Drones

Opportunities for unmanned aircraft system (UAS) pilots are now wide-open under the new FAA small UAS (sUAS) Part 107 rule, which legalizes and regulates these air ops. Drone work in the U.S. film and TV industry has also taken flight recently under the agency’s Section 333 exemption waivers. Meanwhile, demand for experienced commercial and military […]

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s 2016 Transportation Statistics Annual Report released last week presents a cornucopia of aviation industry data. The report’s introductory look at a hot topic, infrastructure, may surprise some readers. “The majority of airport runways (commercial service, reliever, and select general aviation) are in good condition; only 2 percent are considered poor.” […]

Drone proponents are quick to point to the safeguard of UAVs’ ability to fly safely back to their owners should the communications link between the two be inadvertently severed. A recent incident in Australia shows even these systems are not foolproof if and when a drone heads out on a solo adventure. Luckily, the region […]

Palo Alto-based uAvionix has announced the creation of an ADS-B transceiver not much larger than a contact lens — and weighing in at just 1 gram — aimed at the drone market’s yet unresolved problem of identifying themselves to other aircraft and drones while operating in the national airspace system. uAvionix CEO Paul Beard said […]

Mystery surrounds what former Eclipse Aviation founder and CEO Vern Raburn is doing these days, but we do know that Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has pulled the plug on Titan Aerospace, the company Raburn had been tapped to head to build solar-powered drones that would beam Internet to remote parts of the world. X, the […]

An aerial-photography company that last year found itself under scrutiny by the FAA over its use of drones has agreed to pay a hefty fine of $200,000. Chicago-based SkyPan International, which uses drones to photograph hotels and other property for clients in Chicago and New York City, announced it had reached a settlement with the […]

U.S. drone owners preparing to earn the FAA’s Remote Pilot Certificate (RPC) required to operate a commercial UAV should find the King Schools’ new Drone Pilot Ground School and Test Prep Course covers everything they need to prepare for the FAA knowledge test. The new course, announced last week, was jointly created with the Association […]

Both UAV novices and experts are invited to enroll in the upcoming Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) online course created to bring students one step closer to better understanding where a drone, as well as the drone operator, can safely fit into the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS). The course begins February 6 and runs through […]

Drone proliferation doesn’t always mean worrying about collisions between UAVs, people and manned aircraft. Sometimes drone research has its own special silver lining. Like setting endurance records. Falls Church, Virginia-based Vanilla Aircraft’s VA001 set a world endurance record – nearly 56 continuous hours – on November 30, 2016. The record focused on combustion-powered unmanned aerial […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved uAvionix Corp.’s Ping200S ADS-B-capable Mode S transponder. The tiny 50-gram unit, measuring just 59 by 57 by 17 mm, is ideal for drones, high-altitude balloons and nonpowered gliders, the manufacturer says. The Ping 200S also combines low-power drain with a powerful transmitter delivering the same safety and situational […]