These Drones Offer Breathtaking Bird’s-Eye Views of Aroostook County

Aroostook Unmanned Aerial Services Gets the Overhead View

Aroostook Unmanned Aerial Services in St Agatha, Maine has covered everything from the record breaking ice carousel on Long Lake to the recent Can-Am Crown International Dog Sled Race.

The company is owned and operated by the Mazo family. They focus on flying drones overhead to take videos and photos. The Chief Pilot is John Mazo, a retired federal agent with 25 years of service. 

World Record Ice Carousel on Long Lake

Mazo said the 2021 record breaking ice carousel was “fun with great weather. That weekend was like 60 degrees.” He got involved because he is friends with one of the organizers, Roger Morneault. “Roger was looking for a way to capture it. I was asked to join the team as part of the Northern Maine Ice Busters.”

The day they broke the record, Mazo was on sight and filming video with his drone. “We were right there on the boat ramp. That's where we launched from. We can only go to 400 feet. There were a lot of people who attended that event. There’s a different perspective because everybody sees from the ground. It’s unique to see it from the air.”

Covering the Can-Am Crown International Dog Race

Mazo was at the Can-Am Races and posted a lot of videos and photos. “We started out Friday night to take photographs and aerial video of volunteers and town employees building the starting track on Main Street." 

Mazo added, "Saturday we went to the start of the 30, 100 and 250. Then I went to Allagash checkpoint for the 100 mile. I took some pictures of teams coming in and the dog yard. I then shot over at the Portage checkpoint. They do a big spread with snowmobiles carrying the flags and they escort the first dog sled team in.”

Working with Aroostook County Tourism

Mazo said he has a contract with Northern Maine Development Commission, Aroostook County Tourism for their marketing. “I’ve covered  ice fishing, snowmobiling, fishing, dog sledding, ATV, skiing, canoeing and more. I’ve been up to Big Rock doing skiing and Lonesome Pines in Fort Kent covering skiing.”

John is a “certified FAA pilot with a remote pilot rating for small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS).” He said, “you have to have a FAA commercial license to fly for anything that’s not personal. I had to go study and take an FAA test. I have an FAA pilot’s license for unmanned remote aircraft. I have to carry insurance.”

Mazo has seven different drones he flies. He said “It all depends on what he’s doing. He has a drone for aerial mapping. I have different drones with different types of cameras.”

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More Information

Aroostook Unmanned Aerial Services does event coverage, mapping, agriculture, construction, real estate and much more. You can reach out to them on their homepage and on Facebook for more information.