NBHS property manager Geoff Pyott puts the DJI Inspire 2 through the hoops before packing it away after a rugby match at the school. Photo / Warren Buckland
NBHS property manager Geoff Pyott puts the DJI Inspire 2 through the hoops before packing it away after a rugby match at the school. Photo / Warren Buckland
You could say Geoff Pyott is just an old boy with a new toy but don't be surprised if he gives you a "yeah, nah" response.
That's because Pyott will impress the toy, a drone, is more than a plaything — it's actually a tool with unlimited potential.
"You can call it a little bit of a toy but it's a very good toy which takes some very good photos," says the 52-year-old property manager and former student of Napier Boys' High School.
"It has a lot of potential uses in the environment that can benefit the school."
He has been spotted flying a drone at the NBHS First XV rugby matches at the school grounds.
The Brendon Ratcliffe-coached team, who play in the Super 8 final against Hamilton Boys' High School in Hamilton today (televised live on the Rugby Channel from 12.40pm), had requested the unmanned aerial vehicle last October to be included in this year's budget.
To Pyott's delight, a pilot-less aircraft landed on his lap in all its gleaming glory of the DJI Inspire 2.
NBHS principal Matt Bertram was generous, opting for the $5299 model that can be left to levitate for two hours although the request was for a basic one.
"At this point we haven't done it that way because it's another cost but we've got this one that you can use for movies and things like that," says Pyott whose prowess other people have noticed. "A couple of people associated with other schools have asked about it because it's something you can put forward to learning in regards to subjects at school."
He hasn't christened DJI with a name but says it's a well-behaved identified flying object that goes from 0 to 80km/h in five seconds and gains a maximum speed of 94km/h.
It's certainly not cheap after boosting the inbuilt camera with a lens and a crystal screen controller, to the tune of $4500, and you start getting a clearer picture of why it isn't just a toy.
DJI Inspire 2 hasn't been christened with a name yet but it's a well-behaved identified flying object. Photo / Warren Buckland
No doubt he's had a few hiccups with the sassy sensor slave, comprising of magnesium aluminium composite shell and carbon fibre arms, as one does with any technological device.
"You've got to re-calibrate and you have to be very careful flying it but it's worked well for what we've got."
Pyott is still a cadet in manning DJI because in his role as property manager it isn't just a toy he can chuck at anyone else.
"I don't get to use it every day but I practise it with friends and do bits of things with it at the same time."
The Polson Banner footage against Palmerston North Boys' High School First XV, part of the Super 8 school rugby competition, captured last Wednesday is more for the school archives. In previous non-televised encounters the NBHS First XV team have used the footage to analyse their performance although they use videotaped material taken from the stands and sidelines as well.
Pyott has used DJI to record cross country, swimming as well as taking aerial shots to help with the design plans of new blocks on the school premises.
"We have our Cornford Cup coming up, which is our big cross country meeting ... so I'll put up the drone to get video footage because 1200 boys are doing that run," he says of the event on August 20 which will have a shotgun start from Te Awa Rd via circuit that leads back to the school.
Material will be posted on the school website for fans, friends and family to see.
DJI also will come in handy for promoting the school to newcomers with snippets from impending school camps and other cultural activities.
A laughing Pyott says he wasn't a gadget geek growing up but he's simply filling his portfolio at school.
That is not to say the brainy bee isn't bringing out the boy in him but it's a serious part of his job description so adhering to the rules is imperative.
"You can't fly over people ... so on the day of the rugby [on a weekend] I parked up at the [nearby] Te Awa School grounds, which was locked off, so no one was walking under me or anything like that."
During the athletics meeting he could hit certain areas but had to maintain a safe and regulated altitude amid some public debate on how and where drones should be used.
Because the school is inside the 4km limited airport zone, he is only permitted to fly 40m above their highest building.
Conversely hovering too low at school events is the other limit for the two lenses that enable him to take wide and close-up shots so they have done their homework.
In rugby, part of the New Zealand Rugby Union requirement is to keep it up to date on emerging talent so it is crucial NBHS keeps up with the rest of the schools in the country.
"Technology is changing things now so you're getting things, not toys, that schools can benefit from," he says.
Napier Boys' High School property manager Geoff Pyott is only just using the drone at its basic level right now. Photo / Warren Buckland
