Drones are the highly evolved descendants of the RC helicopters and model planes that hobbyists have been flying for decades. What changed? Basically, the rise of smartphones meant a lot of important components — magnetometers, gyros, batteries, cameras, accelerometers, radios, GPS modules, and processors — got a lot smaller and cheaper. Continue reading
Hawker Hurricane Mk XIIa
The Hurricane was the RAF’s first monoplane fighter, going into service before its famous partner in RAF service the Spitfire. The Hurricane was available in greater numbers for its finest hour in the Battle of Britain, where it played a crucial role in the defence of this country, shooting down more enemy aircraft than the Spitfire. Continue reading
New Kamov Rotary UAV
Kamov has revealed details of its new Ka-175 vertical takeoff and landing reconnaissance and strike unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which could make its maiden flight within a year. Continue reading
QinetiQ Launches New Airborne Surveillance System
QinetiQ has launched a new range of airborne communications surveillance systems at Farnborough Airshow. The ASX system is modular with a range of configurations allowing it be used on large, medium and small manned or unmanned aircraft.
Approval for Restricted Airspace Zone for UAS in Canada
The Canadian Centre for Unmanned Vehicle Systems (CCUVS) announced that it has received the necessary approvals to manage a permanent area of Restricted Airspace in Southeast Alberta that is being created for the purpose of flying Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).
Grand Forks AFB Hosts First Integrated UAV Flight
The 319th Operations Support Squadron supported a milestone in unmanned aerial vehicle aviation Aug. 1. For the first time, the Federal Aviation Administration authorized two UAVs to operate simultaneously in a traffic pattern of unrestricted airspace.
DJI’s New Heavy-Load UAS has Retractable Landing Gear
DJI is continuing to expand its horizons into the pro market with the new Spreading Wings S900. Continue reading
UAS Monitor Breakwater Erosion in Netherlands
Figure 1: MD4-1000 operating above the breakwater in IJmuiden
Monitoring of the breakwaters in IJmuiden, the Netherlands, is currently carried out using airborne Lidar together with spirit level / total station measurements. Airborne Lidar is excellent but very expensive when projects are small such as a breakwater survey. A UAS survey is a proper, and much more affordable, alternative. Continue reading