Welcome to The Buzz, a weekly roundup of news about consumer, enterprise, and defense uses for drones. For now, it’s in a written format, but soon there will be a return to our weekly podcast format. This week was a big week for controversies; between the investigation of the LA fire’s drone crash, Red Cat’s potential fraud, and DJI dropping No-Fly Zones, there was a lot.
Flying tip of the week: If you’re new to flying drones or photography, then you might want to know more about digital cropping vs. optical zoom and how compression can change a photo. Read when you should use one over the other here.
Consumer news
The FBI has taken over the investigation into a DJI Mini 3 that collided mid-air with one of the Canadian Super Scooper aircraft battling the LA wildfires. Ben Affleck was questioned in hopes of gaining security camera footage to help discover who was the pilot. The FBI unveiled photos both of the drone used and the damage it caused to the plane. The water-dropping firefighting aircraft will remain grounded until it receives the needed repairs.
DJI unveiled the all-new DJI Flip, the drone you would get if you combined the Neo and Mini 4 Pro into one body. Combining the safety and ease of use from the Neo with the performance of the Mini 4 Pro, it might just be the best drone you can give to a beginner. You’ll be able to control the drone with either your voice or a controller, depending on what you need it to do.
DJI has replaced its proprietary No-Fly Zones with the FAA’s internal system, which provides better, up-to-date data on flight restrictions across the country. The app will no longer stop you from flying into these restricted airspaces, instead following the FAA’s guidelines of leaving the responsibility of enforcement to the pilot. The change will allow those who have gained permission to fly in those areas instant approval as soon as the FAA grants them their waiver.
Enterprise news
The NTSB has released preliminary findings into the Sky Elements drones show that injured a 7-year-old child, placing him in intensive care. From complex procedures to pause the show after the incident took place, incorrect geofencing, and technical issues, the tragedy seems to be squarely on the company and how it conducted the event. Sky Elements has vowed to provide more training for its pilots, increase pre-show setup times, and add mandatory checks by the chief pilot and second-in-command before launching the drones.
This listing was updated to better reflect the consideration the remote pilot in command took to not pause the show.
Using the already available Remote ID transponders in most U.S. drones, AeroDefense has started offering cost-effective drone detection and airspace monitoring. All it requires is a single piece of hardware that connects to a cloud-based command system that will notify you via text or email about violations.
Defense news
Outgoing Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall shared parts of an analysis that instead of replacing the F-22 Raptor, the Air Force could finally develop operational unmanned wingmen for its pilots. Being commanded by an upgraded F-35, these UAVs could take over the role of specialized roles in combat, reducing the risk to US lives while decreasing the cost to deploy a squadron in the field.
Defense drone manufacturer Red Cat is in some hot water with its shareholders given that a massive contract it gained from the US Army may not be what they say it is. A short-selling firm shared a report that Red Cat’s $400 million, five-year sole-source contract is more like $25 million and not exclusive. The company’s stock dropped as soon as the news was released, now being back down below $10.
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