Innholdsfortegnelse for June - July 2021 i RotorDrone Pro

MAKING ART If you picked up this magazine because you recently bought or were given a camera drone, you’re in luck: our “Eye in the Sky” has everything you need to know to create stunning aerial images. From scouting locations to choosing the right height and angle, author Stephen W. Brock has got you covered. Using drones in your business? Don’t miss our feature, “The Blockchain Solution,” which highlights how this technology is especially suited to commercial drone operations and can manage maintenance, flight routes, and more. We appreciated your positive responses to our feature, “The New Rules of the Road,” outlining the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) upcoming rules on Remote Identification and their implications in the April/May issue. This month, contributor Patrick Sherman follows his last informative piece with…

Martin UAV’s V-BAT 128 is intended for defense and commercial use, including search and rescue, firefighting, logistic resupply, and energy and oil and gas operations. The V-BAT is designed to make transportation and rapid tactical deployment easier for both defense and commercial application, assembled by two personnel in less than 30 minutes. The aircraft’s duct fan propulsion design provides for top operational safety by eliminating exposed rotors, which are commonly found in propeller-driven VTOLs. “Martin UAV continues to push the boundaries of what is possible for unmanned aircraft systems,” said Heath Niemi, chief development officer. “We have listened to the customer and expanded the capabilities and agility of the V-BAT, delivering technology that serves a wider range of mission needs. We’re proud to make the V-BAT available to the broader…

Remote GeoSystems, Inc., a global provider of immersive geospatial full motion video and survey data mapping software and recorder solutions, has been awarded a U.S. patent for essential elements of “video geo-editing” technology capabilities. The patent covers map-based GPS data and video segment selection, extraction and re-splicing functionality found in products like LineVision Desktop, Video GeoEditor, and other evolving Remote GeoSystems mapping and data management solutions. This exclusive geo-editing functionality applies to a wide variety of geo-referenced video file formats from videos with associated GPS “companion files,” videos with GPS in the closed caption subtitles and videos with embedded GPS data such as consumer devices like action cameras and drones all the way up to airborne gyro-stabilized gimbal camera turrets generating MISB FMV 0601/STANAG 4609 mil-spec video files with embedded…

PILOT REPORT If you live in the Midwest or on the East Coast, I suspect that you will get a good chuckle from this story. The backdrop is how Portland, Oregon—home to 2.6 million people and the 25th largest metropolitan area in the United States—was crippled by less than six inches of snow. To be fair to my home city, we don’t get much snow in a typical year, so nearly any snowfall is cause for excitement and alarm in equal measure. However, this storm brought with it a particularly nasty mix of snow, freezing rain, and an extended period of sub-zero temperatures that resulted in the largest blackout in the state’s history and rendered many roads impassable. Therefore, when I received a telephone call from my contact at the…

In addition to flights over unprotected people, Part 107 also prohibited uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) operations over moving vehicles. The justification for this rule was that while a car or truck could likely shrug off an impact from a two-pound drone with only minor damage, the startled driver might overreact and steer the vehicle into a tree. The injuries and damage resulting from that second-order effect is what this rule was intended to prevent. Under the Operations Over People and at Night (OOP) rule, this prohibition has been loosened—slightly. Under these new rules, a drone that meets the standards to fly over people in any of the first three categories is still not allowed to conduct sustained flight operations over moving vehicles, but it is permitted to complete a transit…

A BAD DAY AT THE BEACH Incident Type: Mid-Air Collision Incident Location: Punta de Tralca, Chile Aircraft Type: DJI Mavic 2 Pro Incident Resolution: Crew injured but safely landed aircraft, drone seized No one is more forceful than me in advocating for the safe use of drones. We must always make safety our highest priority, and avoiding potential conflicts with crewed aircraft must be a paramount concern within that overall goal. That said, I’ve always been skeptical of the notion that a small uncrewed aircraft system (sUAS) could bring down a crewed aircraft. After all, they are designed to sustain bird strike and continue flying safely. According to 14 CFR 29.631, a helicopter should be able to take a direct hit from a 2-pound bird—such as a duck or a…

RotorDronePro.com› Mailbag Thank you so much for a great summary of how the requirement of Remote Identification (RID) will affect both commercial and hobby drone flying. My compliments to Patrick Sherman. I particularly liked the clarification of RID applying to fixed wing aircraft as well as multicopters when flying outside of an FAA-Recognized Identification Area (FRIA) and how flying in a local park or even your backyard will require RID. David G. Hmiel Your “New Rules of the Road” feature in the April/May 2021 issue was the best and most thorough explanation I’ve seen of the upcoming federal regulations for drone flying and Remote Identification. While there are still many uncertainties as to how this plan is going to actually work, I am relieved to see that the new rules…

Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), Switzerland’s largest public transport and mobility company, has established a Center of Competence for Drones to oversee a wide range of drone applications across the organization. Over 100 trained pilots operate a fleet of over 80 drones in dozens of use cases for SBB. When it comes to drone data capture, SBB has been using Drone Harmony’s software for its ease of use and its ability to produce replicable data in complex use cases. One notable example is Hill Scan, Drone Harmony’s newest terrain inspection and mapping technology, which SBB plans to use for inspecting rockslides near railroad tracks. SBB Engineer Nicolas Ackermann said, “There are numerous problematic areas we need to inspect regularly. Most have regular heavy rainfall. Our goal is to provide with this…

