Monthly Archives: November 2021

387 Personal eVTOL

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:00 — 18.5MB)

Subscribe: Email | RSS

Personal eVTOL, Navy and Marines resupply drones, an Army UAS, drones on construction sites, UAS support for hypersonic missile testing, weaponized drones, a contraband-carrying drone, and drone video evidence in a high-profile criminal case.

UAV News

Personal eVTOL Vehicles: AIR CEO Believes in the Flying Cars of the Future

AIR is a Tel Aviv-based company that has unveiled its first product offering, the AIR One two-seat personal eVTOL. Designed for recreation and short commutes, the AIR One is powered by a 60 Kw-hour lithium-ion battery and offers a range of up to 110 miles on a single charge at a speed up to 155 miles per hour.

AIR CEO and co-founder Rani Plaut believes that UAM composed of commercial eVTOL vehicles like air taxis has certification and regulatory challenges that will cause the industry to move forward very slowly. Instead, personal eVTOL products based on the automotive model will be more successful short-term. The company has flown unmanned test missions of its prototypes using its Fly by Intent software.

US Navy Trials Logistics Drones for Sea, Land Missions

UAS are being tested for front-line warfighter re-supply. Trials were held by the Navy and Marine Corps Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems program office and Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD). The Marine-focused UAS is the TRUAS (Tactical Resupply Unmanned Aircraft System) for on-shore tactical resupply up to 150 pounds. The Navy-focused UAS is the BWUAS (Blue Water logistics UAS) with longer range but lower payload capacity (30-50 pounds).

The Army is testing drones that can deliver life-saving blood to the battlefield

Army researchers are working with Near Earth Autonomy and L3Harris Technologies to develop autonomous unmanned aircraft that can deliver blood to the battlefield. A demonstration flight of the L3Harris FVR-90 drone was conducted in Fort Pickett, Virginia. The drone maps the landing zone to identify a safe landing point. See: Near Earth Autonomy, L3Harris Demonstrate Blood Delivery via Drones.

Video: Project Crimson – Long Endurance Precision Delivery 8/21

Drones becoming ever more common on construction sites

The article provides general background information on drones and the industry, but contains some inaccuracies, as pointed out in a comment by a reader with MKE Drones, an aerial service provider in Milwaukee offering drone imagery.

Sky Range: Faster, Cheaper, Better

The military will use the Sky Range in North Dakota to test hypersonic vehicles. Range Hawk drones are repurposed Global Hawks that the Department of Defense’s Test Resource Management Center (TRMC) modifies with sensors. These then record test data from the hypersonic vehicle.

Weaponized Drones Are Likely Coming To The U.S.

Recently, three drones carrying explosives attempted to assassinate Iraq’s prime minister and drones have been used on U.S. forces in Syria. This has been mostly a threat in the Middle East but some say it’s only a matter of time until we see weaponized drones used in the U.S. for terrorism purposes.

Drones, catapults used to smuggle contraband into SC prisons

The South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) reported that a drone and catapult were recently used in attempts to smuggle contraband into prisons. The smartphones, tobacco, marijuana, and other items were confiscated by corrections officers. The drone operator hasn’t been identified.

Kyle Rittenhouse defense asks for mistrial over drone video evidence

This widely-watched trial involves Rittenhouse who shot and killed several people at a demonstration and riot. The prosecution obtained some drone video of the incident and provided a copy to the defense. After the evidence window had closed, it was determined that the prosecution provided a low-resolution version of the video to the defense.

386 Fuel Cell Hydrogen

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:53 — 17.8MB)

Subscribe: Email | RSS

Where to get Hydrogen for fuel cells, Boeing loyal wingman milestone, new drone rules for Oregon, Gremlins snatched in mid-air, a drone attack on the U.S. power grid, and Black Friday drone deals.

UAV News

The Potential of Hydrogen Fuel Cells for UAS

Doosan Mobility Innovation Co., Ltd. is using a hydrogen fuel cell to increase range, and they have partnered with a hydrogen supplier to serve customers. ReadyH2 offers hydrogen tank rental and refueling with delivery to the customer worksite. Approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the hydrogen tanks are made with a carbon-fiber composite and are lined with a high-density polymer liner.

Video: CUAVA Expo: Doosan

Boeing Loyal Wingman UAV’s Landing Gear Engaged for the First Time

Boeing Australia has reached a milestone with its Loyal Wingman aircraft (Airpower Teaming System) where one of them extended its landing gear for the first time. The landing gear system is supplied by RUAG Australia while the flight control and navigation systems came from BAE Systems Australia. Aircraft two successfully completed its first flight mission.

New rules for drones at Oregon state parks, Coast, coming for summer of 2022

Oregon recently formed a drone rules committee to determine where drone pilots can take off and land at state parks and the Oregon Coast. The rules will take into account drone impacts on wildlife and personal privacy and are expected to be in place by summer 2022.

