Episodes

The FAA tests a drone detection system at JFK and releases registration data, drone-on-drone refueling demonstrated, a drone that can perch on walls, a new UAS risk management course, and a review of a guide to drones. News FAA Tests FBI Drone Detection System at JFK The FAA conducted tests of the effectiveness of an FBI UAS detection system at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York. Five different rotorcraft and fixed wing UAS participated in about 40 separate tests. Also inv...

The FAA created an advisory committee, permits educational institutions to fly UAS, and rescinded a proposed website for collecting reports of bad drone behaviour. UPS and Zipline partner for drone delivery of medical packages, and more interviews from the Drone Dealer Expo. News FAA Administrator Makes Major Drone Announcements FAA Administrator Michael Huerta made two significant announcements at the AUVSI annual conference in New Orleans. Another advisory committee is being formed to provid...

Dr. Danette Allen from NASA Langley Research Center’s Autonomy Incubator describes projects that will advance autonomous technology for unmanned aircraft. Guest Dr. Danette Allen is the NASA Senior Technologist for Intelligent Flight Control System and the Head of the Autonomy Incubator at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC). She is responsible for setting the strategic vision, transforming the workforce, and building systems to realize the promise of autonomy and robotics in enabling new miss...

A milestone for the UTM research platform, controlling drones with brain waves, FAA approval for night flying, rules for sUAS get one step closer, more from the Drone Dealer Expo, and a Flirtey goes into the Smithsonian. News NASA Marks Success for Most Complex Drone Traffic Management Test Yet at FAA Test Sites A three-hour field test of NASA’s UAS Traffic Management (UTM) research platform included 24 drones flying in all six FAA UAS test sites. Operators planned operations, entered flight p...

An interview by Tim Trott with drone lawyer Jonathan Rupprecht at Drone Dealer Expo 2016. We continue our coverage of Drone Dealer Expo 2016 with an insightful conversation that Tim Trott recorded with Jonathan Rupprecht from Rupprecht Law. Jonathan notes that the industry will become more regulated and comments on the responsibilities of drone manufacturers and retailers. He also has a very interesting and sobering take on the many organizations that represent the unmanned industry: their obj...

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...

The Drone Manufacturers Alliance is formed, a Digital Notice and Awareness System for airports starts, the Micro UAS Aviation Rulemaking Committee report is published, a satellite navigation system competition begins, and a new facial-recognition drone is available. News Drone coalition splits as DJI, GoPro faction quits The Small UAV Coalition was formed to advocate “for law and policy changes to permit the operation of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) beyond the line-of-sight, with vary...

An autonomous package delivery drone, blanket COA altitude limit raised, FAA forecasts UAS sales, in U.S., states eye drone applications, NASA and AFRL developing a fully autonomous UAS, JPL applies Mars sensor technology to earth-bound drone, and the Pentagon will pair manned and unmanned jets. News First US autonomous, urban drone delivery in Nevada In Episode 59 we reported that Flirtey was conducting package delivery tests in Australia. Flirtey now says they have successfully completed the...

An online “junk yard” for UAVs and components, the drone pilot shortage, a UAS detect and avoid display project, UAV airspace integration in the UK, the US Senate version of FAA reauthorization, egg drop drones, LiPo batteries, and the CRACUNS submersible drone. News This Online ‘Drone Junk Yard’ Lets UAV Owners Swap and Exchange Parts UK Drone builder Andrew Spaxman founded Drone Junk Yard in January 2015 as a place where enthusiasts could buy, swap, and sell unwanted UAV parts. Starting with...

A significant change for Section 333 holders, a carrier-based aerial-refueling system, mapping with UAVs, a drone that romps in the crowd, using drones for health care, extrapolating birdstrike data to drone strikes, an unmanned underwater vehicle, and a fuel cell-powered drone. News UAS: blanket approval granted for 1,120 drones . . . But only going forward In the past, Section 333 exemption applicants had to list the makes and models of all UAS intended for use. If an exemption holder later ...

The Aurora Flight Sciences unmanned VTOL X-plane, shore-to-ship package delivery, Senate FAA reauthorization bill impacts UAS, more proposed local drone legislation, a new DJI Phantom, and high-altitude sUAS flying. News Aurora Wins Darpa Contract to Build Novel Drone Demonstrator The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded second- and third-phase contract awards to Aurora Flight Sciences for the “LightningStrike” technology demonstrator. Aurora plans to start flight tes...

We get a first-hand look at first person view drone racing. Guest Fred Samson works for a large, international software company, but he’s also a 400hr FAA certificated pilot, formation lead acrobatic pilot, and drone enthusiast. He’s a member of the San Francisco chapter of the International Drone Racing Association (IDRA), he races on the national circuit, and he also helps people get into the sport. FPV Racing First Person View racing is an incredible community of people of all types: teen...