A2Z made news with their patented tethered freefall drone delivery mechanism and has recently completed the first commercial deployment of its RDS1 (Rapid Delivery System) with drone services provider DroneUp. The RDS1 was chosen for its rapid delivery capabilities which reduced time-on-station to just 30 seconds per delivery, while minimizing intrusive rotor noise and limiting the window for risk to people on the ground. By delivering payloads without having to descend from cruising altitude, the RDS1 mitigates the safety and privacy concerns often associated with drone delivery by keeping spinning UAV propellers away from people and abating intrusive rotor noise of low-flying drones. Seizing on these unique capabilities, DroneUp worked with the A2Z development team to customize the RDS1 controls into its proprietary flight software. “With the innumerable logistics that…

The debacle that followed the 2019 roll out of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) original Remote Identification (RID) plan seems to have prompted some reflection within the agency. Not only was the revised RID rule released in late 2020 much more in line with industry expectations (see the April issue of RotorDrone Pro for more details), but the agency also went further by concurrently releasing an expansion of operations permitted under 14 CFR Part 107. The FAA’s ostensible reason for these changes was that by creating greater accountability, RID allowed the agency to permit remote pilots more freedom to operate at night and over people. However, if you look at the timing of the new regulations, you don’t need to be a cynical, world-weary reporter to be a little bit…

If you are thinking about taking your drone with you when you travel, there is a lot to consider. Factors range from the obvious, such as deciding which type of carrying case you should use, to the more complex, such as knowing the rules for carrying lithium batteries onboard a commercial aircraft. I was recently faced with these considerations when I took a trip from my home in San Diego, California, to visit my family near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Choosing a case for my new Mavic Air would turn out to be the easiest part of the trip preparation. And since I knew that both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the airlines had specific rules for carrying lithium batteries onboard commercial aircraft, I researched those rules and familiarized myself with…

Before 2015, passing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) written tests was a simple task. Back then, the FAA published all their questions and answers, leaving no surprises to an astute user who spent a few hours with prep materials. Some folks even memorized the answers to questions they didn’t understand or didn’t want to calculate while sitting for their exam. However, the FAA decided to change things up by no longer providing these details, leaving pilots guessing what specific questions they would face. While we have not been left entirely in the dark, as study guides still do a decent job preparing us for the FAA’s tests, gone are the days when we recognize verbatim questions and answers across our testing experience. So, when the FAA announced they were adding a…

Flying from sunrise to sunset, a Skyfront Perimeter 8 gasoline/electric hybrid drone flew 205 miles, setting the record for longest drone multirotor flight ever recorded. The world record-breaking flight was achieved by the lightweight, powerful, and efficient Skyfront Perimeter 8—the company’s most advanced eight rotor drone The Skyfront proprietary fuel-injected hybrid gasoline/electric powertrain converts gasoline into electricity in flight, providing extreme endurance and redundant power. Skyfront CEO Troy Mestler said, “In an unheard-of industry feat, our drone stayed aloft for the entire day. Outfitted with an auxiliary fuel tank, the Perimeter 8 captured the sun traversing the sky, rising and setting over California’s Coastal Ranges. This flight signals a paradigm shift in aviation for public safety and commercial applications. No longer will police departments, fire departments, and utility companies have…

DJI’s new cinematic first-person view drone, aptly named “FPV,” comes bundled with DJI’s goggles and a controller for the price of $1,299. The DJI press release notes that it’s suitable for FPV professionals and newcomers to FPV. With 20-minute flight times, the new FPV has a ½.3-inch sensor and can film 4K at 60fps and up to 120fps at 1080p. The camera is mounted on a one-axis gimbal and it has a 150-degree view. Digital video transmission is via DJI’s OcuSync technology. The FPV is also equipped with a downward auxiliary light. The DJI FPV aircraft comes with forward and downward vision sensors that can automatically detect objects and decelerate when flying in N mode. However, there is no automatic avoidance function. When obstacles are detected, the aircraft will slow…

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is partnering with the Choctaw Nation to study how Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) can best transport cargo, including parcels, at lower altitudes. The FAA’s Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (MMAC) signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. The agreement will enable the MMAC to work with the Choctaw Nation to study human factors, supply chain management, and air traffic control. The parties will use virtual simulated urban environments for their research. One goal is to promote interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs for students seeking possible careers in aerospace. “The FAA and the Choctaw Nation share an interest in safety,” said Michelle Coppedge, Director of the MMAC. “Our goal is to advance the development and integration of UAS into…

Blockchain technology: hyped by many, understood by few. But the truth is, this technology will have a real impact across all commercial industries, from financial services and insurance to manufacturing and construction. The technology is already being used to improve supply chain management, advance the privacy of sensitive healthcare data, prevent identity theft, and much more. The use cases are growing every day. In fact, Gartner estimates blockchain will generate $3.1 trillion in new business value by 2030. This business value is also extending to the aviation industry, where blockchain has the potential to revolutionize the management of drones. As more unmanned vehicles take flight, this technology can help ensure compliance with the safety standards, accurately record flight data, and improve collaboration with aviation authorities. We’ll start by covering the…

In this article, I’ll share with you some of my experiences doing drone photography with my new flying camera. I learned on a DJI Mavic Pro, but the principles here apply to any newer camera drone as well. You’ll see how learning to use and fly a drone can help you improve all your photography as well. Here are some of the lessons I’ve learned: LEARN TO FLY BEFORE YOU LEARN TO SHOOT This means finding an open space and learning the controls well so don’t have to consciously think about every lever and button and what it does. You’ll have plenty of time for making photos later. Get the feel of the aircraft now. VISUALIZE BEFORE YOU TAKE OFF On the Mavic Pro, you get about 26 minutes of…