Ideas were flying while recognition for breakthroughs were given at the Rocky Mountain Unmanned Aircraft Systems holiday party.

CEO and Founder of Unmanned Aircraft Systems USA, Skip Miller, who won an award for his survey of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is also so daring to use his aircrafts to fly into storms and volcanoes.

“Yes, right in the hole of a supercell thunderstorm. Stuck within 45 minutes in there and came out. We were shocked,” Miller said.

However, Miller was never in any physical danger. That’s because it was his company’s fixed wing drone, Tempest, that managed to make the dangerous flight into the storm unscathed. Currently, only specialized Air Force and NOAA manned aircrafts are willing to withstand hurricane force winds to gather data from storms.

MSU Denver’s Unmanned Aeronautical Systems club helped host the Rocky Mountain Unmanned Aircraft System Professionals holiday party in the Tivoli Turnhalle on Dec. 14.

The Rocky Mountain Unmanned Aircraft Systems Professionals are a group of people in the unmanned aviation industry who frequently meet up to discuss changes and progress in the industry while also networking. UAS refers to a more complex version of a drone. A UAS is not just the drone but includes the ground controller and specialized communication system used to control the aircraft. In order to become a UAS pilot, an aviation license is required.