June 27, 2017, issue of 'AOPA Drone Pilot'


VOL 1, ISSUE 10	June 27, 2017

Top Stories

Drone gives Kiwis winning edge

Emirates Team New Zealand was supposed to be the underdog heading into the America's Cup finals in Bermuda, up against the deep pockets and high technology of Oracle Team USA. But the Kiwis flipped that script and won sailing's most prestigious trophy on June 26 with polished sailing and a secret weapon: drone pilot Nick Bowers. (ACEA photo by Sander van der Borch.) Read more >

Five questions for Colin Snow

Analyst Colin Snow has more than a quarter century of hands-on experience with technology, having held positions in operations, management, and marketing for major companies including Olympus and Oracle. A self-described pragmatist "first and foremost," Snow fielded five questions from AOPA Drone Pilot, including where drone pilots can find dollars. Read more >

Training and Safety

Socialize, learn with AOPA and drone experts

AOPA will host a Drone Social during EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on July 27. The event will begin with a safety and integration panel moderated by Kathleen "Kat" Swain, AOPA senior director of unmanned aircraft programs, joined by John and Martha King of King Schools, Abby Speicher of DARTdrones, and Christian Ramsey of uAvionix. Save the date: Advance registration for the event will open soon.

Gear

Aeromapper Talon flies BVLOS in Andes

Aeromao announced June 19 that the Aeromapper Talon UAV successfully flew a long-range (30 kilometers from the operations base) beyond visual line of sight mission in the Andes, covering a 60-kilometer route and landing with battery power to spare. Watch the video >

Ground-based NextGen traffic monitor

Avionics manufacturer uAvionix of Palo Alto, California, has introduced PingStation, a ground-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast receiver designed to integrate with a variety of traffic displays. Read more >

Self-guided drone dodges trees, people

A research team gave an off-the-shelf micro drone the ability to dodge trees and navigate autonomously through the forest using a deep neural network dubbed TrailNet. The system could lead to advanced search-and-rescue capabilities for small drones in complex environments. Read the research paper >

Lifestyle

MITRE seeks pilot volunteers for study

MITRE Corp. is calling for volunteers from the aeromodelling and drone communities, including Part 107 pilots and hobbyists, to participate in research that will assess new technology and procedures. Read more >

Xponential in images

Attendees at the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International Xponential conference in May probably spotted an artist drawing feverishly to capture presentations and events. AUVSI has collected and published the results. Read more >

Regulation and Policy

Drone ID rule committee formed

AOPA is a member of a committee assembled by the FAA to develop recommendations for drone identification and tracking, important groundwork for future regulations to allow flights over people and beyond line of sight. Read more >

Trump vows to ease drone regulation

President Donald Trump welcomed drone industry insiders to the White House for a meeting that could shape the administration's approach to the fast-developing technology. Read more >

Cities seek ways to enforce local drone rules

Cities looking to put teeth into local drone bans designed to protect large events have turned to a San Francisco startup to track intruders. Read more >

Groups urge Congress to delay new drone laws

AOPA joined 12 other organizations urging Congress to wait for Drone Advisory Committee recommendations before passing legislation. Read more >

News

A plan to tackle climate change with drones

An engineer in Australia hopes drones could help reverse the damaging effects of climate change by planting 1 billion trees per year. Read more >

Hyper-local weather prediction needed for drone delivery

If drones are to succeed in delivering pizza, books, and other goods, drilling down to a much more local view of weather will be of prime importance. Read more >

Unmanned aircraft surveys London tower

With Grenfell Tower in London still unsafe after the United Kingdom’s worst fire in decades, firefighters sent in a drone to inspect the 24-story building. Read more >

Defibrillators and drones

Researchers in Sweden have published a simulation study on the delivery of automated external defibrillators to patients having a heart attack. Read more >