The House FAA reauthorization bill returns to Committee, package delivery by drone in Singapore, a quadcopter crosses the English Channel, filming wildlife with drones, a drone detection system for airports, and putting UAVs on the internet. News House FAA reauthorization legislation delayed The “AIRR Act” that passed the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on February 11 with “micro UAS” provisions has met broad opposition, largely over the topic of air traffic control privatiza...

David, Max, and guest Tim Trott (“The Drone Professor”) try their hand at broadcasting a live episode. We discuss the Micro UAS amendment to the FAA reauthorization bill, another lawsuit challenging the FAA right to require drone registration, and the results of two UAV criminal cases. News A Giant Step for Micro Drones On February 11, 2016, Illinois Congressman Rodney Davis introduced a micro UAS operations amendment [PDF] to H.R. 4441, the Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization Act...

“Drone lawyer” Jonathan Rupprecht talks about current legal cases that will have major implications for model airplane enthusiasts and sUAS operators. Guest Jonathan Rupprecht is a commercial pilot with single and multi-engine aircraft ratings and also a flight instructor. He has a Bachelor of Science in Professional Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and his law degree from Florida International University School of Law. Rupprecht Law provides legal services for operators ...

sUAS and the proposed FAA reauthorization bill, ALPA proposes to lock sUAS, a universal UAV control interface, Amazon Prime Air testing outside the US, and EASA drone rules. News Rep. Bill Shuster: How to fix America’s crumbling aviation system Representative Bill Shuster of Pennsylvania, the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, introduced the Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization Act of 2016 (the “AIRR” Act, or H.R. 4441) [PDF] to Congress February 3, ...

The CEO of Skyward tells us about software and services for commercial UAS operations. Also, DJI and Lufthansa do a drone deal, open source vs. open architecture autopilots, and taking FPV drone racing to the next level. Guest Jonathan Evans is the CEO of Skyward, a provider of professional services and software in the form of airspace maps and integrated flight planning tools for commercial UAV operators. Jonathan was a professional pilot for 18 years with over 3,000 hours of flight time. He...

Open source UAV software, safety with a soccer ball sized drone, a drone landing on a moving vehicle, combining rotors and wings for overall efficiency, the FAA blocks sUAS registration site outside the U.S., and UAS rules for public safety organizations. News Dronecode Project Advances Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Commercial Applications In its first year, the Dronecode Project has formed three technical working groups and grown to include 50 members. This collaborative effort brings open sou...

Anti-drone systems and shooting down drones, more legislation from California, the authority to control the airspace, the FAA clamps down on R/C and drone clubs in Washington, D.C., formation flying, drones in television and film, stealth UAVs, and the B4UFLY app. And now, for something completely different… Instead of recording this episode over Skype for an audio program, we tried a bit of an experiment and recorded a video show live on Blab.im with an audience participating. Blab is a serv...

Registration of model aircraft moves to the courts, FAA releases an app and answers more registration questions, a cargo delivery UAV makes a first untethered flight, and a new drone challenge. News FAA Sued In Federal Court Over Drone Registration Rules Attorney and model airplane enthusiast John A. Taylor from Silver Spring, Maryland believes that the FAA requirement for sUAS registration is a violation of Section 336 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. Taylor requested an emerg...

Small UAS registration is proceeding in the U.S., but AMA says to hold off, package delivery robots, drone registration in the Bahamas, security drones chase thieves, the FAA gets tough with states legislating drones. News sUAS Registration The FAA sUAS registration website is open for operators of small UAS intended for non-commercial use. Reportedly, 45,000 registrations were filed in the first two days. FAA-2015-7396-0001 (Registration and Marking Requirements for Small Unmanned Aircraft)...

The Hivemapper community-edited mapping and real-time navigation system for drone fliers. Guest Ariel Seidman is co-founder and CEO of Hivemapper, which has been called “Waze for drones.” With Hivemapper, drone operators have a real-time view of obstacles and no-fly zones to help guide a safe flight. The growing database is a combination of data supplied by Hivemapper, observations from drone flights, and data added by drone operators. To date, this system has mapped over 30 million building b...

On December 14, 2015, the U.S Department of Transportation and the FAA held a media briefing to announce the new registration requirements for small UAS. This special episode provides the audio from the announcement. The rulemaking will appear in the Federal Register December 15, 2015. The requirement applies to sUAS from 0.55 pounds to 55 pounds. sUAS purchased before December 21, 2015 have until February 19, 2016 to register. sUAS purchased after December 21, 2015 have until first flight o...

DaVinci Challenge Princess Aliyah Pandolfi created the non-profit Kashmir World Foundation to integrate art, science, and technology for sustainable projects that transform social and economic structures. One of these projects is the DaVinci Challenge: Build a Drone Workshop, which helps students see robotic aircraft from a broader perspective. The workshop trains students and teachers in the design, fabrication, customization, and operation of small robotic aircraft. In this blend of science,...