95270155
submission
garymortimer writes:
There were serious ramifications to the things that were found on the DJI AWS servers. One of the first things I did to judge the impact of the exposure was grep for “.mil” and “.gov”, “gov.au". Immediately flight logs for a number of potentially sensitive locations came out. It should be noted that newer logs, and PII seemed to be encrypted with a static OpenSSL password, so theoretically some of the data was at least loosely protected from prying eyes. Unfortunately, the rest of the server side security renders this point moot.
94403845
submission
garymortimer writes:
AeroScope uses the existing communications link between a drone and its remote controller to broadcast identification information such as a registration or serial number, as well as basic telemetry, including location, altitude, speed and direction. Police, security agencies, aviation authorities and other authorized parties can use an AeroScope receiver to monitor, analyze and act on that information. AeroScope has been installed at two international airports since April, and is continuing to test and evaluate its performance in other operational environments.
93740437
submission
garymortimer writes:
Fire Spotter Bradley Goldman thinks he may have hit a drone. Reports reached me yesterday of this incident, but Mr Goldman has broken cover on Facebook today.
I was told he was routing along the beach at Newport, Oregon on Wednesday the 13th of September and at 440 feet, at about 15:00 local he struck something and landed normally.
A formal investigation is believed to be in progress, with early reports of plastic found!
93528351
submission
garymortimer writes:
As part of a collaboration with National Geographic, DJI has just announced a drone rental program open to all creatives around the world.
Starting from September 5 through October 31, 2017, interested users can sign up online for the chance to participate in the initiative.
93164071
submission
garymortimer writes:
News has arrived of a mandatory firmware update from DJI. Owners of DJI’s latest and smallest quadcopter must update their firmware by September the 1st or their machines will automatically ground themselves.
The Firmware update apparently is to stop in flight shutdowns that have been occurring. So no bad thing to fix, a safety issue.
93019947
submission
garymortimer writes:
News has reached me that another DJI memo was passed around on Friday the 11th of August. An exception to policy with recommendations from the asymmetric warfare group that will permit the use of DJI kit once some conditions have been met.
The Android Tactical Assault Kit will become the ground control station (GCS) of choice when a DJI plugin has passed OPSEC (Operational Security) scrutiny.
86247493
submission
garymortimer writes:
Did Colin from GoPro make a monumental marketing error letting Casey fly Karma in New York?
85576581
submission
garymortimer writes:
A smallish, DJI 3S battery of 3830 maH has arrived on Chinese forums. It might be real, and if so what’s it for?
It’s not going to be an FPV racer as the better ones now run 4 and 5S batteries. My money is on a small follow me folding quad with some sort of wrist watch. Something that carries a GoPro class or better 4K camera. They are very popular and would make a great Christmas gift.
Now who’s parade would that rain on, oh yes Karma from GoPro.
84241987
submission
garymortimer writes:
The FAA are expected to usher in the new drone era at 1300 EST on Tuesday 21st June 2016. They will announce Part 107, new regulations that will make it possible to fly drones for money without requiring a real pilots licence.
Remote PICs are required to:
Be at least 16 years old Be able to read, speak, write, and understand the English language (FAA may make exceptions for medical reasons) Be in a physical and mental condition that would not interfere with the safe operation of suAS Pass an initial aeronautical knowledge test at an FAA-approved knowledge testing center (or pass this online course, for part 61 certificate holders) Obtain an unmanned aircraft operator certificate with a small UAS rating (like existing pilot airman certificates, never expires) Pass a recurrent aeronautical knowledge test every 24 months
81657025
submission
garymortimer writes:
Westpac Lifesaver Helicopters are undertaking trials. If things go well at the end of the six month of operations Westpac would like to roll out drones at all their bases.
Former Australian astronaut Paul Scully-Power ( the first astronaut with a beard) is part of the team that created the trial.
Mr Scully-Power said the importance of it being modelled on a helicopter was the superior stability but also the familiarity of a helicopter in a rescue situation. “It just says rescue,” he said.
“The aim of this trial is to accomplish things with search and rescue that were impossible to even dream about 10 or 20 years ago,”
81537655
submission
garymortimer writes:
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is establishing an aviation rulemaking committee with industry stakeholders to develop recommendations for a regulatory framework that would allow certain UAS to be operated over people who are not directly involved in the operation of the aircraft. The FAA is taking this action to provide a more flexible, performance-based approach for these operations than what was considered for Micro UAS. The committee will begin its work in March and issue its final report to the FAA on April 1.
75782583
submission
garymortimer writes:
The unconfirmed report is that a “company survey” aircraft impacted a small UAS at 2,500 feet near Lewis University (KLOT) Illinois on August 27, 2015 causing damage to the leading edge of the manned aircraft wing. The only confirmed RPAS manned aircraft stirke occured in 2011 in Afghanistan.
More as we get it but this is what we know...
75403355
submission
garymortimer writes:
Amazon just registered its third official drone. N394PA appeared on the register just last Thursday.
We can learn some stuff from their naming, its a mark 24, so I think it’s fair to assume the 24th type of prototype and its serial number 14 so there are at least 14 mark 24’s out in the wild.
Now thanks to satellite images and Google Earth their US test site might have been unearthed.
74850067
submission
garymortimer writes:
Just a selfie drone from Samsung, I think not. Lost in translation perhaps. IoT drone like what Sony is doing. I think so.
Back in 2011 Samsung launched 200 paper aeroplanes from the edge of space to demonstrate just how tough their SD cards are.
74052007
submission
garymortimer writes:
Leading unmanned aviation blog, sUAS News today released a map showing more than 600 drone operators that the FAA has granted permission to fly commercially.
Not only does Canada have an applicant but Switzerland and the UK as well.
The drones are used for a wide range of tasks from mapping farms to search and rescue. The majority are multirotors.
