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Observations from the Drone Dealer Expo, hydrogen fueled drones, a drone rescue patent, and proposed federal preemption of UAS laws.
Guest
Mike Daniels says he has been designing, building and flying model aircraft since the 1970s. He’s flown free flight, control line, and RC airplanes, helicopters, and multi-rotors. Mike built an F550 with parts he designed and printed, and he’s currently flying a Yuneec Typhoon Q500 and an Ares Ethos Q130. His new Typhoon H should arrive at any moment.
Mike holds an FAA pilot’s certificate to fly single engine land and sea planes, and an FAA repairman certificate for Light Sport Airplanes with a Maintenance Rating.
Mike shares his experiences by blogging at blog.mikeflys.com, and he’s created an online e-paper called “The UAV Daily.” He’s also starting a drone store at www.mikeflys.com where he’ll only sell products he knows and likes. Follow Mike on Twitter as @Mike_Flys.
Drone Dealer Expo 2016
Mike gives us his observations from the Drone Dealer Expo he attended April 11-13, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. Mike characterizes the attendees and describes some of the event themes.
A drone racing expo was held in the parking lot to demo FPV racing, and there was talk about ESPN broadcasting races. The subsequent press story With ESPN deal, drone racing gets serious confirms that ESPN has signed a multi-year deal to broadcast drone races.
We talk with Mike about the theory that the timing of the FAA UAS registration requirement may have depressed holiday drone sales. We also learn that a panel discussion led to a lively discussion about UAS regulations. There was a consensus belief that a future drone operator’s certificate will require an in-person written test, not an online test.
News
MMC’s Hydrogen-fueled Drone, the HyDrone 1800, Leads the Way into a New UAV Era
MicroMultiCopter Aero Technology Co., Inc. (MMC) launched their HyDrone 1800, a hydrogen-fueled drone with a claimed flight time in excess of four hours, a one-minute recharge cycle, and a flight radius of up to 100km with a live video stream.
Google Has Patented a Drone Rescue Service
Google’s concept is that users could push a button instead of calling 911 and get the help they need, delivered by a self-flying drone.
Lawmakers seek to ensure FAA bill won’t preempt local drone laws
Senate debates contentious provision against state drone laws
Some members of the US Senate are adding amendments to the FAA reauthorization bill that would create a federal preemption for state or local laws related to the design, manufacture, testing, licensing, registration, certification, operation, or maintenance of UAS. Local governments could not regulate airspace, altitude, flight paths, equipment or technology requirements, and pilot requirements.
Video of the Week
Killerdrone! Flying chainsaw
Crazy Finnish farmers built an epic drone with a remote controlled chainsaw.
We get a first-hand look at first person view drone racing.
First Person View racing is an incredible community of people of all types: teenagers, tinkerers, long-time RC folks, and people who are brand new to multirotors. Racers meet in parks, underground parking lots, container yards, abandoned buildings, and whatever they can find. The sport exploded in 2015 and this year we expect to see even more clubs, leagues, and international events (like the World Championship in Hawaii and the World Drone Pre in Dubai.
Guest Chris Thomas from 