May 12, 2020, issue of 'AOPA Drone Pilot'


VOL 4, ISSUE 10	May 12, 2020

Top Stories

Pandemic tech skeptic

With aerial thermography being pitched for detecting fever (a sign of infection), law professor Ryan Calo told Minnesota Public Radio why that may not fly. (Photo courtesy of PlatinumCCTV via PR Newswire.) Read more >

Draganfly Q&A

The CEO of Draganfly talked to VentureBeat before and after the firm's "pandemic drone" was abruptly grounded. Read more >

Contactless delivery pilot projects proliferate

UPS is flying prescriptions in Florida, a Las Vegas company hosted a VIP demo, another firm invited California residents to sign up for a trial, and yet another switched from food to medicine in Ireland.

Training and Safety

SFAR flowchart for remote pilots

Many pilots found the 94-page special federal aviation regulation on flying during the coronavirus pandemic confusing. AOPA created a handy flowchart for remote pilots, part of our broader effort to explain the rule. Read more >

UAS shoot-downs authorized

The U.S. Department of Justice announced guidelines for federal agencies to intercept, disrupt, and, if needed, destroy unmanned aircraft perceived to pose a threat. Read more >

Earning FAA accreditation

The FAA will begin studying collegiate curricula and collaborating with educators to publicly recognize the best UAS programs. Read more >

Gear

Out of the box

Watch Jon McBride's first look at DJI's most advanced UAS, the Matrice 300 RTK. Watch the video >

Mavic Air 2: 4K for less

Falling in line between the Mavic 2 Pro and the Mavic Mini, DJI's new Mavic Air 2 becomes the Mavic in the middle of the folding quadcopter series. Read more and watch a video >

Cleared for the low approach

UAS manufacturer ThereCraft is focusing on increasing payload by executing spot deliveries with a fixed-wing platform. Read more and watch a video >

Integration for all

Open-source software could help drone developers mix and match components for enterprise systems. Read more >

Hackers' delight

A company called Luminous Bees hopes to sell drone homebuilders a flying motherboard with just about everything integrated. Read more >

Lifestyle

AUVSI pushes Xponential date, shifts venue

COVID-19 concerns forced the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International to reschedule Xponential for October 2020, relocating from Boston to Dallas. Read more >

InterDrone postponed

No large event is safe from the coronavirus. That includes InterDrone, now postponed from August to December. Read more >

Views reminiscent of the frontier

Mounted patrol officers trot through abandoned Miami streets, rivaling scenes from an old western with a modern backdrop. Watch the video >

Public Safety

Assessing the damage

The Center for Disaster Risk Policy at Florida State University helped panhandle firefighters find hot spots and map the damage done by a Walton County wildfire. Read more and watch a video >

'A Trojan horse spying operation'

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) is not happy about DJI loaning equipment to public safety agencies. Read more >

Smugglers step up UAS use

More than $300,000 worth of cocaine and methamphetamine was flown across the border from Mexico to Yuma, Arizona, in a series of drone drug drops. Read more >

Regulation and Policy

Does RID violate Constitution?

A drone law attorney parses the constitutional cases for and against remote identification and tracking of unmanned aircraft. Read more >

Prohibition pushback

Frequent drone flights by news media and others seeking aerial views of a Tyson Foods facility crippled by the coronavirus prompted a North Carolina town to propose a prohibition that drone pilots vowed to litigate. Read more >

FAA announces RID technical committee

Cellular carriers, Amazon, and Google are among eight companies selected by the FAA to help develop the technical requirements for remote identification and tracking. Read more >

News

Far-flung flyaway

Latvian authorities were forced to close airspace after a long-endurance commercial drone lost connection and disappeared with fuel to fly for days. Read more >

Stadium-sized sanitation

A New York-based UAS company is touting drones as flying disinfectant delivery devices that can spray stadium seats in record time. Read more >