A drone maker says hybrid spray drones flying up to two hours can spot spray wilding pines and gorse in hard-to-reach country.

Scott Spooner, chief executive of SPS Automation, says most battery spray drones fly for eight to 10 minutes.

“Most of the places you find wildings, they wouldn’t even get to the first tree.”

He says the AC16 uses a 120cc two-stroke engine to drive an alternator, carries 12L of chemical and reaches about 100km/h. One job covered 4,000ha and about 800 plants in two days.

Spooner says farmers can fly the AC16 under Part 102 certification or hire SPS.

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