A drone carrying contraband into a maximum security prison in south carolina never made it over
the wire fence, resulting in the drone crashing and the pilot being caught. In April officials found a small crashed drone along with materials that inmates are prohibited from having; such as phones, tobacco and marijuana, in the bushes outside prisons perimeter. The exact drone used has not been released, but is stated to be able to travel long distances. Authorities are still looking for one of two people who were trying to sneak the drone over the barb wire fencing.
Parrot Jumping Sumo is now available and sure to bring fun to your house. Combining your smart phone or tablet with WiFI the Jumping Sumo is able to jump, turn and speed away with ease. The equipped camera allows you to see what the Sumo sees and take pictures and videos as you go. The responsive Parrot Jumping Sump can jump up to 3 feet and will always land on its wheels. The LiPo battery gives run time of up to 20 minutes, and during that time the Sumo is able to go about 4mph. Get your Parrot Jumping Sumo here and use the road map program to make your own jumping sumo dance and share with the Parrot cloud!
Beautiful footage of, and around, the Seattle Space Needle has brought attention to the Seattle officials, who are now pushing for rules and regulations from the FAA. Using a DJI Phantom 2 and a GoPro camera, a pilot captured footage of the Seattle Space Needle that was remarkable, but also caused great concern.
Shortly after witnesses saw the DJI Phantom flying around the Space Needle a video posted from the pilots GoPro went viral. The video shows the flights take off and landing from a hotel room, allowing investigators to track the owner down.
Although this footage is amazing, this incident comes at a poor time with the FAA beginning to work on rules and regulations that could impose heavy regulations on RC flying.
Located in the touristic bay area in Thailand is Koh Yao Noi, and although it located is near such populated areas it is one of the least developed islands in Thailand. Videographer Phillip Bloom took his DJI Phantom 2 with attached GoPro and took aerial footage of the small island, that only contains 18km of roads. The footage captured, along with the editing makes for a truly remarkable piece
A DJI Phantom user captured amazing aerials of the Everest Base Camp from April of this year. The air is thinner, creating a difficult environment for not only the humans, but also the UAV's. It appears the months of preparation, and crashing, seemed to have paid of and have provided a whole new aerial perspective of the Everest Base Camp.
Belize Fisheries Department has begun using drones to monitor the coastal shores for unlawful fishing. Pairing with conservation drones and the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Fisheries Department has began testing UAV's to monitor the fishing usage along the coastal areas. The UAV's are used to locate the fishing vessels that are operating illegally in the marine protected areas. The UAV's being used are capable of 60+ minutes of autonomous flight within a range of 30 miles. Belize is hoping that this usage of drones will prove to be a model for conservations methods while preventing unsustainable fishing in Belize.
McDonalds UK recently released a promotional video the showcased an epic RC car jump. The video show a RC car soaring over two semi trailers, before landing perfectly on a plywood ramp. Is it real? Probably not, but it still is a pretty epic idea.
Most people consider their smart phone a daily necessity, like a wallet or car keys, and a group of students are hoping to use that mentality as a way to track survivors. When a mobile phone's Wi-Fi is switched on, the device emits data packets at regular intervals. The signal strength varies depending on the surrounding terrain, the weather or interference. Alone the signal is hard to pinpoint, making it difficult to find the signal's original location, but if taken from multiple locations calculations will allow for the approximate location to be found. Using a Wi-Fi antenna attached to a UAV, developers are hoping to be able to fly between different points to get the location of the phone, and hopefully the user. The beta tests have also included the drone tightening its location around a selected device in to indicate the signal's position. This technology could be a much needed tool after natural disaster, and shed alight to the many benefits of drone usage.
In the French Alps an eagle with a GoPro camera attached to its back was able to capture amazing point of view footage. Flying above the Mer de Glace glacier and Montenvers Railway on northern slopes of the Mont Blanc massif the eagle captures some footage like never before, enjoy!
