A call for regulation of recreational drones, the accuracy of wildlife counts, a flying display device, the MQ-1 Predator retirement, using drones for automated inspection, and a Phantom may have caused a helicopter to go down.
Three groups want Congress to modify Section 336 of the 2012 FAA Modernization and Reform Act that restricts the FAA from applying any rules or regulations to the operation of recreational drones or unmanned aircraft systems used as a hobby. The Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), Airlines for America (A4A), and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) sent a letter [PDF] to Congress stating, in part:
“We strongly urge you to remove legislative restrictions that have been placed on the FAA that limit its safety oversight of UAS. The likelihood that a drone will collide with an airline aircraft is increasing. By providing the FAA with the full authority to regulate all UAS operations, the safety of passenger and cargo flights will be protected.”
Should recreational drones be regulated as commercial drones are? Send your thoughts to us at feedback@theUAVdigest.com.
How accurate are counts of wildlife, and can drones do a better job than people? Researchers at the University of Adelaide’s Environment Institute and School of Biological Sciences wanted to find out. They conducted an experiment and found “Overall, the drone’s counts were much more precise than the ground counts.”
The United States Patent and Trademark Office granted Flying Display Device, U.S. Patent 9,891,885 to Samsung. It would consist of a quadcopter with a camera, a display, GPS, a “WiFi-based positioning system,” and voice-recognition. It’s a flying screen that reacts to you and presents information on the screen.
On March 9, 2018, the Air Force will retire the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator and instead use MQ-9 Reapers for combat missions.
