Haye Kesteloo

In a less than genius move, a Scottish gang filmed themselves with the drone, they were going to use to fly drugs into prison. The drone crashed on the prison grounds and was picked up by a guard who found all the incriminating footage, including faces, a house number and a car that belonged to them.

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The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has launched a probe into drones sold and imported by China-based SZ DJI Technology Co. The action is the result of rival drone maker Autel Robotics Co. that accused DJI of selling imports that infringe on its patents.

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Good morning, do you remember when you flew your first drone? The first time you had your fingers at the controls and flew. I remember it very well. The amazement of being able to position the drone anywhere you wanted in a 3-dimensional space. All of a sudden you could take photos and shoot video like never before. A whole new world of perspectives and compositions opened up. When I came across this ‘My first drone’ video below, it reminded me of what an awesome experience it is to own your own drone and fly it for the first time. That is what this video is about. Be sure to check it out and give the maker a thumbs up.

Here are the headlines from yesterday starting with the Senate passing the H.R. 302, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018. News of a helicopter rescue being delayed because of a drone. A Chinese tourist brings a drone into the Taj Mahal. What you need to know when flying your drone in the mountains. The Disney PaintCopter. Kittyhawk $3 million funding round. And, lastly a new photo and video of the silver Phantom 4 with the interchangeable lens system.

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With a 93-6 vote, the Senate passed the H.R. 302, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 today. After six extensions that kept the FAA’s funding at a level first set in 2012, it now has funding in place for the next five years. After the Senate vote, the Act moves on to the White House for President Trump to sign it into law. It brings many changes to the general aviation industry as well as to the drone industry specifically. We have included a summary of the changes in this post.

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Because of a nearby drone, rescuers had to wait an additional five minutes before they could perform a helicopter rescue to save an injured fisherman on Australia’s Gold Coast. The 76-year-old fisherman was stranded on the rocks of the seaway’s northern wall at South Stradbroke Island. His boat’s anchor had come loose and had washed ashore. Even though he was close to dry grounds he was unable to leave the boat safely.

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On Wednesday a Chinese tourist took a drone into a secure area at the Taj Mahal in India. He was stopped by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel manning the internal security of heritage monument before he had a chance to fly it. The 26-year-old Gui Guanxiong from Beijing pleaded innocence. he said he was not aware of any restrictions on flying drones near the Taj Mahal.

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Disney Research just published a paper and uploaded a video to YouTube showcasing one of their latest projects the PaintCopter. As the name implies it is a quadcopter drone that can autonomously spray paint on 3D surfaces.

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Today a new photo and video surfaced on Twitter of the silver Phantom drone, that DJI calls a one-off edition for an enterprise customer. The Chinese drone maker has repeatedly denied that these photos would show a prototype of the Phantom 5. But many people are doubtful as the interchangeable lens system seems too costly to have only been developed for one single customer.

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Good morning, take a look at this video from Kardoso Media. He used a DJI Spark and an iPhone 8 Plus to create this cinematic video. It goes to show that even with limited tools such as an entry-level drone and a smartphone, you can still make very nice videos. Be sure to check it out. For the news that you may have missed, we have an article about the ways in which the DJI Mavic 2 could have been a better drone. The best drone under $200, the Yuneec Breeze. Nine new LAANC Service Providers and a new section on the DJI website that targets the construction market. grab your coffee and jump right in!

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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today announced nine new partners to its Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) program. LAANC provides near real-time access to controlled airspace for Part 107 drone operators nationwide. The new partners are Aeronyde, Airbus, AiRXOS, Altitude Angel, Converge, KittyHawk, UASidekick, Unifly, and DJI as we reported on earlier.

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In advance of their annual Airworks Expo, which will take place in Dallas Texas later this month, DJI just added a new section to their website aimed at the construction market. The Chinese drone maker specifically targets real estate marketing, site mapping, and building inspection within the larger construction industry. Drone solutions that are suggested by DJI, include the Phantom 4, the Inspire and the Matrice 200.

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DJI, the world’s leader in civilian drones and aerial imaging technology, has been approved to offer Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) services for professional drone pilots. After a rigorous test and validation of DJI’s technology capabilities, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Monday announced its approval of DJI as a UAS Service Supplier, allowing the company to offer its customers near-real-time authorization to fly in controlled airspace near airports.

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Good morning, for many people the release of the Mavic 2 Zoom and Pro models came too late. The drones were launched on August 23rd when most people had already been on vacation. Except for this Migimack. He took the Mavic 2 Zoom and brought it with him on his travels to Europe. He visited London, Brussels, Lake Como, and Milan. And the footage he brought was is stunning. Be sure to check it out below! As far as news goes, there has been another price increase from DJI and we have a review on the Parrot Anafi for you. So grab your coffee and jump right in.

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In a series of price hikes, DJI now also increased the price on the Phantom 4 Pro/Advanced Remote Controller (Includes Display) to $749. The raise applies to both the regular controller as well as the Obsidian black one. We have contacted various sources within our network and they all tell us the same. As a result of the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China, DJI was forced to increase the prices on a number of their products. The first price hike we noticed was on the Mavic 2 Fly More Kit and a number of accessories. The second on impacted the Mavic 2 Pro.

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Good morning, hopefully, everybody has had a great weekend? This morning, we have for you a video that was shot with a DJI Mavic Pro and shows Las Vegas at night. Obviously, SIncity with all its lights shows best in the evening and at night, but aerial video footage makes it look even better! Furthermore, we have news for you on the DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise that showed up in an FCC filing. Glaciers that were lit up by a drone. And, a drone flying near the Statue of Liberty, that was reported by the crew of an airliner. Lastly, there has been a rumor about yet another price hike from DJI, which we will look into next. Enjoy!

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This morning at around 3 am, we got an email from the FCC notifying us of the filing (FCC ID SS3-L1ZE1807) of the DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Edition. Unfortunately, the filing does not contain a lot of test photos that might have given us some new information. The only photos that showed up are one from the drone and one from its label. DJI Airworks, an expo for commercial drone applications, is scheduled to take place at the end of October. It could well be that that event will include the launch or introduction of the DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise.

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Photographer Reuben Wu has been using drones in very creative ways to light up mountains and display signs in the air. This time he traveled to Pastoruri in South America to photograph glaciers that were lit up at night. Reuben uses a drone outfitted with Lume Cubes to light up the scenery. This results in very dramatic photos of glaciers like you’ve never seen before.

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On Wednesday, a United Airlines crew spotted a drone flying ‘near’ the Statue of Liberty. It disappeared before the NYPD could ground the ‘illegal’ unmanned aircraft system (UAS). Reportedly the drone flew about 3,000 to 4,000 feet away from the landmark sometime between 6 pm and 6:30 pm on Wednesday.

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Good morning, check out this video of a guy who got creative with his DJI Mavic Air. The drone delivered a soda to him in the pool. That’s how you do it!

Furthermore, we have news from the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) and the Electronic Frontier Foundation with regard to the FAA Reauthorization Bill. Lastly, there was a really nice deal on the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom and Pro drones on eBay. I hope some of you may have been able to take advantage off. Grab your coffee and let’s get started on this Friday morning.

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