FAA approves a fixed-wing drone swarm, firefighting drones under development, young girls trained to fly drones, costs of Gatwick incursions, mimicking a bat, and drones blamed for airliner problems.

UAV NewsOSU receives first FAA authorization to fly unmanned aircraft in groups

Oklahoma State University received FAA approval to fly drone swarms in the national airspace. Up to twenty drones can be operated by one pilot with visual observers. The Unmanned Systems Research Institute at OSU has been conducting research on this for four years using fixed-wing aircraft.

UAE aims to develop next generation of drones to fight fires and cope with fog

Researchers at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi want to make drones lighter, stronger and weather-resistant. Motivated by some fatal fires in high-rise buildings in London and the UAE, they have created a “sandwich” structure with a central layer of low density, 3D-printed material (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene/carbon or “ABS”) that is inexpensive, easily printed, and lightweight. Outside layers of the sandwich are a carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP).

Future Female Pilots Train with Drones and the Royal Flying Doctor Service

The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) is helping school girls become drone pilots, with the help of She Maps, an Australian STEM specialist that organizes drone workshops.

Gatwick Airport Christmas chaos totals £459,000 in police costs

The price for last December’s drone activity at Gatwick Airport cost Sussex Police £419,000.

It cost the Surrey Police £40,000. More than 100 drone sightings were reported over three days and over 140,000 passengers experienced flights disruptions, but the drone (or drones) were never found.

Video Shows a Drone With Talons That Hangs Upside Down Like a Bat

Often science (or engineering) imitates nature. If bats can easily land almost anywhere, why can’t drones? A researcher at Yale University has added three long gripper fingers to a quadcopter that can “perch” and “rest” on ledges, poles, and scaffoldings.

FAA Turned Over More Safety Work to Boeing Under Pressure to Regulate Drones

Writing in The Daily Beast, Clive Irving says the FAA is delegating aircraft certification work to manufacturers because the agency is “trying to keep up with the rapidly growing drone industry.”

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