Haye Kesteloo

Last Monday we reported on how mountaineer Rick Allen was successfully rescued, after being presumed dead, from Broad Peak (26,400 ft) in Pakistan. with help of a DJI Mavic Pro drone. Needless to say that everybody involved, is happy to report that Rick made it back to safety with only minor injuries. This is the latest, but far from the only, rescue mission in which a drone played a crucial role in saving someone’s life. What sets this story apart though, are the extreme conditions (altitude and temperature) in which the DJI Mavic Pro was able to fly. From K2’s basecamp, Bartek Bargiel who piloted the drone was able to answer some questions in a short interview with DroneDJ.

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Good morning, today I woke up to find an email from DJI in my inbox in which they say that the delay of the launch event is not due to a design failure of the gimbal but that DJI wants “to ensure what we deliver to the market is up to our standard of innovation and we will have enough products available to ship to our customers when we do launch the product.” Without telling us what exactly the issue is, DJI stresses that it needs to meet their ‘standard of innovation’ which still seems to point to a technical problem with the product as well as having enough inventory available. That second part is interesting and is the first time we hear about the availability of the product being part of the reason to postpone the “See the bigger Picture Event.” DJI’s email ended with DJI acknowledging that there is: “a lot of excitement in the market on what’s to come, so we will definitely keep everyone posted when we are ready to make an official announcement.” No word on when that might be though…

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Getting professional cinematic shots with your drone is not easy. However, it can be done as is demonstrated by Justin from Droneworks Studios in the following video on YouTube. Justin uses his DJI Phantom 4 Pro to explain some techniques that you, as a single-operator can practice to create some really nice drone video footage that may come to 80% of what a full-blown crew with a budget and a professional drone may be able to do. Check it out.

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World champion drone racing pilot, Luke Bannister set the new speed record for drones during the Goodwood Festival of Speed. He clocked a crazy fast 149.5 miles per hour… with a drone! I thought my Mavic Pro went fast in sport mode…

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DJI introduces as of today, their global authorization team that can unlock geofencing restrictions around the world, around the clock within 30 minutes. Geofencing restrictions are hardcoded into DJI’s products to prevent, as the FAA likes to call them, clueless, careless and criminal drone pilots from flying their unmanned aircraft into sensitive areas, such as the airspace around airports (SFO for instance), prisons, and other military or federal facilities. However, in times of emergencies, first responders and law enforcement officials may want to fly their drones into such areas, which is why DJI has now introduced a special team that can authorize access for specific drones to fly into areas that are typically off-limits. This feature is only available for professional drone operators and not for casual drone pilots.

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On July 5th, DJI announced that they would postpone their highly anticipated “See the Bigger Picture” event which was originally scheduled to take place tomorrow. The message came as a big surprise to all of us as it was only two weeks before what was believed to be the global product launch of the DJI Mavic 2. Since the postponement, rumors have been circulating about the possible reasons behind DJI’s decision. Today we learn that a ‘serious design failure’ of the Mavic 2’s gimbal may be the real reason for postponing the event. Update: message from DJI directly, denying the rumor. See post for more info

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Good morning! Yesterday Billy and I spend a good part of the day flying the DJI Mavic Air and the Parrot Anafi at the Lyndhurst Mansion in Tarrytown, NY. Therefore we have fewer headlines than usual but expect a video from us to come your way soon. With that, yesterday we did have some big news. Mountaineer, Rick Allen who was presumed dead was found alive by drone pilot Bartek Bargiel using his DJI Mavic Pro. Needless to say that we are all glad to hear that he made it back to base camp safely and is in good shape. We also got to see what might well be the first drone photo of the K2 mountain. The photo was taken from an elevation of 8,400 meters high, well above the altitude limit DJI informs you that your Mavic Pro can fly. Check it out! Lastly, Amazon Prime Day and DJI’s Super Sale started yesterday and both events are not done yet, so if you are looking to get a drone at a discount, today is the day!

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In a continuation of our previous post about the drone rescue of Rick Allen, we wanted to share with you this photo of the K2 mountain that according to various people on social media has been taken with a DJI Mavic Pro at 8,400m or 27,600 feet high. We are working on getting a final confirmation but wanted to share the photo with you already. If true this ranks as one of the most impressive photos ever taken with the Mavic Pro as far as I am concerned. Update: Bartek Bargiel confirms in a comment on Facebook that it is indeed the Mavic. Wow!

