This week in drone news: A new product that houses the EVO 2 from Autel Robotics,  drone shoot down in PA, drone show fail in China, rumors of new DJI drones, and a new Pilot Institute course on FAAsafety.gov  

FAA Safety: https://www.faasafety.gov/gslac/ALC/course_catalog.aspx 

New videos! Intermediate 

FPV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dw6ZIysrjo

ADS-B: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeEohJoGAXw

It appears that Autel Robotics has developed an automated docking station for the EVO 2 line of aircraft. This system is called the EVO Nest Works with the EVO 2, EVO 2 RTK, and EVO 2 Enterprise series This keeps the drone charged and ready to fly 24/7 The drone takes-off and lands in the box where it is stored and charged IP54 certification The Nest takes 45 minutes to charge the aircraft See video https://dronexl.co/2021/10/05/autel-evo-nest-drone-docking-station/

 A man in Pennsylvania is facing charges after allegedly shooting down an inspection company’s drone. The business, Exelon Business Services was contracted to inspect power poles and lines. During the flight, the rPIC heard gunshots and lost contact with the aircraft. The aircraft was found in a trashcan behind the man’s house but he refused to discuss how it ended up there. State police state that the charges include criminal mischief worth more than $1,000 and that charges will be filed in the county courts.  

https://www.pahomepage.com/news/local-news/sayre-man-allegedly-shoots-down-drone-charges-expected-to-be-filed/ 

A drone show in China experienced a major failure this week  After lifting off, all 200 of the drones came down on top of people watching the show.  Videos show the aircraft dropping out of the sky, however, it’s difficult to tell if they were descending or falling Luckily there were no injuries https://supchina.com/2021/10/05/drones-fall-from-the-sky-during-failed-performance-in-zhengzhou/

 DJI Mini 3 - Some leaks suggest a DJI Mini 3 could be released in November! No pictures yet of the Mini 3 DroneXL is reporting that DJI actually reached out to deny that a new Mini series aircraft is in the works/will be released. Remember that DJI also denied the Mini SE would be available in the US and Europe DJI Mavic 3 - Lots of leaks, DroneXL is reporting that the release will be on October 20th. We’re very excited for these releases! 

https://dronexl.co/2021/09/30/dji-mini-3-drone-november-15th/

https://dronexl.co/2021/10/04/mavic-3-retail-price-confirmed/ 

https://dronexl.co/2021/10/04/dji-mini-3-existence-denied/ 

We’ve got a new course, available only on FAAsafety.gov!  This course is an interactive course discussing Aeronautical Decision Making for sUAS - ALC-723  This course IS available for wings credits and is 100% FREE! We’re working on more FAA safety courses geared towards drones. We put out two new videos this week, ADS-B and some Intermediate FPV maneuvers!

This week in drone news, Autel is preparing to release two new drones and possibly even three, the US Secret Service has been buying DJI drones, FIXAR and their new drone capable black box, and finally we share some Pilot Institute updates thanks to our students and viewers. Thank you!

Autel Rumors: https://dronexl.co/2021/09/22/autel-nano-lite-drones-released-september-29th/

Despite the governmental ban on purchasing sUAS that Amy have Chinese parts or are made in China, the U.S. FBI and Secret Service appear to have made purchases of DJI aircraft in July of this year. According to a procurement record that shows the purchase of Mavic 2 Pro and Phantom 4 Pro from a Florida drone supplier.  Both the FBI and Secret Service declined to comment Interesting after the leaked Pentagon report saying that DJI was safe, may this be the beginning of a shift towards DJI being accepted? https://www.axios.com/federal-law-enforcement-china-drone-4b33aca2-b6f5-43d0-8d36-be1d447af1a0.html 

The company FIXAR is now outfitting all their aircraft that will be operated outdoors with a logging computer acting as a “BlackBox”. This will record all data that the sUAS and sensors see along with the control inputs and any autopilot functions. The goal is to increase air safety with data to analyze the causes of any crashes or accidents.  It will be interesting to see if this logging is available to anyone or just the manufacturer of the aircraft.  https://www.suasnews.com/2021/09/fixar-equips-outdoor-uavs-with-blackbox-for-a-safer-sky/ 

30,000 Part 107 certs! 

New team member! Ethan! 

TRUST 33,000 certificates issues so far 

Total # of students: 110,000

This week in drone news, Airmap has lost the ability to provide LAANC authorizations, Brenden Schulman has left DJI to become a policy advisor at Boston Dynamics, Hamilton Ohio is trying to ban drones, and the Colorado UAS Round up.

