Skip to main content

Private pilot develops aircraft radar to detect drones and avoid them

Rick Zelenka, a private pilot, is developing a small radar setup for airplanes that detects drones and helps pilots to avoid them. Zelenka has recently been awarded two patents for his radar invention.

Small aircraft radar to detect drones

Eric Lupher writes for the Denver Channel that:

“Drones are here. They’re expanding,” said Zelenka. “We need to figure out how to operate with them.”

Zelenka’s company, Drone Traffic, just won a NASA-funded contract to develop the lightweight radar system that can be installed on aircraft. He’s targeting planes that land at smaller airports.

“Sometimes drones are operating in an area that is hazardous to a general aviation aircraft … a business jet or the small little Cesnas that I fly,” Zelenka explained. “What you want to be able to do is locate those drones.”

The radar will pick up a drone in the area and record the information. The data will then be sent to the ground. That way, other pilots who don’t have the radar on their aircraft can also be alerted of the hazard in the airspace.

Zelenka has partnered with other companies to develop the radar software. He says a working prototype should be ready in early 2020.

Zelenka’s company, Drone Traffic is based in Denver, Colorado. Rick Zelenka is an engineer, patent attorney, former aerospace executive, and longtime pilot.

You can read the entire article here or read our collection on articles about counter-drone solutions here.

Stay in touch!

If you’d like to stay up to date with all the latest drone news, scoops, rumors and reviews, then follow us on TwitterFacebookYouTubeInstagram or sign up for our daily email newsletter, that goes out every weekday at 6 p.m. ET.

Buy your next drone directly from manufacturers, such as DJIParrotYuneec or retailers like Adorama, AmazonB&HBestBuy, DroneNerds or eBay. By using our links, we will make a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for helping DroneDJ grow!

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading DroneDJ — experts who break news about DJI and the wider drone ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow DroneDJ on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Comments

Author

Avatar for Haye Kesteloo Haye Kesteloo

Haye Kesteloo is the Editor in Chief and Main Writer at DroneDJ, where he covers all drone related news and writes product reviews. He also contributes to the other sites in the 9to5Mac group such as; 9to5Mac, 9to5Google, 9to5Toys and Electrek. Haye can be reached at haye@dronedj.com or @hayekesteloo 


Manage push notifications

notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications
notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications