GEAR, PHOTOS, FLIGHT, PERSPECTIVE, AND THE FUTURE!

5 QUESTIONS
WITH UAS EXPERT
www.Drone360mag.com March/April 2016 GRETCHEN WEST

AUTOMATING THE FUTURE OF FIGHTING p.54

WOMEN TAKE CENTER STAGE WITH UAS p.70

WHEN AIRCRAFT EXPLORING MAKING RULES

FIGHT FOR SPACE THE DEPTHS FOR DRONES From the publishers of Discover
everyone loses p.46 with ROVs p.76 aint easy p.64 Vol. 1 Issue 1
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4 Drone360mag.com
MOUNT SINABUNG
ERUPTS
UAS advocate and humanitar-
ian Rhianna Lakin captured
this amazing image during a
trip to Indonesia. Read how
she and likeminded women
are changing the UAS world
for the better on Page 70.
RIHANNA LAKIN
 PREPPING THE REAPER
Staff Sgt. Stephanie Hughes
reviews loading procedures
during weapons load training
at Creech Air Force Base, NV.
One of the squadrons MQ-9
Reapers can be seen behind
her. Learn more about the
drone wars on Page 54.
U.S. AIR FORCE/
SENIOR AIRMAN LARRY E. REID JR.

6 Drone360mag.com
 FIRE IN THE SKY
The sighting of five drones
in a Southern California wild-
fire closed Interstate 15 and
grounded firefighting crews for
20 minutes as flames spread.
The Center for the Study of
the Drone examines UAV close
calls on Page 46.
JAMES QUIGG/THE VICTOR
VALLEY DAILY PRESS/AP

8 Drone360mag.com
 March/April 2016 Vol. 1 Issue 1

ON THE COVER
An MQ-9 Reaper, operated by
the 42nd Attack Squadron, flies
above Creech Air Force Base, NV.
U.S. AIR FORCE/PAUL RIDGEWAY

DEPARTMENTS
13 DRONING ON Drones in the news heres what you missed.

18 5 QUESTIONS Hogan Lovells Senior Advisor for Innovation and

Technology Gretchen West tells us about how she got into drones, the
opportunities for women in commercial UAS, and much more.

20 WHEN IT ALL GOES WRONG What should you do if you have a

midflight failure? This advice might save your drone! Oliver Volkmann

24 DRONE GEAR Drones, monitors, and a gimbal camera on a

pistol grip what more could you ask for?

84 ESSAY Negative stories about drones are good for getting atten-
tion, but there are so many better ways to use UAVs. Faine Greenwood

86 UP What do flamethrowers, downhill skiing, and dragnets have in

common? Up is back with a vengeance! Carl Engelking & Leah Froats

28 XIRO
XPLORER V
Drone360mag.com

FEATURES

COVER YOUR DRONE TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT DRONE WARS

MICHAEL DRIES DAN GETTINGER & ARTHUR HOLLAND MICHEL ERIC BETZ

42 Accidents happen, but insuring your

drone may be harder than you think. 46 Everyone loses when UAVs and
manned aircraft compete for space. 54 The military is working to take
humans out of the fight.

10 Drone360mag.com
 LETS GO FOR A SWIM
A VideoRay ROV explores
the galley of the shipwreck
America at Isle Royale
National Park. For more
adventures in underwater
archaeology, see Page 76.
BRETT SEYMOUR/NPS
SUBMERGED RESOURCES CENTER

BRINGING ORDER TO THE CHAOS HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION GOING DOWN
TIM KIDWELL & CARL ENGELKING LIZ KRUESI ELISA NECKAR

64 Experts want to integrate drones into

the NAS, but few agree about how. 70 As the UAS industry grows, so do the
opportunities for women in the field. 76 Drones do more than fly. ROVs go
underwater to discover lost treasures.

March/April 2016 11
editors welcome
LET THE CONVERSATION CONTINUE!
After two special editions in 2015, you
Drone360 you can talk to your friends, family, taxi
as a bimonthly publication. What does
that mean? It means that you can expect to
see a new issue every other month, keep-
ing you informed about everything drone:
from the latest consumer and prosumer
 to stay up to date with the latest develop-
has planned next, to emerging tech.
However, Drone360 is about much
more than telling you what weve discov-
ered or what you need to know. Drone360
 think weve missed. Every day we talk to
yet, its about generating many conversa-
tions, ultimately drone related, but cover-
ing so many subtopics that I couldnt list
them all and neither could you, be-
cause new ones are constantly emerging.
How, Tim? you might ask. How is
this a conversation? Im reading a maga-
zine, and I wont talk to it. Ever.
Yep, you have a magazine, but look
at this as the reintroduction of the major
ideas, the visualization of the current big
picture, the regular meeting that sets the
agenda for the next 60 tomorrows. Thats
what youre holding. And the next issue
will do the same.
So, you dont have to talk to it (unless
you want to), but armed with that agenda,
drivers, and the people in line for their
order of Kung Pao beef at China Garden
about drones, regardless of whether they
You can also go to Drone360mag.com
ments. Email us to ask your questions
(editor@Drone360mag.com), comment on
stories, tell us about your experiences, or
point us in the direction of something you ful new technology become integrated
into our airspace, into our commerce, and

what I want to know; tell us what you Theres a lot to cover, and there are a
want to know, and well get the answers.
 The world of drones is coming. Lets
 work together to not only be part of that
 emerging world, but also participants in
excellent drone videos and photos via shaping it, too.
Instagram (#Drone360aerial), and well
pull them into the feed on the website.
(Remember, drones arent just in the air.
So if youve got an ROV, we want to see
those pics, too.)
-
lieve here at Drone360, its that we need to Timothy E. Kidwell
communicate in order to see this wonder- Editor

Editor Chief Designer EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD KALMBACH PUBLISHING CO.

Timothy E. Kidwell Drew Halverson
tkidwell@drone360mag.com dhalverson@drone360mag.com Christina Engh President
COO UASolutions Group, UAS brigade Charles R. Croft
advisor to the U.S. Army
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Lauren Sigfusson Thomas G. Danneman Dan Gettinger Stephen C. George
lsigfusson@drone360mag.com Cofounder of the Center for the Study of
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Daniel R. Lance
Assistant Editor Scott Krall
Leah Froats Bob Gonsalves Vice President, Consumer Marketing
lfroats@drone360mag.com Lead Illustrator President and CEO of the U.S. Nicole McGuire
Rick Johnson Association of Unmanned Aerial
Copy Editor Illustrators Videographers (UAVUS) Corporate Advertising Director
Elisa R. Neckar Kellie Jaeger, Roen Kelly Scott Bong
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12 Drone360mag.com
 droning on

Drone hobbyists in China often fly their wares with near-reckless abandon, wowing onlookers but also angering airlines and government officials
who fear mounting safety risks posed by the proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles.
IMAGINECHINA/AP

WHAT CAN THE FAA LEARN FROM CHINA?

ON DEC. 29, 2015, the Civil Aviation Ad- 
ministration of China (CAAC) launched a 
set of rules for civil unmanned aircraft. Flying a drone may seem like a one- to report every second when in densely
The regulations use a risk-based ap- person job, but the CAAC regulations populated areas and every 30 seconds
 when in non-densely populated areas,
weight and use. have a pilot, a pilot-in-command, and an the Hogan Lovells report said.
According to a report by Hogan observer when in the air. These measures 
  -
to light and small drones that weigh up Having an additional pilot and ob- 
 server will help mitigate perceived risks
weigh 3.3 pounds (1.5 kilograms) or less for those types of operations, Ellman command must determine whether or not
must simply operate safely and avoid in- says. The approach is the right one; it drones are operating in accordance with
juring others, dodging many of the rules. makes sense to allow innovation to hap- the rules and avoiding restricted areas.
 pen in a way that also ensures safety. The Cloud will alert users of regulated
 According to Ellman, the CAAC is
really does not make sense to regulate a considering possible risks and what can to determine what areas are truly restrict-
 be done from either an operational or 
regulate a 55-pound one, says Lisa technological perspective to ensure safety. restricted areas can include airports, pro-
Ellman, a partner at Hogan Lovells and 
 Cloud, a database system that monitors Ellman says many drone manufactur-
This makes the CAAC rules user- ers are currently voluntarily incorporat-
friendly, at least for drones weighing less 
- and geofencing into their models.