Airmap https://dronexl.co/2021/09/14/airmap-approved-laanc-uas-service-suppliers/ 

Brendan Schulman has departed DJI.  He will be starting as Vice President of Policy & Government Relations with Boston Dynamics. Brendan was a champion for fair drone policies, safety, and improving the flying experience for all. Schulman was a large proponent pushing against the federal ban on Chinese drones and instead pushed for universal security standards.  https://dronexl.co/2021/09/10/brendan-schulman-leaves-drone-maker-dji/ 

This ordinance from Hamilton Ohio would make the use of sUAS illegal for activities such as Flying over property without the owner’s consent Flying near or over crime scenes Any use for surveillance Any flights over public/city property such as parks, schools, or municipal buildings And to ban the use of machines in “a manner that recklessly endangers persons, wildlife, or property or in a manner that harasses, disturbs, intimidates, annoys or threatens persons” https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/butler-county/hamilton/hamilton-to-consider-law-against-drone-voyeurism-other-flying-acts 

Colorado UAS Round-up The Colorado UAS round-up will be October 17th and 18th in Buena Vista Colorado The conference will include demonstrations, drone flying, regulation updates, BVLOS, and other emerging technologies http://uasroundup.com/How to use NIST video as part of DroneSafety Awareness Week at 4pm today Friday.

This week in drone news, new leaked sketches for the Mavic 3, DJI's upcoming Hi5 event, FAA and hurricane Ida, upcoming industry events, and a Pilot Institute Update!

Mavic 3 More pictures/drawings have been leaked of the Mavic 3! Some specs have also been leaked. Hasselblad dual camera top with 7x zoom lower 5.7K 24mm f2.8 16mm adapter lens Apple ProRes format support 1Tb internal memory More than 40min flight time 5,000 or 6,000 mAh li-ion battery (not sure) Battery mount from the back, Mini 2 styleGimbal now has integrated automatic lock (I don’t know if it continues with the acrylic protector) Will use the same remote controller as the Air 2S A new smart controller will be released too https://dronexl.co/2021/08/30/new-dji-mavic-3-specs-sketches-leaked/

 Hi5 DJI released a picture of a spinning 5 in a box. Rumors of a Phantom 5? Could it be the new Osmo? Completely new product? https://dronexl.co/2021/08/31/dji-hi-five-product-launch/ FAA and Hurricane Ida 

The FAA posted on Facebook stating that sUAS pilots can help to provide hurricane relief through the SGI process. https://www.faa.gov/uas/advanced_operations/emergency_situations/ 

Upcoming Industry Events Drone safety awareness week Sep 13-19 https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/join-faa-drone-safety-awareness-week

Commercial UAV Expo Sep 7-9 https://www.expouav.com/ 

Pilot Institute Update IACET accredited! International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training Accreditation Accredited courses are Part 107 and PPL We are also now an FAA Industry Member.  We’re now over 30k TRUST certificates!

This week in drone news, PG&E is under scrutiny for possibly flying a drone that halted fire operations on the first day of the dixie fire, A new DJI Osmo has been leaked, two drone and airplane mid-air collisions this week, and finally a drone that located a missing kayaker.

Dixie Fire and PG&E Butte 

County, CA is investigating the reports that a drone interfered with firefighting operations during the first hours of the Dixie fire (now more than 700k acres).  The county has accused PG&E of both starting the fire and flying the drone that caused air attack operations to be suspended.  PG&E denies having a drone in the area during the time and we were unable to find TFRs that coincided with the time and location of the fire.  https://www.kqed.org/news/11884337/investigators-probing-pges-possible-link-to-fateful-dixie-fire-drone-flight 

New DJI Osmo

 DroneXL reported that DJI’s next-generation Osmo could have been leaked in a series of photos. The device appears to be a run-and-gun type of camera, equipped with a 3-axis gimbal and an additional z-axis. The camera appears to be similar to the Zenmuse X7 designed for the Inspire 2. It could feature a 8k Super 35mm sensor with interchangeable lenses.   https://dronexl.co/2021/08/23/djis-next-generation-osmo/ 

A C172 in Toronto, Canada has experienced substantial damage after it collided with a police drone on approach to land. There were no injuries and the aircraft landed normally.  The drone (Matrice 210) hit the C172’s nose and propeller and will result in a complete engine overhaul for the Cessna.  NAV Canada, the country’s air navigation service provider (We assume similar to LAANC) had NOT been notified about the flight.  https://dronexl.co/2021/08/24/canadian-police-drone-collision-cessna/ 

