May 2, 2017, issue of 'AOPA Drone Pilot'


VOL. 1, ISSUE 6	May 2, 2017

Top Stories

Report details drone risks

The FAA on April 28 released a detailed report on drone crash tests and digital models of the injuries a falling drone can cause, the first product of many to come from collaborative research seeking to understand and quantify the real risks of drones flying over people. (Photo courtesy of the FAA.) Read more >

Five questions for Robin Murphy

Texas A&M University professor Robin Murphy is credited with co-founding the scientific field of disaster robotics, and remains one of the world's leading experts on the use of technology including unmanned aircraft (and other types of robots) in disaster response. She answered five questions from AOPA Drone Pilot, including whether manned-aircraft pilots make better remote pilots. Read more >

Training and Safety

SkyFire trains responders

A former CNN producer teamed up with a certificated flight instructor to create an Atlanta-based company called SkyFire Consulting, among the first to offer formal drone training for police and firefighters. Read more >

AOPA at Xponential

The unmanned aircraft community will gather in Dallas May 8 through 11 for the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International's Xponential conference, and AOPA (which began welcoming remote pilots to its ranks in February) will be on hand with a display and staff ready to assist members and members-to-be. Learn more and register for the event >

Safety standdown at Xponential

ARGUS Unmanned, the division of ARGUS International that was previously an independent company known as the Unmanned Safety Institute, will host a daylong safety standdown May 10 during Xponential in Dallas. Standdown registration is separate from the main event, and costs $249 in advance, or $349 onsite. The program will cover human factors and limitations, crew resource management, and risk mitigation. Read more >

Gear

100-megapixel drone camera unveiled

Drone market leader DJI now owns the renowned Hasselblad brand, and matched a new version of the medium-format camera system with a Matrice hexacopter. Read more >

New DJI controller connects to multiple models

Among the new products DJI announced at the National Association of Broadcasters convention in April are a new remote for Inspire 2 and Matrice models, and a long-range antenna. Read more >

Lifestyle

Camarillo conclave

AOPA continued a run of successful regional fly-in events April 28 and 29 in Camarillo, California, and many of the 5,000 attendees got a nice, close look at the latest technology flying in a drone cage. Read more >

A racing quad to scare the cats

Juan Carlos Torres of Kissimmee, Florida, won a $5,000 grand prize from Hobbico's House Racer Challenge for creating an indoor course using the RISE racing drone sold in a kit with indoor racing gates. It's not clear if the graphic designer will turn professional as a drone pilot, but learning to fly a system lacking automatic stabilization in close quarters is the kind of challenge that makes any pilot a better drone pilot. Watch a video of his winning entry >

Regulation and Policy

FAA begins drone map release

The FAA on April 27 began to publish electronic maps for airports across the country that detail where and at what altitudes remote pilots may hope to achieve clearance to fly unmanned aircraft in certain types of controlled airspace. This information will be useful to pilots of manned and unmanned aircraft. Read more >

Military withdraws plan for Florida temporary restricted areas

The U.S. Air Force has withdrawn a proposal AOPA had opposed to establish temporary restricted areas south of the Eglin Air Force Base Range Complex near Santa Rosa Island, Florida, to test technology to counter unmanned aircraft systems. Read more >

News

Silicon Valley builds flying cars

More than a dozen tech start-ups funded by the likes of Google founder Larry Page and major aerospace firms are working to bring flying cars to market, including a multirotor scaled up for one rider. Read more >

Uber promises flying cars by 2020

Silicon Valley put down an ambitious marker in Dallas with the multibillion-dollar, international ride-sharing giant Uber predicting on April 25 that long-elusive, practical flying cars will arrive by 2020, ready to be scaled for the masses. Read more >

FAA tests drone detection

The FAA continues to test technologies to detect and interdict drones near airports, the latest of these efforts in Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Read more >

No-fly zones expanded to stop terrorists

With ISIS and other terrorist groups now using off-the-shelf drones to drop grenades, DJI has expanded the no-fly zones for its drones to include portions of Iraq and Syria. Experts wonder if the geofencing strategy will really work. Read more >