March/April 2016 13
 Under the UAS Operation Rules,
drones may be operated beyond visual
line-of-sight (BVLOS) in some circum-
- by the FAA.
ence from the FAAs rules, which require
drones to be in an operators visual line-
of-sight at all times.
She says the FAA will eventually
 I do hope that the FAA looks to the
over people in congested areas, and when
this happens, requirements may include
technology similar to the UAS Cloud in
the CAAC rules.
Operators in China are also required
to have insurance, which helps eliminate
questions about how to handle accidents
and covers liability for possible damage
or injury to people or property on the
ground.
The Operation Rules will help foster
innovative drone technology, such as
agricultural and crop-related UAS opera-
tions, while maintaining safety in China.
The CAAC rule sets up a risk-based
approach framework that regulates UAS
in a manner proportionate to the risk
presented by the UAS operation, says
Ellman. Ultimately, this will provide
a more workable framework to safely
unleash the true potential of new UAS 2014. The drones have wings covered
with solar cells and are designed to stay
approach currently being contemplated 

 
consistent with those under development Run out of Spaceport America in New
in the U.S. and EU, the Hogan Lovells Mexico, the project has faced a number
report says.
which has been delivery mixups and im-
CAAC for guidance here, as their ap- proper installation of sensitive electronics.
proach makes sense in a lot of ways and At the same time, Google is running
- two other tech-heavy programs: Project
tion, says Ellman. Wing and Project Loon. Using millimeter-
wave radio technology, the three are to
GOOGLE TESTING SOLAR-POWERED form the infrastructure backbone for
DRONES TO DELIVER 5G INTERNET service providers to build on top of.
It seems Google, a subsidiary of the Despite the setbacks, Google appears
congolmerate Alphabet, has run into de- determined to continue forging a new
velopment snags with Project SkyBender
(once known as Project Titan). Informa- the world.
tion obtained by The Guardian, including
emails between Google execs, indicates NEARLY 300,000 UAS OWNERS
the company isnt quite as good at assem- REGISTER ONLINE
bling and engineering actual hardware 
as it is at creating server farms and opened its web-based drone registration
writing code. process for owners of UAS. Impressively,
The project reportedly utilizes solar- over 300,000 drone owners have regis-
powered drones manufactured by Titan tered in compliance with the FAAs new
Aerospace, which Google purchased in requirements as of the end of January.

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 FAA Administrator Huerta deemed For operators who owned UAS before
this registration success very encourag- Dec. 21 of last year, the deadline for regis-
ing, and said that the FAA is working tration compliance was Feb. 12. However,
hard to build on this early momentum.
 One of the most integral and positive
these requirements should be and how aspects of the registration requirement is
they could best serve the public, the that once registered, drone owners can
FAA created the Registration Task Force receive information about new regula-
(RTF) for guidance. The RTF consisted of
representatives of industry leaders such and other useful facts. The FAA hopes, in
as DJI and Parrot, retailer like Wal-Mart combination with the accountability that
and Amazon.com, and various aviation comes with UAS registration, should help
associations. Many of the suggestions put
forth by the task force were accepted and
 One of the primary concerns amongst
registration guidelines. the UAV community is that of privacy.
The FAA aimed to focus on three main According to Forbes contributor John
factors: safety, education, and account- Goglia, the FAA has stated, When the
ability. Small-UAS owners who registered
permit public searches of registration
their $5 registration fee. This may have numbers, names and addresses will be
been a motivating factor in the number revealed through those searches.
of UAS owner registrations since mid- FAA Administrator Michael Huerta
December. Although the fee has been a said at a press conference in January
that the database will be searchable, but
- only by the registration number. While
tion number can be applied to multiple addresses will be available to the public,
drones, and that the penalties for failing names will not. All information from the
registry will be open to law enforcement.
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 CAPE PRODUCTIONS
FAA GRANTS UNIQUE UAS
SERVICE PERMISSION
In January, the FAA
granted Cape Productions, a
consumer drone video service
for action sports, an amend-
ment to the companys exist-
ing Section 333 exemption for
commercial drone operations
in the U.S.
- Soll doesnt know if, or when,
- the UAV can only go up and
within 500 feet of customers
and in an area larger than a
closed set.
Until now, all previous
decisions prohibited drone
operations closer than 500
feet to anyone except the pilot
and visual observer (aerial
data collection) or persons on
a closed set who have given
 happen with Cape, which
Jason Soll, CEO of Cape
Productions, says many com-
mercial drone users have been
operating illegally because of
strict FAA guidelines. Howev-
er, thanks to the groundbreak-
ing exemption, this might all
change.
Whats so exciting about
groundbreaking amendment.
16 Drone360mag.com
the door for all of these enter- In a press release, Louis Soll says Cape has zero
prise and consumer clients all Gresham, president of Cape competitors. He says this may
around the country to have Productions, said Cape has be because many drone entre-
a 100 percent safety record preneurs have been focusing
a way that is fully legal and to date across thousands of on business within the UAV
fully insured and covered, industry, but he isnt sure
says Soll. that safety and compliance are what the future holds.
Currently, Cape is the only a top priority of the company. We encourage [competi-
company that has this type of Before operating at any site, tion]. It will keep us on our
permission from the FAA, and Cape maps it out and begins toes, Soll says. Whatever
to build rails. Soll explains that yields the best outcome for
our customer, Im extremely
lar permission. As of Jan. 27, down the rail, steering clear of excited about.
the FAA has granted almost trees, lifts, and customers. Apparently Cape is receiv-
3,200 Section 333 exemptions. Worst case scenario if ing a large amount of requests
A lot of companies are do- there were to be an issue with from business owners and
ing their best to steer clear of any of our technology our consumers with ideas of what
the FAA, Soll says. Instead, drones stay locked onto the the company can do for them,
we employ the opposite ap- rail, Soll says. The drone that and it welcomes more.
proach, and were very open fell inches from a skier dur- The long-term goal for
with them. ing a World Cup slalom run Cape is to become the larg-
He says Cape, which has in Italy last December wont est, most trusted operator of
drones in the world, says
the U.S. since 2014 and 2015, lends some peace of mind to Soll. The company looks for-
respectively, is excited about customers and bystanders. ward to announcing its future
The Cape team spent 2014 business plans within the next
game-changing permission. in Canada testing drones few months.
Soll speculates that the com- to ensure maximum safety. Hopefully, 50 years from
panys open-kimono strategy Even though safety is critical, now, [we will have] made an
with regulators and rigorous the company makes sure to impact on the trajectory of
safety measures may have position the drones to capture where drones are going and
helped the FAA approve this beautiful angles and scenery how people get value from
them, says Soll.
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5 questions with
HOGAN LOVELLS
GRETCHEN WEST
1
WHAT GOT YOU STARTED
IN DRONES?
Over a decade ago, I was
lucky enough to start working
with AUVSI and was immediately
fascinated by the potential for
drones, robotics and other un-
manned systems, and the ability
to help shape the future of this
industry. I helped write the
associations vision statement,
which was about improving hu-
manity by enabling robotics tech-
nology globally. Who wouldnt
want to be part of a statement
such as that?
My experiences in the indus-
try only got better from there.
Ive had the pleasure of working
with the military, government
contractors, regulators, univer-
sities, startups, commercial
end-users, and more, and I look
forward to what this new chapter
holds for me with Hogan Lovells
as we continue to work with
various clients and industries to
break down the barriers for suc-
cess in this marketplace.
WHAT KEEPS YOU EXCITED
2 AND INTERESTED IN UAS?
While the drone industry has
been around for decades, I still
Helping set the commercial UAS agenda: West delivers the kickoff
address at Drone World Expo 2015 in San Jose, CA.
18 Drone360mag.com
dont think weve experienced
the best of the best yet; I think
weve only scratched the surface
of whats possible. Were see-
ing new types of end-users in
the consumer, prosumer, and
commercial markets. We will
continue to see more unique
applications for using drones,
and using technology in general.
We will nally start to achieve
autonomous operations, bringing
more freedom and efciency to
our everyday lives. Being able
to create new paths to open up
this market and broadly allow for
commercial use of drones and
other technologies and having
appropriate policy to match is
a great motivator.
YOUVE HELPED SOFT-
3 LAUNCH THE COMMERCIAL
DRONE ALLIANCE WHATS IT
ABOUT?
After spending many years
talking to the members of the
unmanned systems community,
I gained a sense of the gaps in
representation, and this was
most clear in the commercial
drone industry. While many asso-
ciations exist that do great work
and represent various facets of
DRONE WORLD EXPO
the industry, the least well-
represented are the commercial
enterprise end-users com-
munities such as broadcasting,
construction, inspection, mining,
utilities, and more. All of these
industries have a desire to use
drones commercially, but all are
facing severe challenges to oper-
ate efciently. I joined forces
with Lisa Ellman, a partner at
Hogan Lovells in D.C., who saw
a lack of end-user voices in her
work with the federal govern-
ment. With our team at Hogan
Lovells, we recognized the need
to bridge the gap between policy,
technology, and innovation and
focus on representing commer-
cial end-users.
Thus we launched the
industry-led, nonprot Com-
mercial Drone Alliance, which is
solely focused on representing
commercial entities and reduc-
ing their barriers to entry and
operation. We plan to focus on
technology and create relevant
policy; create and show value for
these various end-user markets
to ensure technology adop-
tion; and tackle the vast public
perception issue, changing the
conversation to showcase the
good use cases and stories
about drones. We have lots
more planned, but ultimately,
we are building an ecosystem of
partners to advance this indus-
try collectively and aggressively
and are eagerly anticipating our
ofcial launch of the Commercial
Drone Alliance.
WHAT IS THE WOMEN OF
4 COMMERCIAL DRONES
GROUP ON MEETUP.COM?
Living in Silicon Valley, I often
hear discussions about the gen-
eral lack of women in technology
leadership roles, but that also
extends to our smaller drone
community. This past fall, some
conversations started about
better mentoring for women in
the community and getting more
women engaged, but the con-
versations ended after the event
closed. Based on the enthusiasm
for the topic, those discussions
need to continue in a more for-
mal way. We set up the Women
of Commercial Drones Meetup
group (which is intended to be
nationwide, with events hosted
where there is critical mass of
interest) as a rst step, but more
WEVE ONLY SCRATCHED THE
SURFACE OF WHATS POSSIBLE.
needs to be done.Im a member
of the Amelia Dronehart group,
which is a wonderful forum for
women operators who support
each other and teach each other
to be successful in this indus-
try. The Women of Commercial
Drones group will work with ex-
isting groups to make sure that a
network is created for mentoring
and to help women become suc-
cessful in this industry. And Im
looking for active and engaged
women that would like to help
make this effort into something
meaningful!
BEST MOMENT INVOLVING
5 A DRONE?
There are so many, its
difcult to narrow down, but
I suppose the rst time I ew
a drone had to be one of the
most memorable. Finally under-
standing why an aerial vantage
point is so special and unique
compared to anything weve
seen done before with a cam-
era. The other most memorable
drone ight? When I crashed it.
It happens to all of us.
 GRETCHEN WEST
HOGAN LOVELLS SENIOR
ADVISOR FOR INNOVATION
AND TECHNOLOGY

