Retired air force officer starts again with drones for farms
Retired air force officer starts again with drones for farms
2024-11-25
Retirement is a broad blue sky for one former air force officer, who’s now running his own drone business. Four years ago, Hsieh Chih-chin retired from the Air Force and settled in Hualien. He taught himself how to operate drones, and now uses them to spray fields in the county. It reduces labor requirements for the beleaguered farming industry. Hsieh also uses his drones to support the local fire department after earthquakes. For this retiree, learning a new skill has been the start of a satisfying new chapter.
Mask on, Hsieh Chih-chin opens the truck to get the equipment into place and get to work.
The remote control is in his hands as he deftly maneuvers the device. As soon as it’s in the air, he can spray the field. Former air force officer Hsieh is now a Hualien drone operator.
After retiring from the Air Force in 2020, Hsieh taught himself how to use a drone and got the necessary qualifications in skill such as drone operation, farm spraying and search and rescue. Now he operates a business spraying fields with drones, as well as conducting 3D modelling. He’s also used his drones to support the county’s voluntary fire department.
Hsieh Chih-chin
Retired military officer
We say it reduces labor, so you have less to do. What that means is, if you use a sprinkler maybe you need three people. But if you go with sprays, you can spray it all with one or two people, and the drone sprays more evenly.
Hsieh spotted an opportunity to bring innovation to local farmers. Hualien’s local farming population is aging, and there’s a labor shortage. It’s the most urgent crisis facing modern agriculture.
Mr. Liu
Taro farmer
It’s very hot in April and May. The taro is very tall, and sometimes you can’t see your hands. It’s exhausting.
Farmers hire Hsieh to spray their farms, reducing labor requirements. After the April Hualien earthquake, Hsieh used his drones to photograph local terrain for the Fire Department, and even to help in search and rescue efforts.
Hsieh Chih-chin
Retired military officer
Hualien has the air base, and also the civil airport. So there’s lots of controlled airspace over fields. So if you want to use drones on some controlled airspace areas, you can’t continue. It will consume a lot of time and money.
Since retirement, Hsieh has not relied solely on his military pension. He’s taught himself a new profession, making good use of his previous expertise. He also continues to teach students at the local university. As Hsieh steps into retirement, the sky’s the limit.
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"飛"出人生新高度! 空軍退伍自學"無人機" 支援搜救.農噴
2024-11-25
這樣的農噴方式，可以大大減輕農民負擔。花蓮一名退役的空軍士官長謝志勤，退伍後看好無人機市場，靠著自學考取多張證照。現在利用無人機，不只幫在地農民解決農藥噴灑，還在0403地震後支援消防局，尋找受困者。不過他也說，因為花蓮無人機飛航限制多，推廣有難度。
戴上防毒面具，打開貨車尾門，把器材就定位，一切準備完成，就上工。
手上無人機遙控器，已經操作的爐火純青。一升空，就能從上噴灑，他是花蓮一名退役的空軍士官長謝志勤。
2020年從空軍退伍後，謝志勤看好"無人機"市場，靠著自學，考取多張證照，包含操作無人機、農噴以及搜救等等，靠著無人機，從事農噴行業，3D建模，甚至還支援加入花蓮義消。
[[退休士官長 謝志勤]]
“所謂減少人力，它可以少人作業，所謂少人作業，像是你拉管可能要三個人，但是你植保農噴的話可能一個或兩個，(無人機)噴灑會相對比較均勻”
嗅到商機，替地方農民噴灑農藥，畢竟花蓮地區，從事農業人口越來越高齡，人力不足，已經成為現代農業的一大考驗。
[[芋農 劉先生]]
“像四月份、五月份，很熱，然後芋頭那麼高，有時候還看不到手哩，所以很累”
找來謝志勤，利用無人機噴灑農藥，減輕不少工作上的負擔。除此之外，謝志勤也在0403地震後，靠著空拍機，協助消防局拍攝地形地貌，甚至尋找受困民眾。
[[退休士官長 謝志勤]]
“花蓮主要是因為有空軍基地跟民用機場關係，很多禁航區一些的農田，想要使用無人機，都因為禁航區的關係，無法持續使用，會消耗很大的時間跟成本”
退伍後，沒完全依賴終身俸，反而結合專業，努力自學第二專長，也持續在大學教授學生。謝志勤靠著自己，飛出新的高度。
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