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Rick Allen, one of the world’s best known and most accomplished mountaineers was believed to have perished after an accident on Broad Peak, the world’s 12th highest mountain. However, a DJI Mavic Pro drone that was launched from K2’s base camp found him alive and moving. Allen has successfully been rescued and is now safe at K2’s base camp.

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Good morning, Hope you’ve had a great weekend? Today is the start of Amazon Prime Day and the DJI Super Sale promotion, meaning that you can pick a new DJI drone at some nice discounts. Follow the links for the details. Furthermore, we have news on Intel, a small drone that was found on the tarmac of SFO Airport, the new Mystic drone and leaked photos from DJI that show a new Mavic Enterprise Edition. Jump right in!

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DJI just announced their Super Sale promotion to ‘coincidentally’ take place at the same time as the Amazon Prime Day we announced earlier. For 36 hours, the Chinese drone maker will offer up to 30% discounts on select products. The event starts on July 16 at 12:00, although it doesn’t say what time zone. Even the link to their website is not working at the time of writing this article. I’m sure DJI will straighten that out soon.

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Only minutes ago new photos surfaced online, showing the new DJI Mavic 2 ‘Enterprise’ edition. In a previously leaked photo, we already got the impression that the new Mavic 2 would allow for interchangeable gimbal/camera options, but the ‘Enterprise’ edition seems to take that flexibility to a whole new level. It makes sense for DJI to use the compact foldable Mavic platform and allow for different payloads to be mounted. The new photos also show parts of the drone we have not yet seen before.

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Good morning, here are yesterday’s headlines with news of a South African bank using Intel’s Shooting Star drones to show off their new logo and a court ruling that upholds the FAA’s authority to regulate hobbyist drone use. For today’s video, we found this short film of two blue whales right off the coast of San Diego. Check it out as the 4K footage is quite amazing.

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Last Friday, an appellate court upheld the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) authority to regulate hobbyist drone use in a ruling that paves the way for a new series of restrictions and requirements for recreational drone use that the aviation regulators hope to enact soon. The ruling is a win for companies such as Amazon and others that have been urging lawmakers to impose stricter regulation for the millions of hobbyist drone pilots.

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Good morning, in case you missed it here, are the headlines from yesterday. 5 quick tips to becoming a better drone pilot from Matti Haapoja. Why we won’t see a new DJI Spark in 2018. Drones used to create detailed 3D aerial maps and a missing father and child that were found with the help of a drone within 15 minutes. Lastly, we have a summer drone video for you today. Send your summer travel drone videos to us and see them featured on DroneDJ.

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On Tuesday, July 10, the Jasper County (Indiana) Sheriff’s Office released information about a joint investigation together with the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office. Together the departments had recently been able to locate missing father and child with a drone within 15 minutes after the duo had been missing for half a day.

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Good morning, here’s yesterday’s news that you may have missed. We begin with InterDrone ann9uncing that they will host their fourth ‘Women in Drones’ networking event later this year. DJI is offering discounted prices on a selection of their drones during the Amazon Prime Day promotion and lastly, a journalist who got detained after flying a drone too close to a helicopter and the rescue operation to bring the football team and their coach back to safety, that took place earlier this week in Thailand.

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A journalist was detained on Sunday as he was flying his drone dangerously close to a helicopter during the large-scale rescue operation of the Thai football team and their coach from the Tham Luang cave system in Thailand.

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This year, InterDrone will host the fourth annual ‘Women in Drones’ networking event during the show in Las Vegas this year. The luncheon for women in the commercial drone industry will take place at the Rio Hotel on Thursday, September 6, from 12:15 pm – 1:30 pm.

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Lower prices on DJI’s drones will help enthusiasts into the air according to the Chinese drone maker. The world’s largest drone manufacturer will offer discounts up to $300 for drones like the Spark and Mavic Pro as part of the Amazon Prime day promotion, that will start on July 16 at 12 pm EDT and will run for 36 hours. People looking to pick up one of these discounted drones will be able to do so at the official DJI store on Amazon and the regular DJI online store for Canadian and US customers.

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