C-130 Successfully Snatches Gremlins Drone In Midair

DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, reports on some successful tests with the X-61A Gremlin Air Vehicle drone. A C-130 Hercules cargo plane successfully recovered the drone in mid-air, two X-61As flew together, and the drone can be turned around within 24 hours after a mission.

Video: DARPA Gremlins Program Demonstrates Airborne Recovery

Drone Attack on U.S. Power Grid Failed – This Time

A modified DJI Mavic 2 was recently found trailing a copper wire. It is believed this was an attempted attack on a Pennsylvania power substation in 2020. We learn about this from a recently released Joint Intelligence Bulletin (JIB) initially published on October 28, 2021, by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC).

Black Friday drone deals 2021: early sales and what to expect

Black Friday 2021 is November 26, but you don’t have to wait until then. While not all retail establishments have announced their discounts on drones, some have.

385 Hunting with Drones

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:10 — 22.1MB)

Subscribe: Email | RSS

Hunting with drones and the fair chase concept, autonomous agile flight, thermal mapping to reduce building heat loss, Trick or Treat, the delivery drone hold-up, UAS over wildfires, and a LAANC update.

UAV News

Outdoors in Maine: Drones in the woods, and the ethical debate over whether they belong

The law in Maine says hunters cannot use drones to locate game. According to Title 12 Section 11216 Hunting with aid of aircraft, “A person on the ground or airborne may not use an aircraft to aid or assist in hunting bear, deer or moose.” Section 10001(1) defines an aircraft as “a machine or device designed for flight.” In 2014, Colorado became the first state to outlaw the use of drones for scouting, hunting, and taking wildlife. The concept of “fair chase,” a registered trademark of the Boone and Crockett Club, comes into play.

Watch these autonomous drones zip through the woods

Rapid autonomous flight in complex and changing environments is difficult, but researchers at the University of Zurich in conjunction with Intel Labs are tackling this problem. Using simulations, they are training drones to imitate expert human pilots for autonomous agile flight.

Video: Learning High-Speed Flight in the Wild (Science Robotics, 2021)

Project webpage: Learning High-Speed Flight in the Wild 

Warren, MN, uses drones, thermal sensors to map its heat-leaking homes

The Minnesota town of Warren is using a drone to help residents cut their energy costs. Warren is a Climate Smart Municipalities Partnership member where cities in Minnesota and Germany link up for sustainability and climate initiatives. They used a thermal sensor-equipped drone to produce a municipal map showing structural insulating inefficiencies and losses of heat. Pilots and drones came from Northland Community College.

Drones have fun at Halloween 2021

This is a compilation of drone Halloween videos and photos, including a drone light show in Dallas produced by Sky Elements Drone Shows, flying witch drones, trick or treating robots, and an Australian youngster dressed up as a Wing delivery drone.

Amazon Drone Delivery Was Supposed to Start By 2018. Here’s What Happened Instead

In 2013, Amazon announced an experimental drone delivery service. Now it’s 2021, almost 2022. Where are the Amazon delivery drones? Amazon Prime Air is still committed to delivering packages by drones, and they say, “We are pioneering new ground and it will continue to take time to create the right technology and infrastructure to safely deliver packages to customers.” In the U.S., drone delivery is paced by the FAA as it develops the regulatory framework.

Hybrid rotor/fixed wing drone was used extensively over Schneider Springs Fire

In August and September 2021, the Schneider Springs Fire in Washington burned more than 107,000 acres. An L3 Latitude Engineering FVR-90 unmanned aircraft was used to monitor the fire. The eVTOL uses four electrically-powered rotors to take off, and then transitions to horizontal flight driven by a rear-mounted gasoline-powered propeller. It can fly for up to 12 hours and fly at an altitude of 10,000 to 12,000 feet. Visual video cameras and heat-sensing infrared sensors monitor and map fires, with images transmitted to the ground in real-time.

Video: UAS Type 1 Drone Used on the Schneider Springs Fire

Unmanned aircraft on wildfires — what have we learned?

Incident Management Teams used other drones on the Schneider Springs Fire. A Type 3 UAS was used at night for Plastic Sphere Dispenser (PSD) burning operations. This drone could access areas of the fire that were inaccessible to other aircraft and provided better intel and risk management. A number of challenges remain.

LAANC Update: Refined Airspace Grids & Night Drone Authorizations

The latest generation of FAA’s Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) introduces authorization requests for nighttime drone flights in controlled airspace, as well as refined airspace grids. Skyward customers can request automated and near real-time access to controlled airspace for any time of day, as well as request higher altitude LAANC authorizations in portions of controlled airspace. Skyward is one of seven FAA-approved LAANC UAS Service Suppliers.

This next generation of LAANC is available on the Skyward web platform as well as the Skyward InFlight mobile app for iOS and Android. Users can request airspace access and view authorization documents in the office or the field.