Drones

A video has just been released of a Guinness Record-breaking flight for the most drones airborne simultaneously, set in November at Flugplatz Ahrenlohe in Tornesch, Germany, a few miles northwest of Hamburg. “Drone 100” coordinated 100 UAS and provided a terrific show with multicolored aircraft creating patterns in the night skies. The patterned flight took […]

At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2016) this week in Las Vegas, a Chinese company named EHang introduced the first publicly announced unmanned aircraft designed to carry a passenger. The company calls its Ehang 184 an Autonomous Aerial Vehicle, or AAV for short, and it is designed for short hops at low altitudes. The all-electric […]

I’m not sure how many people I expected would actually sign up for the FAA’s new UAS registry program that went live just before Christmas. Since the agency is waiving the $5 registration fee for the first month, I figured many would take advantage and fill out the online form. But I was surprised when […]

The FAA has completed the beta test phase of its UAS operations app B4UFLY, which aims to educate operators about where they can and cannot fly their unmanned aircraft. The app can now be downloaded from the iTunes store and Google for use on a variety of smartphones and tablets. While any mode of the […]

In September, the FAA projected that one million drones would be sold around the holidays. If the estimations are correct, there are a lot of unmanned aerospace systems (UASs) taking to the skies with inexperienced pilots. But fear not; Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Worldwide is offering a free online course for new UAS users this […]

The drone industry is booming and small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) may become one of the most popular Christmas presents this year. Yesterday the FAA’s new drone registration rules kicked in, requiring all people flying an sUAS between 0.55 lbs and 55 lbs to register their aircraft. If you are flying a heavier drone or […]

I’m contemplating taking a hammer to my toy quadcopter and smashing it to pieces after the FAA on Monday announced new rules requiring most drone owners to register their UAVs in a national database and pay a $5 fee every three years. It’s not that I disagree with the registration requirement. I’m fine with the […]

With one of the busiest shopping weekends behind us and an even busier gift giving season to come, Amazon has updated its progress on Prime Air, a proposed drone delivery system from the online retailer giant. First unveiled in 2013, Amazon hasn’t backed off its not-so-science-fiction dream of making Prime Air a reality. The delivery […]

A task force consisting of a variety of small unmanned aircraft system stakeholders including manufacturers, sales outlets, video camera manufacturers, and manned and unmanned aircraft industry organizations, have produced recommendations for a registration process for sUAS. If implemented, the registration process would cover both commercial operators and those flying sUAS as a hobby. The recommendations […]

While the FAA has been lagging in its effort to implement safety rules governing drone operations, the DOT and FAA have now come together to create a registration process for unmanned aircraft systems. U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and FAA Administrator Michael Huerta announced yesterday that a new task force will develop recommendations for the […]