For the first time that I’ve seen, the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has published a public statement regarding DJI not cooperating on a timely basis in an accident investigation. I don’t believe an accident report has been released yet. But apparently, it has been at least a year. The UK AAIB statement says: … Read more
The transcript of the session is below but keep in mind I did not go through it to correct little things. The links and documents mentioned in this webinar can be found here. The speakers in this webinar included the folks below. Transcript 00:00:10.557 –> 00:00:15.147 Thank you so much Tim I’m so glad that … Read more
On October 20th I started a new series on Drone Life to help all drone pilots become wiser pilots with every flight. As a public safety manned and unmanned pilot, I’ve been a part of many challenging flights. Every flight is a learning experience, and I’ve learned so much the hard way. In the earliest … Read more
A reader asked, “What kind of drones have white red, and green lights?” Again, it is another UAS question with no great answer. Facts About Lights Under CFR 107 A drone is not required to have any lights on it to fly except for an anti-collision light when flying between civil twilight and night. Manned … Read more
Today’s question from a reader is “Do drones work better without propeller protectors?” If you have a question to ask, click here. That’s a Loaded Question There are two issues we have to deal with regarding propellers. One is safety and the other is performance. Propeller Safety On one hand, it really doesn’t matter if … Read more
Another excellent question I’ve been asked is: “What Are Our UAS Responsibilities as a COA Agency?” If you have a question you’d like to ask, click here. As fast-paced and modern as the public safety drone world is, the current FAA guidance and rules departments should follow have not moved at the same pace. Yet, … Read more
I recently wrote about the decision to no longer fly the DJI matrice drone. You can read that post here. In public safety UAS flying, we are entering a unique period of a lack of clarity for the first time in the field as drone manufacturers drop development and support for the aircraft we fly. … Read more
None of the drones being sold today have passed any sort of FAA safety test and proven themselves to be safe to fly. They are not even built to approved aeronautical standards. So we do we continue to spend so much money on these drones? What if Your Drone Was Disposible? Instead of spending thousands … Read more
A friend at the FAA forwarded me a document that applies to all public safety drone operations that fly under a COA as a public aircraft operation. While the guidance was issued a while ago, it is the guidance specifically related to public aircraft operations and that sucks in drones. Unless someone can find an … Read more
One of the issues with drone companies considering themselves tech companies and not aircraft manufacturers and making sure their drones have an Airworthiness Certification is the lack of notification when things go wrong. An accident in the UK had a very interesting statement in it by the investigation board. In this accident, the drone came … Read more