Every since late last year Amazon has been in the news with their proposed idea of a new delivery option, prime air. Although some believe this idea will never happen, amazon still has every intention of testing this delivery method, but where the testing will occur is the questions now. The FAA has recently announced six drone test sites, but Amazon wishes to continue testing the prime air drones close to the research and development center in Seattle. Amazon submitted a petition for exemption to the FAA asking if it could start testing outside the designated test sites. If Amazon's exemption is granted the development and testing period will be speed up greatly. Amazon's request for exemption also states the progress they have made already, such as drones that travel over 50 miles per hour and can carry 5 pound packages; which is most of Amazon's products. The request to test closer to home, could make Amazon prime air reality in the near future.
FAA is in the beginning stages of forming new rules and regulations that would impose heavy restrictions on RC flying! Drones and quadcopters with the capability to carry cameras an FPV gear are the main focus of the FAA regulations.
Please take some time and look over the information on the AMA website, and send your comments to the FAA, please remember to keep your comments polite and civil, otherwise they likely will not be considered by the FAA.
Forbes released an article today that notes how silent "drone" operators are staying in this matter. Many of the manufacturers Facebook pages have thousands of likes, yet only 2,800 comments have been submitted to the FAA.
Red Rocket Hobbies Facebook and owners pages have over 3,000 likes combined, lets add 3,000 more comments to the FAA page!
Acton, the company that developed spnKiX skates and the m-scooter, has released a new kickstarter campaign for the newest development, Rocketskates. The Rocketskates are an updated design to the original spnKiX, that are designed to be worn over users footwear. Rocketskates use each skates two hub motors to move, by the user tipping feet back so that the wheels reach the ground. Going over rough terrain or hiking stairs? No problem, just tip you feet forward and walk on the balls of your feet. The Rocketshoes are controlled by tilting the lead skate forward to accelerate, and decelerating by doing the opposite. The two Rocketskates sync together, and once connected the secondary skate brushless motors duplicates what the lead skate motors are doing. During the 45 to 90 minute usage time users can monitor battery life, track their route and check total milage via app. The Kickstarter campaign was funded in less than 24 hours, even quicker than the Rocketshoes 12 mph max speed, for more information on Rocketshoes Kickstarter campaign click HERE.
A diver off the coast of Mexico was able to rescue a fortunate sea turtle that had became caught in some netting. Using a GoPro Hero 3+ the rescue mission was recorded, and even captures the turtle returning back to the diver after being released; as an act of gratitude possibly?
Creative builds always catch our attention, and the most recent idea? A coke bottle fuselage for a t-copter! The coke bottle houses the electronics and 3s 3000mAh battery that powers the three motors attached to the T-copter. The motors are attached to the fuselage using PVC and wood, keeping the design efficient and cheap. The builder liked the idea of using a coke bottle, because theoretically the coke bottle should be able to seal and be water proof, but after inserting the electronics and battery I am not sure on how much I would trust the waterproof concept. But, for around $2 you can have yourself a T-copter fuselage and a cold drink!
The new 350QX AP combo is now available and ready to ship! Included with the 350 QX2 is the new C-GO1 camera with streaming capabilities that will not interfere with the 2.4 GHz radio. When recording the camera records in 1080p and when streaming to your android or apple device streams in 720p. Carrying the camera is the new GB200 2 axis brushless gimbal, the simple plug and play design makes it the perfect accessory for pilots of varying skill levels. With the upgrades a bigger battery was only the next step, now included is a 3000 mAh battery that should noticeably increase your flight times. Already have a 350QX? Don't worry all of these upgrades are available to 350QX owners! Click HERE to get your 350QX2 with a FREE additional Lectron pro 2700mAh battery and FREE carbon fiber props!!
A DJI phantom 2 owner was able to get some incredible aerials of a surfer riding the endless Hawaiian waves. Surfer Ekolu Kalama showcased his amazing talents on North Shore of Maui as the UAV was flown nearby to capture the amazing footage.