Gretchen has been a vocal ad-

vocate for commercial drones,
innovation, entrepreneurship,
and robotics for more than a
decade. Before joining Hogan
ZEMYA PHOTOGRAPHY

Lovells, Gretchen served as

vice president of business
development and regulatory
affairs at DroneDeploy, a UAS
startup, and was executive vice
president of AUVSI.
pro tips

WHEN IT
ALL GOES
WRONG By Oliver Volkmann

A
ny experienced UAS operator will tell
you that its not a matter of if, but a
matter of when something goes wrong.
Accidents are often avoidable, provided
that the pilot takes the time to perform a
preflight check of all components, thoroughly
tests their system, flies within their capabili-
ties, and practices. Even with all this, and
with all the rules and regulations in the world,
you may still experience an unplanned land-
ing, the severity of which, you might joke,
depends on the number of parts you need
to pick up afterwards. So, what can go
wrong, and how do you recover when
it does?

DREAMSTIME.COM
1. DONT UNDERESTIMATE THE IMPORTANCE OF BATTERIES
YOUR CHOICE OF DRONE AND THE COMPONENTS
THAT YOU UTILIZE IN YOUR OWN BUILDS MAT-
TER, BUT DO NOT GUARANTEE THE AIRCRAFTS
SAFE PERFORMANCE. One of the most crucial
parts of an aircraft is the power source. Practi-
cally all consumer and custom-built drones on
the market today are powered by lithium-
polymer (LiPo) batteries. Anyone who was pay-
ing attention to the news this past holiday season
probably heard about the issues facing the latest
craze in personal mobility: the (exploding)
hoverboards. What caused these devices to
catch fire has been linked to the poorly manu-
factured LiPo cells used to power them. When
a LiPo battery fails, the results can be
catastrophic like fires hot enough
to burn a hole through asphalt.
The first step to making sure
your drone doesnt suffer a
similar fate is to use batteries
from reputable companies
and properly maintain them.
Failure to do so can result
in poor performance, short
flight times, and, eventually,
complete failure.
The first sign that some-
thing is going wrong with
your battery is the gradual If your battery readout says 40% or
reduction in flight time, as 50%, its time to land. Any lower
well as a loss of power. De- and you could suffer power failure.
pending on the type of drone
you have, your flight controller may or may not
be set up to deal with low-battery issues through
one of its programmable failsafe settings. Many
consumer drones on the market today come with
visual or audio (or both) warnings to alert the op-
erator that the battery is running low. Some go a
step further and automatically engage functions
such as Auto-Land or Return to Launch.
In the event you dont have such failsafe
settings at your disposal or choose not to enable
them, it is highly recommended that you have a
method to determine the current battery charge.
Without it, youd more than likely keep flying un-
til the system shuts down due to lack of power.
Many transmitter and receiver sets are avail-
able with a telemetry function that will display
the battery voltage on the transmitter screen.
You can also use a telemetry transceiver setup to
monitor battery voltage. The transceiver displays
all critical flight information on a smartphone,
tablet, or laptop.
I recommend you dont discharge your flight
packs lower than 3.6V per cell. For example, a
6-cell LiPo battery usually rates a nominal 22.2V
when fully charged; the recommended minimum
voltage would be 21.6V. I can get 20 minutes of
flight time out of one 6-cell LiPo powering a five-
pound quad by the time it discharges to 21.6V.
Keeping to this minimum voltage rule will ensure
the longevity of your batteries.
Regarding battery meters like those on
the DJI Inspire or Phantom quads, the
LED indicators show a range from 40 to
100 percent charge. When you reach
40 to 50 percent battery life, thats when
you should land. The way these batter-
ies are metered lines up closely with the
voltage parameters outlined above.
Knowing this about your batteries will
help you avoid having to take emergency
actions to land. However, if you should find
yourself at a critically low voltage level, there
are a few ways to recover, depending on the
type of craft youre flying.
With multirotor helicopters,
one of the safest and quick-
est ways to get your drone
safely on the ground is
to utilize a falling leaf
approach. Using this
method, you reduce
altitude and simultane-
ously move the drone
closer to the landing zone
(LZ) by making a number
of controlled lateral moves Some transmitters display flight data on an
(see Fig. 1). Like a leaf fall- integrated screen. Others require a link to a
ing from a tree, you fly the smartphone, tablet, or laptop computer.
copter closer, reducing the 3D ROBOTICS
throttle to initiate altitude
loss. Before stopping the or you might be able to pull it off in one gentle
lateral move, you should increase throttle to descent.
maintain a hover and avoid the drone plummet- Why not just come straight down? Because
ing. Depending on the area where youre flying a low battery may be incapable of delivering the
and the distance the drone is from the LZ, you current needed by the motors to quickly arrest a
may have to do this in steps like a zigzag pattern, quick descent and return the copter to a hovering
GETTING YOUR MULTIROTOR COPTER BACK IN ONE PIECE
IF YOU SHOULD LOSE POWER while flying a multirotor copter, there are a couple of ways to
land. The falling leaf approach tries to get the aircraft to the LZ in a gentle, controlled
manner. Flying to the LZ and then coming straight down is an option, but could end in a
mangled drone.
Fig. 1 LZ Fig. 2 LZ
Falling leaf approach Straight down approach
ILLUSTRATIONS BY RICK JOHNSON
March/April 2016 21

FIXED-WING DESCENT
LOSS OF POWER can be more manageable
with a typical fixed-wing plane. Glide
toward the LZ using the elevator and
throttle sparingly to maintain airspeed.
Elevators
down
Wind direction
Elevators
up
Fig. 3
Landing using elevators
GET TO KNOW
OLIVER VOLKMANN
VOLKMANN HAS WORKED in the un-
manned aerial systems industry for the
past five years. As the operations manager
for a UAV-based geospatial company
in Florida, he has traveled extensively,
building UAV operation capacities in the
private sector on six continents and in
over 10 countries. Oliver specializes in
the assembly, configuration, and opera-
tion of affordable and field-reparable UAS
mapping solutions.
Author Volkmann (and friend).
OLIVER VOLKMANN
22 Drone360mag.com
state before landing (see Fig. 2). In fact, the
drone may not be able to stop at all, which could
result in a hard and potentially damaging landing
colloquially known as a crash.
Fixed-wing platforms have the advantage of
being able to glide, provided that they maintain
a minimum airspeed. This makes them a little
easier to recover on low battery than a multirotor.
Of course, a lot depends on location, distance,
and environmental factors, such as wind.
By reducing the throttle and utilizing the wind
and control surfaces, you can conserve energy
and buy some time before battery failure. The
trick is to glide the aircraft down as quickly and
safely as possible to an altitude from which you
can more easily fly (using power) to the LZ.
Keep in mind that flying into the wind will
allow you to bring the plane down quicker, while
reducing the amount of distance needed for the
decent and a controlled landing. Decreasing the
elevator will increase the speed of the aircraft by
2. LOSING VIDEO DOWNLINK & LINE-OF-SIGHT
SO YOUVE RIGGED YOUR DRONE FOR FPV and
are running the signal back to a ground station,
monitor, or goggles. Just like the control link to
the drone, these video transmitters and receivers
have range limits which, when exceeded, can
result in video dropouts and the infamous blue
screen.
While this may seem like no big deal, it can
quickly escalate, depending on how far away
youve flown the drone and whether or not you
know where your drone is relative to you. To say
the effect is unsettling doesnt begin to cover it.
As racing becomes more popular, were see-
ing more video dropouts in unsual places, like
in woods where GPS is spotty at best. If youve
been flying beneath the tree canopy, have lost
FPV, dont have sight of the drone, and lack te-
lemetry to tell you where the drone is, the safest
thing to do (if you can maintain your wits) is to
gradually reduce speed and hope that when you
find your drone, its in one piece.
If youre flying in the open, the best option is
to engage the Return to Launch failsafe protocol,
if you have one. Being familiar with your aircraft
and the controls is paramount as you attempt to
keep it at altitude and from flying farther away
while scanning the skies for it.
Recovering from a loss of line-of-sight can
be very challenging, especially if you have have
lost orientation. Experience helps, but sometimes
theres nothing you can do, and you lose the
drone. In this eventuality, the following tools may
help you find your downed drone:
1 Check your video. If you recorded the down-
linked video, you may be able to trace where the
drone was when things went dark. This will give
you a place to start your search.
2 If you were flying with a telemetry transceiver,
forcing it to descend. Once you reach the desired
altitude, increase elevator to reduce the rate of
descent, attain proper airspeed, and level out the
plane for a landing. This can be repeated until
you are in a position to land. Utilizing the throttle
judiciously will help keep you in the air longer
while maneuvering for a landing (see Fig. 3).
Both fixed-wing and multirotor aircraft can
also be subject to total power failures. In these
cases, there is little you can do to recover unless
the aircraft has a parachute that deploys the mo-
ment the craft is inverted or when the motors cut
out. Try to keep visual contact with your drone
so you can recover it. If youre building your own
drone, consider using two LiPo packs in parallel.
This allows you to have a backup in case the
primary source dies.
Practicing the emergency landing procedures
mentioned above before they become necessary
will make them a lot easier to pull off if you ever
have to perform them.
you more than likely have the last known GPS
coordinates on the screen. Write them down and
save them, because they will provide you with
the starting point for your search-and-rescue
operation. Additionally, it is possible that your
downed drone is still powered. Before shutting
off your telemetry transceiver link, start heading
to the last known coordinates. Hopefully, the link
will come back, allowing you to get a better fix on
the drone.
3 If youve equipped your drone with a buzzer
or alarm, you may be able to find it once you get
within earshot. Obviously, this depends on the
size of the area you have to search.
4 Some operators equip their drones with PET
transmitters or GPS trackers that allow them to
track the device on a mobile phone or via the
Internet. These are not a bad investment when
compared to the cost of losing your copter.
Knowing your distance from your drone can
mean the difference between recovering it
after an accident or losing the aircraft entirely.
3D ROBOTICS
3. TO AVOID HEARTACHE, TEST YOUR EQUIPMENT BEFORE TAKING TO THE AIR
THINGS BREAK. THEY WEAR OUT. Thankfully,
you can implement practices to indentify poten-
tial problems before you fly.
Check your propellers before each flight for
cracks. If you find one, replace the prop, pronto.
If you dont, the crack could become a split. The
blade could shear off and damage the aircraft,
not to mention you or bystanders. Whats more,
the motor becomes useless and the aircraft is
unstable.
Always make sure the propellers are securely
mounted to the motors.
Speed controllers and motors that fail could
cause your multirotor drone to crash. You may
be able to recover a fixed-wing vehicle, but
youre probably going to be picking up some Time to replace a motor! You dont need to strap landscaping bricks to your drone to give it a
pieces of a quad. stress test, but whatever you use needs to be heavy enough to keep the aircraft from lifting off.
Hexacopters and OLIVER VOLKMANN
octocopters have
redundancy in their motor or speed-controller failures with these Putting your drone through stress tests before
motors. However, de- types of multirotors may lead to the undesirable pushing it to the limits in the air can be helpful. A
pending on the type of process of parts reclamation. simple way to do this is to find a method of safely
flight controller you are With fixed-wing platforms, the failure of a strapping the drone to the ground or a table and
using, the motors may servo motor on a control surface will disable that running it at full throttle while moving the various
Only a madman would not be able to handle surface. Recovering from this requires skills that other controls around. While your drone probably
fly with props that the imbalance in you can only achieve through practice. wont be subject to this type of stress during a
look like these. But centrifugal force, caus- Inspect each of these components for dam- normal flight, if anything does go wrong, you
midair, a minor split ing the drone to rotate age before flying to greatly decrease the chances wont lose the whole bird. You can also replace
could become this. and become difficult of failure during flight. Make this part of your parts that fail or concern you before they come
WALTER SCRIPTUNAS II to maneuver. Multiple preflight checklist. apart in the air.

4. WHEN THE CONTROLLER AND THE CONTROLLED 5. GUESS WHAT

NO LONGER AGREE ON THE ARRANGEMENT CAUSES MOST CRASHES
ALL DRONES REQUIRE AN INTERFACE FOR with the situation. In this scenario, there is virtu- THATS RIGHT, THE OPERATOR! Proper mainte-
THE OPERATOR TO CONTROL THEM. This can ally nothing you can do to regain control. nance of your drone is essential, but knowing
either be performed via the conventional radio Many midrange and higher-quality drones how to fly and how to react in situations like
transmitter and receiver link, telemetry link, or a come with flight controllers that have program- those weve talked about will not only improve
combination of both. mable failsafe settings for this type of failure. your chances of recovery, but will also lead to
Most modern R/C transmitter and receiver Learn what the active setting is, and use the more enjoyable, less stressful flights. Practice
sets have the ability to lock onto each other appropriate one for your situation. makes perfect. Fly within your limits and gradu-
to avoid interference from other transmitting Three of the most common failsafe operations ally push the envelope. Practice emergency
devices like other R/C transmitters. Telemetry initiated by flight controllers that lose radio link maneuvers, such as
devices, which link the onboard flight controller communication are: those needed to quick-
with a smartphone, tablet, or laptop, can similarly ly and safely land your
be configured to only communicate with specific 1 Return to Launch drone, before you need
devices. These links have range limits specified 2 Land to perform them in an
by the manufacturer and should be observed 3 Continue Flying if in a preprogrammed emergency. Until you
when operating the drone. mission; if misson ends, Return to Launch become a skilled pilot,
However, if the commu- fly only in areas and
nication link between the To prevent finding yourself in a situation like up to distances within
operator and aircraft is this, make sure that the device you are using to which you know you
lost, perhaps because of control your drone is fully charged before flight, can recover and where
distance, the control de- and know the maximum control-link range. Dont your crashing drone
vices battery running out, fly beyond it! Take time to get to poses minimal risk to
or some other interference, If you are using a telemetry link between your know your drone, people or property. Be
the only way for the The Home Button drone and a peripheral device, such as a tablet, learn its limitations, patient with yourself.
drone to recover is if the will usually get your keep your radio transmitter handy and powered and know your own. Develop your skills. In
onboard flight controller drone back to you. on so you can take control should the telemetry Itll save your UAV. the end, youll be
is robust enough to deal 3D ROBOTICS link fail. DREW HALVERSON happy you did.

March/April 2016 23
drone gear
VOLTAGE 500 3D
T
he Voltage 500 3D from
Heli-Max is a fully capable
3D aerobatic quadcopter.
If youve been looking
to fly upside down and try heli-
copter-style 3D aerobatics, this
just might be your quad. How
does it do this voodoo without all
the hardware normally associated
with collective-pitch helicopters?
24 Drone360mag.com
With some clever software in its
flight controller and ESC. What
sets this multirotor apart is its
ability to instantly reverse its
motors direction for both posi-
tive and negative thrust.
The Voltage 500 3D comes
in a nicely printed box that had
me revved just to see what was
inside. Upon opening it, you will
find the fully assembled 500-
class quad and a manual, along
with pairs of black and white
spare props, and a length of
hook-and-loop fastener. Its not
RTR, so no battery or transmitter.
The bright red canopy and
simulated carbon fiber with
white accents really make this
quad stand out. The distinc-
By David Moquay
tive nose, bright LEDs, and
larger size make it easier to
track across the open sky. You
remove the canopy by sliding
four O-rings on the carbon-fiber
arms, exposing the flight
controller sandwiched between
two G10 plates. The beefy
 PHOTOS MARTIN TAPPER
1400kV motors are bolted to
shiny red machined-aluminum
mounts. Wide-set plastic land-
ing gear gives the model just
enough ground clearance for the
battery, and lend this quad one
of the lowest profiles I have seen.
The Voltage looks fast while sit-
ting, and with reported speeds of
100 mph, its not just looks!
The eight-page manual does a
good job of explaining the flight
functions.
BEFORE FLYING
The Voltages flight controller
is compatible with Futaba S.Bus,
standard PWM, JR XBus, DSM2,
DSMX, and DSMJ radios.
I used my FrSky Taranis
transmitter with an X8R
receiver. I ran the S.Bus and
power cables beneath the top
frame and mounted the receiver
to the back with a strip of hook-
and-loop fastener. I attached
both antennas to the bottom
frame pointing away from each
other, and secured loose wires
with tape. I also pulled the ESC
wires under the top G10 plate
to give them added protection
in case of an inverted crash.
The Voltage 500 3D works
with both 3S and 4S LiPo bat-
teries. For this review, I was
provided two 4S 14.8V 25C
FlightPower batteries; one was
2500mAh, and the other slightly
bigger at 3300mAh. Both have
plenty of power to do the most
aggressive 3D aerobatics. Expect
three to eight minutes of flight
time with intense flying; much
longer times are possible if
youre just toodling around.
Unlike a traditional quad, the
Voltage 500 throttle starts at
midpoint. Familiar territory for loaded and no trouble to run and
anyone flying 3D helicopters, it navigate. I made sure that my SYSTEM SPECS
will take some getting used to for controls and switches were set up
pilots who dont. Traditionally, correctly. I dedicated a three- Voltage 500 3D
when faced with a crash, the position switch for both Stability
throttle stick is pulled to zero and 3D flight modes. More Available: Tower Hobbies
to turn off the motors. If you do experienced pilots would assign (www.towerhobbies.com)
that with the Voltage 500 3D, Stability Mode to a momentary
you will reverse the motors at full switch to regain control quickly Rotor type: Quadcopter
thrust and likely cause even more during 3D maneuvers. The soft-
damage. Something to keep in ware allows experienced pilots Diameter: 19.7 inches
mind when youre disoriented to adjust individual gains across
and panicking! all channels. For testing, I left all Weight: 2 pounds
Before my first flight, I the factory settings as is.
removed the propellers and Flight time: 8+ minutes
connected the flight controller to INTO THE BLUE
my Windows 10 laptop. I found For the Voltages first flight, I Price: $429.99
Heli-Maxs software easily down- plugged in the smaller of the two
March/April 2016 25
VOLTAGE 500 3D
JACOB UECKER
batteries and selected Stability
Mode. I pushed the throttle
gently past the midway point and
waited for the motors to spool up
and slow down to idle. Wow! The
Voltage is responsive. After rais-
ing it five feet off the ground, the
quad felt as stable as if it had
GPS. Stability Mode limits the
Voltage to 45-degree maximum
angles. But when I flicked the
switch to 3D Mode, the quad felt
HIGHLIGHTS
Fully assembled and
ready to fly
Reversible brushless motors
Super responsive
and fast!
Extra propellers
26 Drone360mag.com
WHAT SETS THIS MULTIROTOR APART
IS ITS ABILITY TO INSTANTLY REVERSE ITS
MOTORS DIRECTION FOR BOTH POSITIVE
AND NEGATIVE THRUST.
more like a traditional racer in to 3D Mode and rolls and flips powerful motors, and distinct
Manual or Rate Mode. were a breeze. Switching back to markings make this a really
I took it up to about 30 feet Stability Mode instantly leveled attractive solution. In more
to test the reversing motors. I out the quad to get me out of capable hands, the full 3D aero-
must admit I was quite surprised trouble and allowed for more batics potential of this airframe
at the sound and speed when the relaxed flying. can be wrung out.
motors switch direction. I can For those wanting to break Personally, I cant wait to put
see how more experienced pilots into 3D flying, the large size, an FPV system in it.
will want to shorten response
time from forward to reverse by
adjusting their throttle curve a
few percentage points above and
below mid-stick.
For my second test flight, I
took the Voltage to my local AMA
field where I had a lot more open
sky, and, as it happens, a lot
more wind. I took off in Stability
Mode and again was surprised by
how stable it is. Even with gusts
of 15 mph, the Voltage remained
almost undisturbed.
The response from the
throttle is a bit edgy and takes
some getting used to. But does
the Voltage scream! I flipped
BEN FORD
XIRO XPLORER V
T
he sleek and dangerous
looking Xiro Xplorer V
comes smartly pack-
aged with everything
youd expect to get a quad up
and flying: drone, transmitter,
battery, and charger. The fully
integrated 3-axis gimbal camera
shoots video at 1080p at up to
30 frames per second, and takes
28 Drone360mag.com
14MP stills. A 5.8GHz Wi-Fi link
streams live video back to your
iOS (version 8.0 and later) or
Android (version 4.4 and later)
device. Thoughtfully, the pack-
age comes with plenty of spare
parts, including props, gimbal
mounting grommets, and screws.
It also includes a magnetic lens
filter and a lens cover.
Compact and light, the
Xplorer doesnt have the heft
of more substantial consumer
UAS platforms, which gave me
pause. But in the Xplorers case,
it was unfounded. The gimbal
took a little bit of figuring to get
attached and locked in place. It
comes with a plastic clamp that
keeps the camera fixed for FPV
By Tim Kidwell
flight that, after a couple of uses,
I decided was an accessory I
wouldnt return to.
The transmitter is rounded
and covered with smooth, but
grippy, silicon rubber that makes
it comfortable to hold. You
control the cameras angle with
 THE FULLY INTEGRATED 3-AXIS GIMBAL
CAMERA SHOOTS VIDEO AT 1080P
AT UP TO 30 FRAMES PER SECOND,
AND TAKES 14MP STILLS.

DREW HALVERSON

a dial on the transmitters upper
right corner; you can dim the
Xplorers flight indicators with
a dial on the left corner. The
mobile device holder conve-
niently slides out of the top of
the controller, but only holds a
moderately sized phone. Also,
depending upon how chunky
your phone case is, the spring-
tensioned clip may have a hard
time keeping the device secure.
My iPhone with a Speck case fell
out a couple of times. You dont
have the option to bind a differ-
ent controller to the Xplorer.
SOME HIGH POINTS
The Xplorer comes with a
charging station and a hefty
11.1V 5200mAh LiPo housed in
a plastic case. I love the charg-
ing station. Just plug it in and
slide the battery into position.
LED lights atop the battery tell
you the charge level. Positioning
the battery on the bottom of
the drone follows the same
principle: Slide it in and flick a
small switch to lock the battery
in place. A small amenity to be
sure, but a thoughtful one.
Also, while it took a little
to get used to, that the gimbal
camera simply locked into place
is a nice touch. No need for
screws or tools to get it attached.
Its a convenience that were
seeing a lot of manufacturers
moving toward.

March/April 2016 29
XIRO XPLORER V
TIM KIDWELL
The power switch on the
drone is conveniently placed on
top and points to the front of the
aircraft. Just stand back after
turning it on and let it initialize.
The controller automati-
cally chooses between GPS and
Attitude modes depending upon
the number of satellites avail-
able, which is a nice feature for
beginners. Once achieving GPS
Mode, the controller acts as a
home point. At the press of a
button, if the drone is flying at
20 meters or higher, it will return
SYSTEM SPECS
Xiro Xplorer V
Available: Tower Hobbies
(www.towerhobbies.com)
Rotor type: Quadcopter
Diameter: 13.75 inches
Height: 5.25 inches
(with legs extended)
Weight: 2.65 pounds
Flight time: 20-25 minutes
Price: $799.98
30 Drone360mag.com
to you and land. If its flying at
less than 20 meters and more
than 25 meters away from you,
it will increase its altitude to
20 meters, then return to you
and land. This can be a little
disconcerting, especially for first
timers.
Intelligent Orientation Control
(IOC) is useful if you fly the
Xplorer too far away and can no
longer tell front from back. Just
push the IOC button and all the
stick movements become relative
to your location: Pulling back
brings it toward you, and pushing
forward sends it away. I dont
recommend flying in this mode
all the time. It may be useful for
beginners, but can be a pain for
more experienced operators.
Another cool feature is the
automatic takeoff and landing
button. All I had to do was start
the motors and push a button.
The Xplorer jumped five feet into
the air. When I was done fly-
ing, I positioned the drone over
the landing zone and pushed
the same button. It gently
descended and shut down the
motors. Awesome!
BEFORE FLYING
I admit to some difficulties
getting Xplorer in the air the first
couple of times. Compass cali-
bration didnt take, and I became
more than a little frustrated. On
this front, Im willing to accept
the blame, although I spun
myself dizzy trying to get the
calibration to take. Eventually, I
got it. Note that the instructions
tell you to press the IOC button
for 3 cycles. That means a
total of six times.
The transmitter allows
pilots to choose between three
flight levels. The levels control
altitude, operational distance,
and maximum speed, with the
largest envelopes given to Level
Three. Understand that Level
One allows takeoffs only if flying
in GPS Mode. If you dont have
at least six available satellites,
youll have to fly in levels Two or
Three.
I found the Xiro app for the
camera to be finicky. Make
sure to run through a couple of
ground tests first before head-
ing out to get that killer aerial
footage. Youll save yourself time
at the field. Also, make sure to
download a QR code reader. It
just makes access to the app
and tutorial video easier. And
dont forget to add your FAA
registration number. And if you
dont have one, ask yourself why
youre flying right now.
INTO THE BLUE
The temps during the majority
of my test flights with the Xplorer
were usually around 15 to 20
degrees F. Not frigid, but not
comfortable either, especially
for my fingertips. The Xplorer
remained undaunted. I saw only
a negligible reduction in flight
times from flights in the 40 to
50 degree range usually last-
ing about 20 minutes.
 DREW HALVERSON
The Xplorer is responsive
not as fast as other copters in its
class, but nimble. However, that
means trading some stability for
quick movement. It struggled
a bit with the stiff Wisconsin
winter breezes, rocking back and
forth trying to keep its position.
However, when its on the move,
it almost intuitively knew where
I wanted to aim the camera.
Tracking shots while panning
became nearly effortless.
The legs beneath the airframe
can be positioned at an angle or
vertically. If you use the gimbal
camera, make sure to put the
legs in the vertical position, oth-
erwise youll damage the camera.
PHOTOS AND VIDEOS
Images are crisp, and the
color doesnt need much correc-
tion. There are a ton of options
to sink your teeth into, such as
Follow Me Mode, altitude lock,
and up to 16 programmable
waypoints. Expect to spend some
time learning how the app works.
My major quibble is that I
found rotors and bright LEDs
in just about every shot that
wasnt aimed directly beneath
the Xplorer. Even gentle nudges
forward would see the props drop
into view as the drone rocked
into motion. Many drones in
this size category have a similar
issue. Practice and familiarity
with the controls helps.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Xiro Xplorer V provides a
fun flight experience with good
video and photo capabilities. The
ability to program waypoints is
a huge plus, and the Follow Me
feature is a winner. The Xplorer
is also available in a basic pack-
age without a gimbal camera,
and the G version includes a
gimbal for a GoPro HERO3 or 4
(camera not included).
HIGHLIGHTS
3-axis stabilized
14MP gimbal camera
with Panasonic CMOS
image sensor
5.8GHz Wi-Fi link
for live video feed
to iOS or
Android devices
App with a variety of
useful functions to help
automate flying
Safety features to keep
pilots from flying in
restricted airspace
Return Home, Intelligent
Orientation Control,
and automatic takeoff
and landing features
March/April 2016 31
ESTES PROTO-N
ESTES PROTO-N
BILL ZUBACK AND ISTOCK.COM/WEEDEZIGN
A
s strange as it sounds,
small quads almost
always get bigger smiles
than the big boys. Maybe
its the idea that something only
slightly bigger across than a quar-
ter can fly. Maybe its our fasci-
nation with the miniaturization
of everything smaller phones,
lighter laptops, tinier tablets.
Whatever the reason, Estes
Proto-N is no exception to the
rule. As soon as I unboxed this
little green monster and plugged
it in, I had people poking their
heads into my office, as if they
could hear its fingernail-sized 1S
3.7V LiPo charging.
Measuring just a shade over
1.2 inches on the diagonal, and
weighing only .32 ounces, this is
close to the smallest quad Ive
ever flown. It also offered one of
the most unintentionally confus-
ing battery-charging experiences
Ive had. The Proto-N uses a
HIGHLIGHTS
Does flips!
Durable airframe and props
Spare props
Three flight modes from
beginner to expert
Controller is also
a carrying case
32 Drone360mag.com
USB charger that lights up red
and blue while charging. For me,
the blue light started blinking
about 25 minutes into charg-
ing, and went out completely
after 30 minutes, while the red
light stayed on. The instructions
are frustratingly opaque about
charging lights, but do say the
Proto-N needs a full 35 minutes
to charge, so I assumed the red
light would go out in five minutes
when the charge cycle was com-
plete. It never happened. The
red light never goes out. So you
heard it here first, drone fans: no
more blue light, charging is done.
Oh, and make sure to plug in the
USB first, and then connect it to
the Proto-N. Doing it the other
way may damage the battery.
Youll have to buy four AAA bat-
teries for the transmitter.
INTO THE BLUE
The Proto-N has three sensi-
tivity modes Easy, one beep;
Normal, two beeps; and Expert,
three beeps changed by
pressing a button above the left
control stick. I found the Easy
Level controls to be too sluggish,
especially on throttle, which I
guess is the point. But for me, it
made regulating altitude difficult
because the finesse just wasnt
there. On Normal sensitivity,
control got easier, and I was able
to concentrate on trimming the
Proto-N. Still, it drifted away and
to the right, no matter how much
trim I gave it.
There was only one answer:
Calibration! Everyone should be
familiar with calibrating their
drone, whether youre flying
a little guy like the Proto-N
or a heavy-lift job. With the
Proto-N, its as easy as turning
on the controller and copter and
unlocking the transmitter as
usual before flight, making sure
the quad is on a flat, horizontal
surface. Then put the transmit-
ter in Expert Mode. Push the left
stick to the bottom left and hold
it there the motors should
not turn on. (If they do, youre
pushing too far left.) At the same
time, move the right stick to the
top left. Hold them in this posi-
tion for a couple of seconds. The
lights on the Proto-N will flash
and then shine solid.
Even after calibration, the
quad slid forward and right. A
little trim mostly corrected the
problem. I dont expect quads
this size to sit perfectly still.
With that done, I had to start
getting the Proto-N to flip.
Nothing could be
easier. Push the but-
ton on the transmit-
ters right corner and
move the right control
stick in the direc-
tion you want to
flip. BANG! The
Proto-N flips.
Make sure youre
ready to recover
because there
will be some loss
SYSTEM SPECS
Estes Proto-N
Availability: Tower Hobbies
(www.towerhobbies.com)
Rotor type: Quadcopter
Diameter: 1.2 inches
Weight: .32 ounces
Flight time: 5 minutes
Price: $34.99
By Tim Kidwell
of altitude. Once youve flipped a
couple of times, youll know how
much loss to expect and automati-
cally compensate.
FINAL THOUGHTS
What I love about the Proto-N
is that its exactly the sort of
inexpensive quad you could feel
good about giving to a complete
novice. The chassis is tough, and
four extra props are included. Its
charge lasts for about five min-
utes not terribly long, but not
unexpected. And thats plenty to
get a flight fix.
If youre wondering how to
transport a quad small enough
for grandmas shih tzu to scarf
down, never fear: The transmit-
ter has a cozy compartment with
a clear lid to serve as a hangar.
Unfortunately, youll have to stuff
the USB charger in your pocket.
Just dont forget about it and put
it through the wash.
%) 10&,)
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Delivering swift response and steadfast

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61071 12A / 20A 5-12N / 2-4Li 0.59 x 1.02 x 0.24 0.28
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REALFLIGHT DRONE
SCREENSHOTS/TIM KIDWELL
R
ealFlight carved out a
comfortable space in the
top tier of flight simula-
tors, and it should come
as no surprise that it now has an
edition dedicated exclusively to
multirotor copters.
RealFight Drone comes with
an InterLink Elite controller made
by Futaba. It has the heft and
HIGHLIGHTS
14 different drones to
choose from
Lots of skill-building
sessions
Nice graphics
Controller feels like
the real deal
34 Drone360mag.com
feel of a hobby-grade transmit-
ter, with switches for various
flight modes, gimbal control,
and, for some models, motor
reversing. In the current ver-
sion, the switches arent drone
specific, but marked for use with
traditional R/C aircraft featured
in RealFlights other simulator
programs. Take a little time to
get used to which switch controls
what for a particular drone and
youll be good to go.
BEFORE FLYING
Of course, youll have to
load Drone onto your PC. Not
a problem at all plug in the
controller to a USB port, pop in
the DVD, and click next. You
will have to enter two verification
numbers (one is inside the disc
case, and the other is on the
back of the controller) to run the
software.
By moving the mouse to the
screens left, youll find a menu
with options for aircraft, location,
toggles, controls, view, graphic
settings, and a heads-up display.
You can find all of these selec-
tions plus more in the buttons at
the top of the screen, too.
INTO THE BLUE
Getting into the virtual blue
is easy: just click fly on the
initial menu and you show up
at the field, drone waiting to
go. To tell the truth, I dont
remember which drone showed
up for my first flight, because
I was off scrolling through the
choices right away. There are 14
aircraft available in Drone, rang-
ing from the Heli-Max Voltage
and Hubsan X4 Pro to generic
hexacopters and octocopters that
could be from just about any
manufacturer.
By Tim Kidwell
I picked a Hexacopter 780
and got right into the air. Of
course, its a blast seeing how
well the controls work and what
happens when you crash. The
simulated world is just as tough
on drones as the physical world.
I left pieces of copters scattered
across many locations, crashed
into the wall of soccer stadium,
and even got hung up on stairs in
a dilapidated hangar.
Once I worked the silliness
out of my system, I noted that
the simulator doesnt provide
you with a way to see both FPV
and fixed point, as if you were
flying with a monitor and line-of-
sight. You can fly from a location
on the ground, from behind the
drone, off its front end, or from
the gimbal which is what
gives you the FPV perspective.
 Handling was realistic for
various models, and the simula-
tor does a good job of showing
how squirrely some copters are
compared to others. It also dem-
onstrates how quickly a drone
dots out, and you dont know if
youre flying toward or away from
your location. A quick toggle to
FPV helps.
The heads-up display is a
nice touch, although I think just
adding the altimeter, speed,
bearing, and battery life to the
main display without pitch and
yaw would have been plenty.
PHOTOS AND VIDEOS
The description said I would
be able to take photos, so I
started hunting for targets.
There is a training series in
which you fly your drone toward
predetermined subjects bounded
by a red box. When the box turns
green, the drone automatically
takes a photo. Theres another
training program that is essen-
tially a series of more difficult
obstacle courses. You have a
limited amount of time to either
make it through the course or
take a number of pictures. If you
dont, you have to start over.
You also have the opportunity
to take a non-automatic photo
of what youre looking at, which
requires you to take a screenshot
by pressing the tab button on
the computer keyboard.
The photo/video simulation
disappointed me. Part of the full
experience of flying drones is to
shoot masterful video and photos
framing the shots at the very
least and getting comfortable
with seeing the UAS in the air as
well as through a monitor. While
you can tilt the angle of the cam- SYSTEM SPECS
era with a dial, the functionality
is minimal. RealFlight
Drone Flight Simulator
FINAL THOUGHTS
RealFlight Drone can be a Available: Tower Hobbies
useful practice tool, especially (www.towerhobbies.com)
if you live somewhere temps get
below 20 degrees in the winter. Processor requirement:
You can adjust the weather Intel Pentium 1GHz
and light conditions, change or better
locations to meet your needs
(or whims), and even fine tune RAM: 512MB minimum
your flying by heading through
obstacle courses. At $129.99, Hard drive space: 3GB
its an affordable introduction to
flying or supplement your time in Price: $129.99
the field.
March/April 2016 35
DROMIDA VERSO
L
ooking for a small quad
SYSTEM SPECS with some zip that you can
fly indoors? Give the Verso
Dromida Verso inversion quad a try. Like
its name implies, the Verso can
Available: Tower Hobbies flip, but it also has the ability to
(www.towerhobbies.com) fly inverted. Everything you need
to fly, including four AA batter-
Rotor type: Quadcopter ies for the transmitter, comes in
the package. Just charge up the
Diameter: 4.5 inches 350mAh 3.7V LiPo via the USB
charger about 50 minutes
Weight: 1.2 ounces and youre off!
Youll also find two pairs
Flight time: 5+ minutes of replacement props, a prop
removal tool, and optional thumb
Price: $39.99 pads for the control sticks. Ill
admit, those made me chuckle.
36 Drone360mag.com
The idea is to make the transmit-
ter sticks feel more like those of
a video game controller and keep
your fingers from slipping. This
hasnt been an issue for me, but I
put them on anyway. They look a
little weird, but I didnt find they
helped or hindered my ability to
pilot. Your mileage may vary.
BEFORE TAKEOFF
Take a moment to familiarize
yourself with the Q205 2.4GHz
transmitter. As usual in the U.S.,
throttle and yaw are on the left
stick and pitch and roll are on
the right. Youll notice a number
of buttons on both sides of a
By Tim Kidwell
LCD screen. Those on the left
change between three control
rates20%, 60%, and 100%.
The current rate will briefly
display on the screen.
The top two buttons on the
right side of the screen dont
do anything. (Dont know why. I
assume they will on another ver-
sion or different quad.) But the
bottom one toggles the Versos
LEDs on and off. If theyre on,
youll see a lightbulb icon on the
screen.
On top of the transmitter are
two buttons. The one on the

left will beep if you push it, but
doesnt have a function. The one
on the right controls flips.
INTO THE BLUE
The Verso flew beautifully
right out of the box. Of course,
I couldnt leave it at 20% rate,
and cranked it up to 100%.
Its quick, no question. And the
quad banks well around corners,
although I did drift into a wall
more than once. (I like to fly
aggressively!) Rest assured of
the Versos resilience.
When it came time to go
inverted, I pushed the top
right button and nudged the
right control stick (not the left)
forward. The Verso flipped on its
nose, and the back end became
the front. As I expected, this
altered the flight characteristics
as the motors reversed and the
top of the aircraft became the
bottom. If youre prepared for it,
you can easily make up for any
lost altitude, then hit the but-
ton and go right-side up again.
Once I was used to seeing it
inverted, flying that way became
as natural as top up. Then I was
flipping forward and back and
left and right until the bat-
tery died. Sigh.
After charging, I was back in
the air, but this time, I wanted
to see what a 360-degree
flip looked like. I held the flip
button until it beeped at me
twice, then pushed forward on
the stick. And just like that, a
forward roll! Make sure youre
ready to give the throttle a quick
kick to maintain altitude.
At only a little more than four
inches across from prop guard
to prop guard, the Verso can get for getting to know the quad,
small pretty quick. The lights and the midrange is enough for
arent bright enough for flying the typical flyer. But if youre
in the dark, although that didnt hot on the sticks, then the full
keep me from trying. It just rate will let you make this quad
wasnt much fun. dance. Its quick, responsive,
and just plain fun.
FINAL THOUGHTS
A good time in a small,
inexpensive package. With the
growing interest in flying 3D and
doing tricks that used to be the
province of fixed-wing aircraft
and top-notch copter jockeys,
Verso puts the ability to do
some simple flips and rolls in
everyones hands. Which, when
you think about it, is a lot of
what quads are about allow- HIGHLIGHTS
ing anyone to fly.
Flight times varied between 360-degree flips and rolls
five and 10 minutes, depend-
ing on how many flips I did. Its 2.4GHz SLT controller
tough waiting for the battery to
charge, so Id recommend get- Three control rates
ting another one or two to keep
you in the air. Tough airframe and
The Verso control rates mat- extra props
ter. The lowest setting is perfect
March/April 2016 37
TACTIC FPV-RM1
MIKE INTSCHERT
T
hese days, there are so
many FPV monitors to
choose from that its
mind-boggling. From
simple display-only models to
fully integrated systems like
the small, lightweight FPV-RM1
from Tactic, users can choose
what suits their needs (and their
wallets) best.
First Person View (FPV)
flying and racing has recently
seen quite an uptick within the
world of drones. Some pilots
opt to wear goggles for a truly
immersive experience, while
others prefer the view from
above displayed on external
38 Drone360mag.com
monitors. Personally, I like the
ability to break off from FPV to
look at the aircraft if needed,
and monitors such as this Tac-
tic model let me do that with
ease.
BEFORE FLYING
The FPV-RM1 boasts a
seven-inch 1024x600 LCD with
integrated diversity 5.8GHz
receivers. It also features an
1800mAh LiPo battery and
built-in LiPo battery charger,
plus multiple inputs and outputs
as well as a sunshield that locks
into place one of my favorite
features of the unit because it
By Mike Intschert
snaps securely in place instead
of using hook-and-loop at-
tachments. The sides of the
sunshield fold down forming a
protective layer on top of the
screen.
Also included in this review
is the FPV-T6 video transmitter.
This 5.8GHz, 600-megawatt
unit is small but mighty: At this
power output level in the U.S.,
an amateur or ham radio license
is required before operation.
(Its not as hard as it sounds.
Go to www.fcc.gov and look
under Licensing & Databases
for details). The transmitter
itself has a nice small form

HIGHLIGHTS
Good display
Locking sunshield
Built-in battery charger
Auto-scan lock onto
strongest signal
factor and includes the harness
already prepped for using a Go-
Pro as your FPV camera. Tactic
includes a heat sink with the
unit, which youll have to install.
The process is pretty simple,
but does require you to get heat-
sink thermal adhesive from an
electronics or hobby shop before
installation. It would be nice if
they included this adhesive in
the package instead of having
to source it separately. Youll
also have to remove a portion
of the heat shrink around the
video transmitters circuit board
in order to properly secure the
heatsink to the transmitter. This
is pretty simple with a sharp
Tactic FPV-RM1
5.8GHz Video Receiver/
Monitor
hobby knife. Just use caution
so you dont damage the circuit
board in the process.
Frequency and band setting
on the video transmitter is
pretty easy with the use of five
dip switches and a handy fre-
quency chart included with the
transmitter. On the monitor, sim-
ply set the band and frequency
by using the up and down ar-
rows on the control panel, or use
the auto-scan function where
the monitor cycles through all
available channels and locks
onto the strongest signal.
INTO THE BLUE
Due to unusually rainy weath-
er here in Arizona, I elected
to fly the system inside my
warehouse. This did not allow
me to test the range of the sys-
tem which, at 600mW transmit
power would be considerable. I
did, however, have a very stable
environment to play with the
settings of the monitor.
The picture is clear for an
analog transmitter and receiver
system. The color on the image
was adequate, but I ended up
FPV-T6 600 megawatt
Video Transmitter
playing with the brightness,
contrast and color settings in or-
der to get a more realistic color
picture it still tended to be a
little green. The menu functions
are pretty easy to navigate via
the push button controls along
the bottom of the screen, but I
would highly recommend setting
up your monitor settings before
you fly to minimize distractions.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Tactic FPV-RM1 monitor
and FPV-T6 transmitter combi-
SYSTEM SPECS
Tactic FPV-RM1 5.8GHz
Video Receiver/Monitor
Available: Tower Hobbies
(www.towerhobbies.com)
Monitor: 7-inch 1024x600
LCD HD
Receivers: Integrated twin
5.8GHz
Controls: 8 push-button
controls, manual and auto-
scan frequency selection
Battery: 1800mAh LiPo
battery w/ built-in charger
Sun Shield: Snap-on, fold-
able
Dimensions: 7.2 x 5 x 1 in.
Weight: 17 oz.
Price: $230
FPV-T6 600mW Video
Transmitter
Available: Tower Hobbies
(www.towerhobbies.com)
Transmitter: 5.8GHz,
600mW
Channels: 32
Range: 1,500m max.
Includes: heat sink
(installation and thermal
adhesive required)
Dimensions: 1.4 x 0.9
x 0.3 in.
Weight (w/ case): 0.34 oz.
Price: $60
nation is a good value. It may
seem like a pricey option for
somebody wanting to get into
FPV, but the quality Ive seen
with the Tactic series should
make you consider spending
the extra coin to get a quality
product.
March/April 2016 39
YUNEEC TYPHOON ACTIONCAM
TIM KIDWELL
een looking for ground-
based video capabilities
to complement your aer-
ial footage? If you have,
your quest is now ended. Meet
the Yuneec Typhoon ActionCam.
This sweet rig combines the
CGO SteadyGrip ground handle
and the CGO3 3-axis gimbal
camera thats right, the very
same camera slung under the
Typhoon Q500 4K. The CGO3
has a built-in 5.8GHz Wi-Fi
link to deliver streaming video
to iOS and Android tablets and
smartphones, as well as Yuneec
ground stations.
You also get a sturdy carrying
case, a charger, and a LiPo
HIGHLIGHTS
True 4K video
3-axis gimbal camera
Comfortable pistol grip
Compact and tough
carrying case
40 Drone360mag.com
battery to power the whole
thing. A nice cleaning cloth and
16GB micro SD memory card
round out the package.
BEHIND THE CAMERA
Setting up the ActionCam
was no trouble at all. It comes
out of the case fully assembled;
all I had to do was plug the
camera into the handle and
charge the battery. The final
bit of prep involved download-
ing the CGO3 app from the App
Store, and giving the Action-
Cam about 30 seconds for the
camera and gimbal to initialize
and establish the Wi-Fi hotspot.
Joining the network took up to a
minute, so be patient. Record-
ing video and taking photos are
all handled through the app, so
take some time to get familiar
with it and the options it offers,
including: 120fps slow motion
at 1080p, a plethora of choices
for lighting, resolution and lots
of photo options for ISO and
shutter speeds.
On the pistol grip, I found
a button marked MODE and
a textured wheel. The button
By Tim Kidwell
switches between Pitch Follow
Mode and Angle Mode. In Pitch
Mode, the ActionCam behaves you have a lot happening. We
much like a normal camera, took it go-cart racing, and it
with the lens pointing directly made catching video of racers
forward. Of course, the gimbal blasting past a ton of fun, while
all but eliminates camera shake, the slow motion option opened
making for beautiful, steady up a world of options.
shots. In Angle Mode,
the green LED next to
the button is off, and
the wheel controls
the angle of the
camera, from
shooting directly
ahead to straight
down. However, the
gimbal maintains the
angle of the camera,
allowing me to more
easily focus on one
spot despite the pitch
of the grip.
OUT IN THE WORLD
I love shooting
footage with the
ActionCam. While the
sound isnt the highest
quality and it doesnt
take a mic, it works
well for footage where
See the Typhoon ActionCam in action (of course) at Drone360mag.com

