Quadriplegic drone pilot hopes to make an impact with his inclusive drone project, ‘Flight takes many forms’: Digital photography review

Rob Corbett has served in the United States Air Force as a crime and counterintelligence investigator for over a decade. In 2016, after 4 long-term deployments, he left his active duty and became a reserve. A month after transitioning, a freak skiing accident left him paralyzed from the neck down.

‘I knew at impact something was wrong and I felt completely disconnected from the shoulder down. I was taken off the mountain to the nearest trauma center and that was where the new chapter began for my family,’ Corbett said. DPReview.

‘My wife was with me on arrival and remembered she was only eight days away from giving birth to our youngest daughter. Together we moved on and somehow made it through months of months in the hospital, rehabilitating while raising two children and re-learning life. By the time we returned home, my mind had already begun to return to the workforce and reconfigure my skills and experience. ‘

Since then, Corbett has flown drones and educated others, about their many uses. Now, Rob is looking to get his message and teachings across to a wider audience. A documentary, ‘Flight takes many forms’, is in the works and he’s fundraising on Kickstarter. DPReview had the opportunity to speak with Rob about this comprehensive project that focuses on a wide variety of remote pilots from all walks of life.

Can you share more about what inspired this project?

I have worked around aviation and drones for most of my career and have always wanted to be a pilot. With some past recreational drone flying experience, I feel that even with limited mobility I can safely fly drones again. So the journey has begun.

Drones level the playing field and are a viable form of creativity, therapy, and vocational opportunity for many.

I took up a position teaching a technology course for adults with disabilities and found the curriculum to be able to combine drones and Part 107 certification. I built the program on top of my research. himself about adapting drones for personal flying. This is when ‘Flight takes many forms’ was born. In many forms of aviation, people with disabilities are excluded. Drones level the playing field and are a viable form of creativity, therapy, and vocational opportunity for many.

I believe in the benefits of technology and experience first-hand how drones improve people’s quality of life. At the height of my program’s take-off, COVID, budget, and insufficient demand for drone pilots in the local job market stalled any progress. So I started to campaign independently for adaptive/inclusive drone training and operations. The sUAS community has been supportive and I continue to collaborate with the FAA, AUVSI working with industry leaders, nonprofits, and organizations on how to be more inclusive with their programs and training.

What impact have drones had on your life since the crash?

Drones have been an important part of my life after the trauma. The adventure of discovering places that I can no longer reach due to being in a wheelchair is priceless. Using drones as a creative medium is essential and extremely useful. Flying drones are a way to connect with my wife and kids on so many levels and I’m grateful for the opportunity to do so.

Rob trains a student.

Ultimately, it provides an environment for career and growth opportunities. Drones have really improved my quality of life on every level and I hope to do the same for others. When I start the drone, I forget that I am paralyzed or stressed, it just focuses on the beauty around me and the unique perspective it offers.

What can we expect from ‘Flight Takes Many Form’ in terms of plot and guests?

‘Flight Takes Many Forms’ is not just a motto but a movement to highlight and represent the unique and diverse uses of drones and the people behind the controls – the Drone users from around the world collaborate, come together and share their stories through their art.

The main highlight of the documentary will be the small number of people depicted. People from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities, women, people with physical and cognitive disabilities, and people from rural to urban outposts will be represented. The documentary hopes to provide images to people everywhere and convey that ‘I can do it.’

The documentary hopes to provide images to people everywhere and convey that ‘I can do it.’

It hopes to inspire others and drive innovation and improvement in the industry. I encourage people to share why they fly drones and what inspires them to use technology for their passion. So anyone who wants to break away from the documentary or collaborate, please contact.

I see you minted some NFTs (non-fungible tokens). What drew you to space?

Friend and veteran Ernest Spicer, Ignis Studios Inc, reached out and wanted to help raise funds for the documentary and the drone efforts included. We discussed being able to exploit NFT as a way to raise funds. So we’ve been doing some work lately on OpenSea and we hope it takes off.

The vision is that profits from all NFTs sold will go directly to the documentary and drone shooting efforts included. The space is unique and allows people to express their art, career and vision, so I felt like why not give it a try? Hopefully some positive things will happen.

About 6 weeks left to support Rob Corbett .’s project via Kickstarter. You can also keep up with him on Twitter.