Drones for Emergency Management: North Carolina Wing Expands Mission Capabilities with 10 New Teal 2 aircraft.

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby

The North Carolina Wing has been at the forefront of the Civil Air Patrol small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) program that culminated in the first locate and save within CAP in August of 2021. On May 6th, the program introduced an increase in training and equipment at the NCWG headquarters. The NCWG partnered with the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management to obtain ten Teal 2 drones, which were purchased by Emergency Management and given to the NCWG Civil Air Patrol to offer statewide drone support upon request.

“This is an exciting time for the NC Wing,” said Capt Ralph Newcomb, Assistant Director of Operations for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. “We now have the high quality sUAS / drones that we need to adequately work in partnership with NC Emergency Management to assist the citizens across NC and neighboring states when needed for any request, from search and rescue to post disaster assessments.”

Designed by Red Cat Holdings subsidiary Teal Drones, the Teal 2 is a rugged drone powered by a Snapdragon 845 processor. It is the first sUAS to be equipped with Teledyne FLIR’s new Hadron 640R sensor, granting end users the highest resolution thermal imaging in a small (Group 1) form factor, optimized for nighttime operations. The compact, portable drone weighs 2.75 lbs, and boasts a top flight speed of 22 mph and a flight time of 30 minutes per battery.

The Saturday and Sunday training session was led by Unmanned Vehicle Technologies (UVT) Solutions Specialist Jarret Rhyner. The first day of training consisted of several classroom hours spent familiarizing the pilots with the aircraft, software and mission functionality. The second day involved hands-on flight experience and completion of the CAP Form 5U, CAP sUAS Pilot Flight Evaluation form, which must be completed by each pilot to operate the drone on a mission.

“The NC Wing drone program grew by leaps and bounds this weekend with the introduction of the Teal 2 drones,” said Capt Robert Rimmer, NCWG Director of Operations for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

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Ian attended Dominican University of California, where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and a keen interest in technology, he is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer.