Vol.15 Beyond "Japan's No. 1 Aerial Pilot" [Career up to 150m in the Sky-Ask Robotics Predecessors] | DRONE

A serial column [Careers up to 150m in the sky-Ask robotics ancestors] 15th, focusing on the careers of players who are the first to enter the drone / robotics industry and introduce their personalities and values. Has a career of more than 20 years as an aerial photographer, and has approached the true face of Mr. Katsuya Noguchi, who has risen to become "the best aerial photography pilot in Japan".

Mr. Noguchi was one of the first to take aerial photographs of TV programs such as "Let's see Japan from the sky" after he was in his 20s who aspired to be a helicopter pilot and in his 30s who experienced entrepreneurship and frustration as an aerial photographer. It is an early adopter in the early stage that has developed and utilized industrial drones.

In March 2015, he became independent from the Hexamedia Division, which started as an aerial photography division of Enroute, and established Hexamedia Co., Ltd. In addition to photography, for example, in the collection of volcanic ash, we are involved in the proposal, development, and operation of aspirators.

How did Mr. Noguchi become a "master"? Many people may think, "I can't be that," but when I see Mr. Noguchi as a mosaic model that incorporates a part that seems to be "good" rather than as a role model, he says, "I'm more active in the drone industry. I think you can get various hints for "doing".

Notice the "trunk" of your tree

Mr. Noguchi said he wanted to be a pilot since he was in elementary school. It may have been influenced by the fact that the birthplace of Komae City, Tokyo, was close to the airport. He was the director of the photography club in high school. His career was "I want to be a cameraman, but let's aim for a pilot first."

Obtaining a helicopter pilot license is quite expensive. So he spent about three years making 6 million yen with a truck driver and a motorcycle courier. However, in 1995, when the license was obtained, it was just after the bubble burst. He said he was in a difficult situation, with refraining from hiring pilots.

Mr. Noguchi: At first, I got a job at a company that used a private helicopter to take aerial photographs of farmers' houses and fields and sell them. It feels like the dreams of both the pilot and the cameraman will come true. However, I thought that I would always take pictures of farmers, so I became independent five years later.It was around this time that I wanted to work in a more writer-like direction, and started calling myself an "aerial photographer" that did not exist in the world as a general title.

In such a quest, there was an event that caused deep trauma in my private life. I experienced a divorce. Be separated from your beloved son. It took me 10 years to recover after becoming mentally shattered, but this bottom-up experience made me reassured of the "trunk" of my tree. "Zest for life" may be something like this.

Mr. Noguchi: For some reason, I went to Nepal. Look back at yourself where you can only see the blue sky and mountains. Then, I realized again that "what I want to do and what I can do is to fly and take pictures." When I stopped by a Thai bookstore on my way home to take pictures, I happened to find a photo book of a famous aerial photographer named Yann Arthus Bertrand from France, who wanted to be like this one day. ..I thought this was something I could do

In 2007, he started a business with an independent man as an active helicopter pilot. After launching the Helitec Aero Service, he began his career as an aerial photographer riding a helicopter for aerial photography.

It can't be helped, let's fly the drone

In the TV Tokyo terrestrial broadcast "Let's see Japan from the sky", I was in charge of shooting from 2009 to the end of the summer 2011 broadcast. The show, which mainly used helicopter aerial footage, was aired weekly. It seems that it was a considerable experience value in terms of "creating a beautiful composition continuously". It is said that the era of motorcycle courier, which grasped narrow alleys and landmarks, was also useful for aerial photography over Tokyo.

However, due to the impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake, regular programs that were constantly requested were discontinued one after another. "Let's see Japan from the sky" was no exception. Furthermore, at the same time, "X-Day", which is a revenge, has arrived. I was easily decapitated by the company I founded.

Mr. Noguchi: At the end of 2011, the president of the co-founder and myself, who were the directors, were thrown out saying that they would be dismissed at this time as decided at the general meeting of shareholders. Since I sold my stock to the parent company a year and a half ago, I was wondering when it would come, but I was told not to touch anything on my computer, and my mobile phone was immediately canceled, which was like a drama. Yo (laughs).I was keenly aware of what it means to hand over shares with more than voting rights.

However, it is fateful that the sudden dismissal drama and the time of the drone's appearance overlapped. From 2011 to 2012, when multicopter type drones began to appear. Originally, Mr. Noguchi, who was looking for ways to use drones in addition to helicopters, thought, "I can't help but fly the drone."

Surprisingly, the reason for starting a drone is negative, but the dream of becoming the best aerial photographer in Japan helped me. And he gained a track record with realistic "back calculation" to make his dream come true.

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Mr. Noguchi: If you set a goal of doing this, doing it, and how many years later, you will make a staircase yourself, thinking that what will happen in 3 years and 1 year from that point. For example, if you decide to become the best aerial photographer in a drone, you have to buy the equipment before other people, use it up anyway, shoot various images, and stream it.I think this idea is often introduced in business books, but it may also be influenced by my mother who was a teacher.

"Create what you want"

However, the drones at that time were mostly rampage horses. "I was really scared." Even in BS Japan "Let's see Japan from the sky Plus" from 2012 to 2017, aerial photography from a helicopter was the basis at the beginning. A helicopter costs 4000 yen per minute just by flying. In the field where the maximum shooting height is required in a short time, he was in charge of the main cameraman for a long time, and from 2012 to 2014, he also worked hard on the aircraft development by enroute.

Mr. Noguchi: At Enroute's Hexamedia Division, I made and flew an aircraft with a gimbal with Mr. Izu. It's a video, but I wanted to shoot it like steel, and I wanted an industrial aerial camera for that purpose. From around 2014, I started to add drone aerial photography little by little at work. The image of the drone was still rare.For about 10 years, continuing to be in charge of the main camera on a weekly TV program made me think that I had reached my goal of being "the best aerial photography pilot in Japan".

In this way, the style of "creating what you want by yourself" seems to have been hardcore since the beginning of being involved in drones. Because of this DIY spirit, even after aerial photography became a commodity from 2017 to 2018, it is possible to "continue to focus on work in fields that require skill and knowledge that you must be yourself". Isn't it?

I want to help people who are in trouble with "change of thinking"

The leading case is the drone operation in the academic research of Nishinoshima, Ogasawara Islands, Ministry of the Environment. Nishinoshima is an ever-expanding volcanic island in the Ogasawara Islands, located about 1000km south of Tokyo and about 130km west of Chichijima. It is attracting a great deal of attention as an "island that holds the key to the birth of the continent."

Mr. Noguchi has been attending every year from 2017 to 2021 since he participated in the enroute in 2015, the first survey. He undertakes aerial photography requests from various subjects such as observation, surveying, and TV program images. Takeoff and landing is mostly from the ship. Due to the restricted area, it is possible to fly stably by one person in charge of aerial photography due to the limitation of the number of passengers, while there is no one who can help from a distance of 4 km at a long time without internet or telephone line, for 2 weeks. It is said that the ability to fly dozens of times is required.

Mr. Noguchi: In such an operational environment, it is possible to instantly judge and shoot an easy-to-use image based on the intention of the other party because of the overwhelming accumulation of continuous beautiful images taken with a helicopter. think. However, I don't want to say that my skill is amazing.Since the drone is just a connection between the subject and the viewer, it means that it is much more important to save people by observing something with the drone.

There is also a request to install a camera toward the crater and collect it six months later. It is said that tremendous maneuvering techniques are required, such as adjusting the direction while looking at the shadows. In addition, we continue to customize general-purpose machines to meet work-related requests such as "I want to scrape freshly solidified lava and take it home" and "I want to collect newly accumulated volcanic ash". In some cases, a vacuum cleaner that was turned on from a drone was hung and flew, and a nail was attached to the tip of the vacuum cleaner, and the sand was sucked in while scraping the rock surface. (If you would like to hear more about the ideas around here, please have Mr. Noguchi show you the local video.)

Mr. Noguchi: The idea of ​​sucking with a vacuum cleaner was not so close to me because I couldn't come up with a good method when a lot of scholars from the University of Tokyo were gathering in the conference room of the Earthquake Research Institute, the University of Tokyo, but I proposed it on the spot. Did.I'm very happy when there are people who are in trouble and can manage to change their mindset.

