Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 33:00 — 22.7MB)
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Email | RSS
Telecommunication drone tests from MIT and Verizon, flying near firefighters, pipeline inspection, drone registration refunds for recreational operators, and the UAS Identification and Tracking Aviation Rulemaking Committee.
Testing the RS-20 as a telecommunications drone. Courtesy American Aerospace Technologies Inc.
UAV News
MIT Develops Gas-Powered UAV That Can Stay Aloft for Five Days
This fixed-wing, long-endurance UAV was developed to provide temporary telecommunications service for disaster areas, or possibly for environmental monitoring. With a 24-foot wingspan and a 15,000 feet ceiling, the GPkit software modeling tool was used to evaluate different aircraft parameters.
Verizon explains flying-cell-site drone-project
Verizon, American Aerospace Technologies Inc., and Cape May County in New Jersey collaborated to test an AATI RS-20 fixed-wing aircraft flying BVLOS and broadcasting a Verizon Airborne LTE signal. Verizon has been building a suite of tools with “barnyard” names, including: cell on wheels (COW), generator on a trailer (GOAT), and cell on light truck (COLT).
Drone Photographer Arrested for Impeding Forest Fire Rescuers
54-year old Gene Alan Carpenter was arrested after flying his drone over an Arizona wildfire. He is charged with felony endangerment and unlawful operation of an unmanned aircraft in violation of Arizona law that makes it illegal for drones to impede emergency or law-enforcement activities. In response to the drone flight, officials were forced to ground all the aircraft in the area.
Yale Student Invents Drone to Solve $2.5 Trillion Corrosion Problem
A Yale School of Management team has founded Arix Technologies to bring robotics and data analytics to the expensive and labor intensive problem of pipeline corrosion inspection.
FAA is now issuing a drone registration refund
In light of the court ruling that the FAA violated section 336 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 when it implemented drone registration for recreational operators, the FAA is offering a refund. Recreational drone operators can expunge their registration information and get their $5 registration fee back from the FAA by mailing a form [PDF]. See the FAA Registration Deletion page for more details.
FAA’s New UAS Committee Holds Inaugural Meeting
The first meeting of the UAS Identification and Tracking Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) was held June 21-23, 2017. This group of 74 unmanned aircraft stakeholders [PDF] was chartered [PDF] to investigate technologies for remote identification and tracking of UAS. The ARC will recommend solutions that meet the requirements of security and public safety organizations.
Mentioned
Sky Locals – Amazing drone photos on Instagram and videos on YouTube.