This week in drone news, the FCC has released a document discussing DJI as a security concern and the commissioner has called for a ban, an 8-day flight by an unmanned aircraft, AgEagle is purchasing senseFly from Parrot, and Arizona DroneFest 2021.  

Parrot Anafi Thermal Deep dive: https://pilotinstitute.com/course/parrot-anafi-thermal-deep-dive/

FCC Commissioner calls for DJI ban 

The FCC commissioner called for the process of adding DJI to the FCC’s covered list. This would prohibit the use of federal money from being used to purchase DJI equipment.  “The FCC also has a proceeding underway examining whether to continue approving equipment from entities on the Covered List for use in the US, regardless of whether federal dollars are involved”  The covered list is a list of companies whose products contain or pose an “unacceptable security risk” The FCC Commissioner also stated that additional consideration was required to “determine if other entities warrant closer scrutiny” 

https://twitter.com/BrendanCarrFCC/status/1450496145516544001/photo/1 

8-Day UAS flight 

Vanilla UAV has claimed the world record with an 8 day, 50-minute flight without refueling. Over 8 days, the aircraft flew a total of 10,600 NM before landing This is a fixed-wing UAS designed primarily for the military.  The Vanilla is not an sUAS but is instead in the group 3 category - between 25 and 599kg. The Vanilla UAV has a payload of 68kg or 150lbs. 

https://www.flightglobal.com/military-uavs/vanilla-uav-claims-world-record-eight-day-flight-without-refuelling/145774.article 

AgEagle to Aquire Sensefly

 AgEagle Aerial Systems is purchasing senseFly from Parrot. senseFly is most widely known for the creation of the ebee (fixed wing  Parrot stated that this sale was necessary to their future plans of focusing on quadcopter/multi-rotor aircraft.  “Moving forward, Parrot will focus its expertise and resources on the growth of its professional quadcopter drone equipment and drone data analysis software activities. The transaction will provide additional cash and lower operational expends to drive Parrot’s growth and industry standing. With the expanded capabilities of the ANAFI line of professional drones and of the Pix4D software suites, Parrot will continue to address its core market segments: 3D Mapping, Surveying and Inspection, Agriculture, and Defense and Security.” 

https://www.suasnews.com/2021/10/ageagle-to-acquire-sensefly-from-parrot/ 

Come visit us at AZ DroneFest! 

This Saturday we’ll be at Grand Canyon University at the Arizona Drone Fest! Come by the booth, stop in for Greg’s talk on regulations @10am, meet the team, and get your registration stickers printed, fly the drone sim!  General admission is free!  We hope to see you there!