September 18, 2018, issue of 'AOPA Drone Pilot'


VOL 2, ISSUE 19	September 18, 2018

Top Stories

No place for drones

After Hurricane Florence weakened to a tropical depression, drones remained largely grounded while manned aircraft became the disaster response tool of choice. (U.S. Coast Guard photo.) Read more >

Training and Safety

Time to specialize

While photography and video remain the bread and butter for much of the drone industry, more companies are shifting focus to specialized missions that require specific training. Read more >

Failures we can learn from

Seven drone crashes caught on camera offer entertaining yet helpful lessons on how to avoid costly mistakes. Read more >

King Schools offers Part 107 recurrent course

As the first remote pilots certificated under Part 107 begin to take recurrent tests to maintain certification for two more years, King Schools has rolled out a training course to help pilots prepare. Read more >

Gear

Yuneec W10T pairs thermal and low-light cameras

This "next evolution" release touts better dark-scene detail among its versatile features. Read more >

Skydio launches developer platform

A startup's new offering is designed to empower customized solutions to myriad complicated problems. Read more >

Wireless charging system for DJI Matrice 200 series released

Automated charging could make many industrial drone applications more efficient. Read more >

Lifestyle

Reporter learns to drone

An Ohio newspaper reporter turns his attention to drones, reporting on a range of new uses—including his own. Read more >

'Sili-drone Valley' golf course offers air-drop snacks

Can drone deliveries get golfers back out on the links? A drone logistics startup is teeing up a six-week trial run in North Dakota to find out. Read more >

Drone spots a ghost

Faint traces of a long-demolished masterpiece of architecture had gone unseen until drone-enabled aerial photography took up the search. Read more >

Public Safety

'Impossible' quadcopter is all battery

Long endurance and U.S. assembly are the key selling points touted by a former Tesla battery engineer who recently unveiled Impossible Aerospace and its first product, the US–1. Read more >

Drones to deliver defibrillators

A recent successful test put Nevada-based Flirtey a step closer to delivering defibrillators via drone. Read more >

Laboratory deploys drones

South Carolina's Savannah River National Laboratory is including drones in some cleanup, inspection, and other projects at the Savannah River Site nuclear materials production facility. Read more >

University drone team helps find missing student

Florida State University's Emergency Management and Homeland Security Unmanned Aircraft Systems team deployed four drones to help find a missing student. Read more >

Regulation and Policy

Elwell: Every drone needs ID

Acting FAA Administrator Daniel K. Elwell, in a keynote address to the InterDrone convention in Las Vegas, took aim at the 2012 federal law that limits regulation of recreational drone use. Read more >

Don't rush regulations

Drone technologies and applications are developing rapidly, but significant regulatory concerns remain. Read more >

House subcommittee holds airspace integration hearing

At a recent House Subcommittee on Aviation hearing, participants raised numerous safety and noise concerns surrounding the integration of drones into the National Airspace System, and an FAA official called for repeal of the Special Rule for Model Aircraft. Read more >

Airbus develops unmanned traffic management blueprint

According to an Airbus roadmap, unmanned aircraft would operate under a traffic management system to safely integrate into the U.S. airspace system. Read more >

News

Airware shuts down

Drone startup Airware ceased operation Sept. 14 despite having raised $118 million in venture capital. Read more >

Military takes a page from Venus Flytraps

Talon, a prototype portable drone retrieval system, could allow the military to snag its unmanned aircraft like a Venus Flytrap catches prey to retrieve drones on the move. Read more >

Drones deliver volcano monitors

"Dragon eggs," or small pods filled with electronics, can be delivered and dropped from drones onto volcanoes to detect activity, and record and transmit vital data to researchers. Read more >

Mind over matter

A brainwave reader tested by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency allowed pilots to control multiple drones with thoughts alone. Read more >