Growers in the western Corn Belt and parts of the Southern Plains may notice a strange, slow, high-wing spray plane at work this summer over row-crop fields and some pastures – a sight that likely will become commonplace soon.

Heinen Brothers, a regional aerial application service based in Seneca, Kan., will be flying various application sorties with the newly-FAA-approved Pelican 2 unmanned aerial system (UAS) in eastern Kansas and parts of the Midwest. 

Lukas Koch, CEO of Kelly Hills Unmanned Systems (a Heinen Brothers spinoff) says the firm is working closely with the parent company to help commercialize the Pelican 2 in the U.S. for its San Francisco-area manufacturer Pyka. 

Currently, Pyka has an initial order for 20 of the new fixed-wing drones to be shipped to Brazil over the next year. And with FAA approval of the new platform for commercial heavy lift applications in the U.S., Pyka is collaborating with Heinen Brothers to test and introduce the technology in the Great Plains and Corn Belt, says Pyka CEO Michael Norcia.

Koch says unmanned aerial application aircraft offer an avenue for reduced pilot risk typically associated with traditional turbo-prop application planes like the Air Tractor 802 and the Thrush.

“In our business we all know and miss individuals lost to aerial application accidents, and we’re confident UAS technology will allow us to put pilotless aircraft into the most dangerous situations in the future to reduce those risks,” he says. “We don’t see drones replacing airplanes or helicopters but…