Mr. Noguchi creates what he wants by changing his way of thinking, and by continuing to produce results that exceed expectations, he is creating a one-of-a-kind job that "cannot be achieved by other people" and "cannot be done by himself". ..

Multiplying everything in the past with the trunk of an "aerial photographer"

I feel that this will only widen the gap with Mr. Noguchi. How can you become an outstanding drone pilot like Mr. Noguchi?

Mr. Noguchi said, "When I first went to Nishinoshima, I think it was at the same level as everyone else." He talked about the fact that there is a "now" where all the experiences he has had since becoming a person are put to good use.

He used to be a bullied child, but he learned Aikido and became stronger. Activities in the camera club and electronic work club in high school, and getting abandoned motorcycles cheaply and repairing them. When the Berlin Wall collapsed, he rode the Trans-Siberian Railway and roamed Eastern Europe for three months, even though he couldn't speak Polish, German or Russian.

He has been shooting aerial footage over the monitor. I studied photogrammetry and the decimal system of coordinates, which I didn't understand at first, because of the necessity at work. Helicopter aerial photography, which continued to pursue results within a limited time.

In order to fly DJI's aircraft to an altitude of 1000m, I came up with the idea that "the sensor should be deceived" and tried to reduce the pressure by attaching the valve of the futon compression bag to the acrylic case and putting the aircraft in. When it didn't work and I consulted with DJI, he immediately installed the custom firmware. However, I accidentally updated the firmware on a test flight on the way to South Iwo Jima ... (In the end, I hurriedly asked Mr. K to get things done.)

Mr. Noguchi: The experience of going to various places and doing various strange things since the days when there was no internet supports the diversity of making strange things using drones in places like Nishinoshima. I feel like. It's all useful to have nothing to do with aerial photographers.When I think about it now, it seems that I haven't made any detours and have experienced only what I need.

By the way, Mr. Noguchi is said to always edit aerial footage and hold a movie viewing party at the time of launch on board during the two days swayed by the ship returning from Nishinoshima to Tokyo. He says, "I can hear the needs of wanting such a video, and it will lead to my next job." But the underlying idea is "I'm happy to do what I like and make people happy." That's why I want to respond to difficult consultations, and I wonder if my experience points will increase steadily. I thought so when I saw Mr. Noguchi's smile.

My dream for the future is "Earth Defense Force"

From 2020, Mr. Noguchi says that he is focusing on work with public significance that benefits people, such as academic research on natural sciences such as Nishinoshima, training by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, and volcano observation by the Japan Meteorological Agency. .. In April 2021, he was appointed as a director of "NIGHT HAWKS", a drone-based nighttime mountain search support launched by the Japan Innovation Challenge, and is also making efforts to build systems and services.

Mr. Noguchi: The most memorable scene was the scene where helicopters were steadily lifting and rescuing people even when the city was submerged in the water due to the flooding of the Kinugawa River in 2015.While watching the video on the TV at Enroute's office building, I always thought, "Even if it's impossible to hang people, I want to help people by being able to make a drone."

You can see that he is returning to his original desire to become a helicopter pilot who can help people in a real way, such as disaster prevention helicopters and firefighting helicopters. It may be possible to return to the origin of the dreams and aspirations of childhood with some peace of mind because it seems that the goal of being "the best aerial photography pilot in Japan" has been achieved.

Mr. Noguchi: My personal goal is to be something that can be managed by relying on this person in the event of a disaster or accident. Not just the drone, of course, it's not my maneuvering skill. But the dream I really want to do is a little bigger than my personal goal. I would like to create a quick reaction force that can move people to save people and prevent them from being hurt as soon as a disaster occurs. Maybe I want to do something like Thunderbird. It's like "Earth Defense Force" ... In words, I immediately started building stairs in my head (laughs).I want to think a little more

I would like to hear from you again a few years later about what kind of troops Mr. Noguchi will create and how he will develop younger generations. Speaking of which, I occasionally see recruitment of "people on board" on Mr. Noguchi's Facebook page. Although it is not stated in the text, it may be that it is looking to nurture younger generations. A career is not something that someone asks, let alone build by being instructed by the company, but it is something that is opened because you choose and walk on your own.