Droning for gold; Parachute fails, deploys


VOL 4, ISSUE 22	October 27, 2020

Top Stories

Unmanned aerial prospecting

Prospectors with pans and picks plucked nuggets of gold out of "them thar hills" 150 years ago. Modern prospectors fly terrain-hugging drones outfitted with magnetometers. (Photo courtesy of Pioneer Exploration Consultants.) Read more >

Training and Safety

View to a (drone) kill

How carefully do you preflight? This video drives home an important lesson about attention to detail.

Double duty

This webinar by the Reynolds Journalism Institute "reveals the hidden value" of using newsgathering drones to support advertisers. (The video will cost you nothing.) Watch the webinar >

Unintended consequences

An accident report submitted to AOPA contributor Steve Rhode's growing database suggests an untimely parachute deployment wrecked a DJI Matrice 200 on October 9. Read more >

Gear

...speaking of parachutes

Drone Rescue Systems now offers a parachute recovery system for DJI's flagship Matrice 300. Read more >

Quad charger

Colorado Drone Chargers designed this accessory to charge four Parrot Anafi batteries from 20 percent to full in 60 minutes. Read more >

Lifestyle

Fruitful flight

A journalist put Walmart's unmanned aircraft delivery program to the test ordering bananas, an avocado, and other produce. Read more and watch bananas land >

Remote checkups

Researchers in Alberta, Canada, successfully collected COVID-19 tests from remote locations with drones that also delivered personal protective equipment to Indigenous tribes. Read more >

Public Safety

Owl's high-tech ducks restore comms after storms

Project Owl created devices called DuckLinks that allow first responders to natural disasters to stand up digital communications networks in two quick quacks when towers are down. Read more and watch a video >

Success stories

Law enforcement has been elevated in Green Lake County, Wisconsin, where the sheriff's drone team finds missing persons and documents crime scenes. Read more >

Critical damage assessment

Insurance adjusters are deploying drones in the wake of wildfires to speed assessments. Read more and watch a video >

Airobotics' case for autonomy

Airobotoics Senior Vice President of Product Management Eitan Rotberg makes a case for autonomy over human piloting in disaster response. Read more >

We can see you

A suspected burglar was well hidden from South Dakota police, except from above. Read more >

Regulation and Policy

News group warns drone ban could expand

The National Press Photographers Association voiced concern that federal restrictions on foreign-made drones could spill over to affect private users. Read more >

Election effects

Two drone law attorneys talk about how the 2020 election might affect the unmanned aircraft industry. Watch the video >

Effective engagement key to drone acceptance

Find out what leaders of various federal Unmanned Aircraft System Integration Pilot Program projects learned about the value of creating local buy-in. Read more >

Drone Advisory Committee virtual meeting

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao addressed the October 22 virtual meeting of the FAA Drone Advisory Committee. Watch the meeting >

News

One man's trash is another man's flight plan

New Jersey trash authorities are droning their landfill to assess vegetation growth and erosion. Read more >

High seas handoff

The U.S. Navy is experimenting with unmanned aircraft to deliver small payloads to submarines at sea. Read more >