A second airplane and drone potential collision this week was reported in Michigan involving an Embraer E175. Envoy Air flight 3961 (AA3961) was operating Chicago to Detroit when it struck an unmanned aircraft at ~2500’. ATC recordings show they were aware of a possible drone in the area. When the controller asked the pilot if they saw the drone the pilot replied that they’d just hit it.  No injuries and minimal damage to the plane.  https://simpleflying.com/envoy-e175-drone-strike/ 

A drone was used last weekend to help rescue an 18-year-old kayaker who became separated from his group. The incident happened on the Des Moines River Sunday evening during a day trip where the kayakers were drinking. After responding to the call, an off-duty police officer who was certified to fly located the missing person using a thermal drone at 11:15 PM, heavily intoxicated but otherwise unharmed. https://www.siouxlandproud.com/news/iowa-news/drone-helps-in-rescue-of-kayaker-reported-missing-on-iowa-river/

This week in drone news, Randall Warnas has resigned from his position as CEO of Autel, DJI and Autel settle a patent dispute from 2018, a drone in the UK spots burglars on the roof of a bank, and pilots reported a drone sighting at 8000’.

New COA course: https://learn.pilotinstitute.com/p/how-to-apply-for-a-coa

New NIST course: https://pilotinstitute.com/course/nist-made-easy/

Randall Warnas resigns

 “This morning I resigned as CEO of Autel Robotics. Of course I don't want to be writing this message, but as publicly as I came into the role I wanted there to be clarity that my affiliation with the brand is over. The team still at Autel is second to none in the unmanned industry. The ownership of the company, however, is suspect. During the interview process I talked about how DJI is run by Frank and the 'FOF' (friends of Frank); they laughed and said how they were different. Right... Autel's owner is also Frank, but has his own FOF (family of Frank), and for nine whole weeks I have been trying to sort that out. When people have unjust authority and no accountability, bad things are bound to happen. This also entirely undermined my ability to function in the role as needed. So rather than prolong this for weeks or months or years, I am moving on. Mostly this came down to an unjust evaluation of an employee with the company for five weeks which resulted in receiving a termination letter for that person with me expected to sign. I took the 'over my dead body' approach and now we're both floating down the river together. Thankfully, this is not the end of what I'm going to be doing in the unmanned space. I'll be taking on a new role at the start of September. Stay tuned.”  

DJI and Autel Settle

 DJI and Autel have settled a patent dispute from 2018.  Autel sued DJI for patent infringement including obstacle avoidance, rotor assembly and a novel way to switch batteries. Autel originally received this patent to fix rotors to an aircraft (Seen on most DJI aircraft including the P4 and Mavic line) in 2013.  The patent claim was filed in 2018. Specifics of the settlement have not been disclosed. https://dronereviewsandnews.com/dji-and-autel-settle-patent-dispute-over-drone-tech/ 

 Drone spots burglars 

While not US news, this is a great example of how drones can be used to ensure the safety of first responders. Police in Nottinghamshire, England responded to a bank’s intruder alarm but found no one inside during the search. Upon launching the thermal drone, three suspects were found on the roof of the bank and were taken into custody.  https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-58213759 

 Drone spotted at 8000'

 The flight crew of a JetBlue flight reported a drone six miles NE of Boston Logan airport at an altitude of 8000’ AGL. The flight did not take evasive action, and the crew did not report if the drone was above or below the aircraft. Don’t be that guy… https://boston.cbslocal.com/2021/08/16/drone-logan-airport-boston-flight-jetblue-faa-investigation/

This week in Drone News: Hubsan Zino Mini Pro with a 40 minute flight time and a 48-megapixel camera. The Altius 600, a tube-launched single-use UAV, is being used for hurricane hunting by NOAA. Some states proposing 'Avigation easements' to restrict UAV flights and charge/collect fees for overflights. Finally, the new Wingcopter 198 with a 47-mile range and the capability of carrying three packages.

In this episode, Greg talked to Kenji Sugahara, Remote ID expert. In light of the recent FAA NPRM on Remote ID, Kenji answers questions about the proposal and how it will affect the UAS industry. 

Find out more about the NPRM and how to properly formulate a comment with our guide at www.pilotinstitute.com/NPRM

In this episode, Greg talks to Mark Taylor. Mark is the founder of Phoenix-based Extreme Aerial Productions, which offers drone mapping and photography services.