Advancing integration; Safety in focus


VOL 4, ISSUE 23	November 10, 2020

Top Stories

Drone integration advances

When the FAA announced the end of one drone integration effort and the beginning of another on October 30, one state stood out for offering a solution that would place no new burdens on current airspace users. (Photo courtesy of SkySkopes.) Read more >

Training and Safety

Practical approach to safety

AOPA Air Safety Institute Senior Director Paul Deres, AOPA Drone Pilot Editor Jim Moore, and public safety pilot Steve Rhode will examine accidents and detail how remote pilots can avoid costly mishaps during a webinar November 18 at noon Eastern time during National Drone Safety Awareness Week. Register now >

Students model historic wreckage

Two Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University seniors are using drone photogrammetry to create a digital model of the wreckage of TWA Flight 800, which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean in 1996 near Long Island, New York. Read more >

Check out with a buzz

Virginia Beach public libraries are adding drone training to a growing list of technology education offerings. Read more and watch a video >

Gear

DJI upgrades both ends of the line

Drone giant DJI has released the 249-gram Mavic Mini 2, with enhanced connectivity and 4K video. Meanwhile, the company's first lidar sensor and a full-frame camera arrived for the top-of-the-line M300 system.

Dog is my remote pilot

Exyn Technologies credits golden retriever Kody as the first dog ever to fly a drone. Forbes looks at the serious side of a pretty cute video. Read more and watch a video >

Lifestyle

Teen takes drone racing by storm

Jake Capobres has risen into the top ranks of drone racing pilots as a 14-year-old high school freshman who plans to become an aeronautical engineer. Read more >

Remote elves in command?

Santa and his reindeer caught the eyes of Milwaukee residents during a rehearsal for a holiday drone show. Read more and watch the videos >

Public Safety

Atlanta suburb plans UAS-first response

Brookhaven, Georgia, could become the first city in the Southeast to dispatch drones as first responders. Read more >

Public awareness lacking

A survey in Europe found disappointingly low awareness of the good work being done by drones to improve emergency response. Read more >

Regulation and Policy

'Hit and miss' pandemic response

Retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. James Poss contemplates whether the unmanned aircraft industry is taking full advantage of the opportunities created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more >

Skyward abandons facility plan

Verizon drone services subsidiary Skyward scrapped plans for building a drone testing facility in North Portland, Oregon, after the community pushed back. Read more >

News

UAS industry optimism persists

Some estimate that the drone industry will nearly double, in dollar terms, by 2026. Read more >

Sniffing volcanoes from the sky

Researchers are flying drones through gas plumes, hoping to improve volcano forecasting. Read more >

Polar ice study

Climatologists flew drones near the North Pole to measure reflected light and better predict the pace at which the ice will recede. Read more >