Testing
Droneboarding - Snowboarder Towed by a Drone
Aerones, an unmanned aerial vehicle developer from Latvia has invented a new sport by towing snowboarder with a drone -enter the world of droneboarding.
Editor
Commercial
South Africa's Commercial Drone Business Takes Off
Some of Africa’s first commercial drone startups are beginning to generate clients and income. South Africa’s Rocketmine and Ghana’s Aeroshutter are completing services such as 3D volumetric image processing, aerial advertising, and music video production for multinational mining companies, global telecoms firms, and African pop stars. This
Regulations
FAA Approves 1,120 Drones for Gowdy Brothers Aerospace
FAA Airman and Airspace Rules Division (Federal Aviation Administration) announced that the 20 of Gowdy Brothers Aerospace’s customers were the first ever to receive 1,120 Drones/sUAV (small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) on their Section 333 Exemption petition grants. The FAA requires all individuals and companies desiring to fly
Regulations
Standards for Light RPAS - Who, How, What, When & With What Resources?
On 4 March 2016, a EUROCAE UAS/RPAS Workshop took place at EUROCONTROL headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. The purpose of this workshop, which was attended by 72 persons, was to discuss the future working arrangements and work programme for the development of RPAS standards. The topics discussed included the following:
Electronic Sub-Systems
Northrop Grumman Navigation System in nEUROn Test Flights
Northrop Grumman Corporation in cooperation with Saab Aerosystems, has provided the Attitude and Heading Reference System (AHRS) for the nEUROn unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) demonstrator, which recently conducted more than 100 test flights in France, Italy and Sweden. Northrop Grumman's subsidiary in Germany, Northrop Grumman LITEF, supplied
Accidents
Airbus in Near Miss at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
An Air France Airbus A320 jet narrowly avoided colliding with a drone while descending for an approach to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport last month, the French aviation investigation agency BEA said. The aircraft had been operating a service from Barcelona on February 19 and was flying at 5,500
Skyward Helps Commercial Services Take Flight
Dronos , Hover Solutions , and TriCity Electric are are recent Section 333 exemption grantees who each worked with the Skyward professional services team to build safe and professional drone programs and to obtain regulatory approval from the FAA. The benefits of adding a drone program were clear to TriCity
Events
UAE Built Drones at UMEX-2016
Abu Dhabi-based ADCOM Systems, which is a pioneer in the manufacturing of drones in the country, has displayed four of the five drones manufactured in Abu Dhabi. The Company put on static display its potent weapon systems at the UMEX-2016 that opened in the capital on Sunday. Yabhoon
Military
DARPA Selects Aurora’s LightningStrike 24-prop Hybrid VTOL X-Plane
Aurora Flight Sciences announced that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded the company the prime contract for Phase 2 of the Agency’s Vertical Takeoff and Landing Experimental Plane (VTOL X-Plane) program. For decades, aircraft designers seeking to improve vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capabilities have
C-UAS
SkyWall - A Man Portable Counter Drone System
Northumberland-based startup OpenWorks Engineering has invented an air-powered net launcher that fires small anti-drone projectiles. The SkyWall is a new shoulder-mounted compressed-air launcher that fires shells containing a net and parachute to capture and bring a drone back to the ground without damaging it. The
Mapping & Surveying
USGS to use UAS to Map Cape Cod National Seashore
The National Park Service approved a permit for the use of the drone from Monday through March 20, Cape Cod National Seashore Superintendent George Price
Business
Empire Unmanned Acquires Advanced Aviation Solutions
Empire Holdings, Inc., has announced that one of its operating units, Empire Unmanned, LLC, has acquired Advanced Aviation Solutions (ADAVSO) of Star, Idaho. Empire Holdings is the primary owner of Empire Unmanned, LLC, and also owns 100 percent of Empire Airlines, Inc. This acquisition combines Empire's nearly 40