YAM) is dismantling its Mars Rover Exploration Station and making way for its next big attraction: Fly Zone.
The Exploration Station is the museum’s area for providing kids with interesting and challenging “hands-on” educational activities.
In 2014, nearly 6,000 students visited the museum and had the opportunity to operate small robotic rovers on artificial landscape simulating the rigors of maneuvering on rugged Martian terrain and grasping objects by remote control.
Coming Feb. 28, Fly Zone promises more excitement than ever.
“It’s the Exploration Station transformation and Fly Zone is the next dimension,” said Kevin Walsh, Executive Director.
“We’re building an aerial challenge course for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Wait until the kids get a load of this. They thought our rover experience was exciting. They’ll find this truly amazing.”
Walsh explained that the Exploration Station is an important feature of the Yankee Air Museum because it’s where young imaginations are captured and real learning begins. He says kids like to be immersed in technical subjects in ways they can understand.
“It’s absolutely essential for us to keep our interactive displays in sync with advances in aviation,” added Walsh. “Unmanned aircraft systems are frequently in the news, and now we are applying our skills to give people practical understanding of the technology.”
Walsh said the museum invested in special padded flooring and netting to confine the aircraft within the safe Fly Zone. Up to four aircraft will be able to operate in Fly Zone and the occasional crash is expected, but the design of the airspace will keep the UAS pilot safe and any damage to the vehicle minimal.
“Fly Zone is our logical next step,” said Rachel Krumwiede, Yankee Air Museum’s Director of Education. “In fact, we started talking about this exhibit virtually the day after we opened the Mars program. There has been a lot of planning involved over the past year, including consultations with the Detroit Aircraft Corporation, which manufactures unmanned aircraft systems. Fly Zone will be engaging, stimulating and certainly fun. The goal is to pique a child’s interest, then get them to go further, inquire more and talk about what they’re learning.”
Krumwiede stressed the importance of having the right mix of sophistication and fun to blend into a meaningful educational experience. She says, “It’ll never get old” because Fly Zone is designed to have myriad missions for the kids to fly at different skill levels.
Krumwiede, who has been test-piloting UASs for weeks to determine the best ones to procure for Fly Zone, is mindful that remote-controlled aircraft of all shapes and sizes were popular gifts this holiday season. She says there are employment opportunities in the UAS industry and a primary goal of Exploration Station is to expose kids to emerging career paths.
“Unmanned aircraft systems are the future of aviation,” said Jon Rimanelli, chairman of Detroit Aircraft Corporation. “The practical applications of this technology to solve problems and keep people safe are endless. DAC is always working with students, their fresh minds, and innovative approaches. Collaborating with Yankee Air Museum on Fly Zone is a great extension of our motto, ‘Aerial assets for all.’ ”
Rimanelli said his unmanned aircraft systems are being reviewed by first responders who need ways of safely assessing dangerous situations before sending in police officers or firefighters. He is planning a UAS demonstration for the grand opening of Fly Zone.
Once the Mars rover display is dismantled, work will begin on preparing the floor and wall subsurface for the construction of the thickly padded UAS confinement area. Fly Zone opens on Feb. 28, and will be in the Yankee Air Museum’s high bay area at 47884 D Street, Belleville.
The Museum remains open while this construction is underway.
For more information, visit the www.yankeeairmuseum.org website.