The video feed on my iPhone which allows you to swap the

had a bit of a fisheye bulge,
but it didnt show on the video
imported to the computer. The
clarity is astounding. Feel free
to edit with the software youre
most comfortable with I use
Adobe Premiere Pro.
FINAL THOUGHTS
You can get the CGO
SteadyGrip with the Typhoon,
CGO3 camera for aerial and
ground filming. However, if you
already have a drone, but are
looking for a versatile handheld
complement, the ActionCam
more than fits the bill. Ive taken
to bringing it along just about
everywhere I go. It packs nicely
in the case, captures way better
video than any smartphone, and
doesnt take long to set up.

SYSTEM SPECS
Yuneec ActionCam

Availability: Yuneec
(www.yuneec.com)

Camera: CGO3 4K 3-axis

gimbal camera

Wi-Fi range: Up to 1640 ft.

Runtime: 90 minutes

Weight: 1.5 pounds

Price: $549.99
Check out the nearly 120-degree range of motion that the CGO3 has.

March/April 2016 41
Drone accidents: They definitely
happen, but regulatory uncertainty
and lack of accident data have
made insurance companies slow
to provide coverage.
WALTER SCRIPTUNAS II

CYD
(cover your drone)
 Insurance companies scramble to keep up
with the lightning-fast proliferation of new drone
technologies and the innovative uses theyre fueling.
So how are they doing and what should you know?
STUFF HAPPENS.
 By Mike Dries
-
-
 -
  THE

  INSURANCE
 - COMPANIES
-  STANCE





- 
 ESTABLISHED

ILLUSTRATIONS ISTOCK.COM/KITTISAK_TARAMAS

 
 
 

ESTABLISHED
 

-

-  
-

 WAIT AND SEE





 WHATS THE USE?
 -




-

 
-



LOTS OF DRONES, TOO LITTLE DATA 
 
 
 -



March/April 2016 43
Even if insured, your drone likely
wont be covered if you violate
federal or local regulations like
flying over a crowd.
ISTOCK.COM/BLUIZ60

 



-
-


 aircraft
-








- 

 

44 Drone360mag.com
 What damage to a person, property, or both could a
50-pound drone, flying at 50 mph 400 feet above
the ground, cause if it were to crash?
drone operators. Invasion of privacy might include, and regulations doesnt necessarily mean that a
for example, using a drone to take unauthorized company underwriting drone insurance will approve
pictures of people or property. According to Shrimpf every application it receives.
and Klingaman, Coverage should be available if the Applications for UAS hull and liability insurance
[homeowners] policy includes liability for personal coverage ask a broad array of questions including
the year, make, and model of the system, its means
arrest, detention, malicious prosecution, libel, slan- of propulsion (e.g., single engine, multi-engine, bat-
der, and invasion of privacy. To be clear, personal
injury doesnt equal bodily injury. of backup power supply it has, and many more. The COMMERCIAL
It also is important to understand that insurance answers to these questions are used by insurance VS.
policies, including homeowners policies, typically companies to estimate the likelihood of loss. HOBBY
exclude coverage for acts or operations that violate We have to assess how risky the endeavor is Coverage
laws or regulations. So its critically important to itself, says Chris Proudlove, senior vice presi- most likely
understand what laws and regulations apply, and dent and Northeast regional manager for Global required ...
to understand that while federal laws cover all 50 
states, many of those states and indeed, some close proximity to power lines? Our greatest concern IF YOU MAKE MONEY
WITH YOUR UAS:
municipalities have enacted their own laws and is the use of drones in places with large congrega-

regulations governing drones and their use.
DRONE-ING FOR DOLLARS
Schrimpf and Klingaman point out that the
line between hobby and commercial drone uses
may not always be crystal clear, but insureds who
receive compensation for their UAS use will prob-
ably jeopardize their homeowners coverage. In
that case, commercial liability insurance coverage
would be required to address that individuals drone
liability exposure.
An example of the haziness between the meaning
of the terms recreational and commercial is illus-
trated by the use of drones in agriculture, which has
far outpaced all other uses of drones. According to
NAMICs paper, the FAA will permit using a UAS to
near term, pursuant to its mandate under the FAA
when they are grown for personal enjoyment, but
would not allow a farmer to use a UAS to determine
if crops grown as part of a commercial farming
operation need water.
And just because the FAA would allow it, doesnt
mean that its automatically legal. Those planning
regulatory environment emerge.
Section 333 exemption from the FAA. Exemptions
 for recreation or commerce, are well advised to
insurance underwriter Global Aerospace points out
in its report, Contracting With and Between UAS
Operators, if an operator is approved for use
of a DJI S1000 and turns up with a 3DR X8 in the
is no, ask the agent if they can obtain that coverage
exemption]. And if that same operator were cleared
for real-estate photos, they wouldnt be allowed to
scan crops for disease. Operational parameters, such
at 50 mph 400 feet above the ground, cause if it were
population centers, are often included, too.
Whats more, assuming a potential insureds
operations are in compliance with applicable laws
ILLUSTRATION ISTOCK.COM/MOTO-RAMA
tions of people, such as outdoor concerts and athletic UAS hull and liability
events, where the consequences of an accident would insurance. Dont
likely be most serious. assume commercial
One further note: Commercial drone operators liability insurance will
protect you in the case
shouldnt assume that they are protected by standard of an accident.
commercial general liability insurance, which often
contains aviation exclusions. IF YOU FLY FOR FUN:
Homeowners
LOOK BEFORE YOU FLY insurance might cover
It will take time for laws and regulations gov- you, but make sure
erning UAS and their potential uses to become as to ask.
uses. Right now, were still in the discovery stage,
with new technologies and new ideas about how
The FAA is expected to enact new regulations in the
Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. At this time,
however, unanswered questions remain.
Clarity, in turn, will help the evolving UAS insur-
ance market pick up the pace. More companies will
enter that market and those who are already provid-
ing coverage will adapt to whatever changes in the
In the meantime, anyone using drones, whether
questions, starting with whether the insurance you
already have covers the drone or drones you own
and how you use them. If the answer to that question
for you. If that question is also no, shop around.
Think of it this way: What damage to a person,

for that damage out of your own pocket or would
want to if you could?

March/April 2016 45
 By Dan Gettinger and Arthur Holland Michel,
cofounders of the Center for the Study of the Drone

46 Drone360mag.com
When drones
and manned aircraft
compete for airspace,
no one wins

B
y the time it was contained in early
July 2015, the Lake Fire had burned
for 10 days straight, destroying
over 31,000 acres of Californias
San Bernardino National Forest. As in

helicopters used to drop retardant over



aircraft as they prepared to make a pass



of the planes, forcing the pilots to make

a hard right to avoid contact. All aerial
operations were grounded for two and a
half hours.
The Lake Fire wasnt the only time that

In testimony before the House Transpor-


Oct. 7, James Hubbard, the deputy chief
of the U.S. Forest Service, said that there
were 21 drone incursions into the airspace

two incidents the previous year.

As commercial drones have become

everyday consumer, they have also been

with greater frequency. On June 27, as the

Lake Fire was raging in California, a pilot

in New Jersey reported coming within 50
feet of a drone near Teterboro Airport. In
that month alone, there were over 130 in-
cidents involving drones in the National
Airspace System.
In a press release on Aug. 12, 2015,
the Federal Aviation Administration

Continue on page 50 March/April 2016 47

Drones interferred with firefighting
efforts in Southern California last
summer, causing damaging and
costly delays.
KENNETH SONG/THE NEWS-PRESS/AP;
LEAD SPREAD IMAGINECHINA/AP

March/April 2016 49
The Solo drone from 3DR is installed with the AirMap app to indicate to operators if the drone is being operated within restricted airspace.
3D ROBOTICS
Continued from page 47
announced that there had been over 650
close calls so far that year, a massive in-
crease over the 238 incidents in all of 2014.
In a bid to help the public, stakehold-


solutions to address it, the Center for the
Study of the Drone published an in-depth
analysis of over 900 potentially dangerous
incidents involving manned aircraft and

driven light on an issue that has taken

hopes that we might facilitate solutions
that work.

BY THE NUMBERS
With millions of drones in U.S. skies,
most never come into close proximity to
a manned aircraft. In fact, since 1981, the

making sure that model aircraft hobbyists
dont interfere with manned aircraft and,
in recent years, it has applied those guide-
lines to drone users. What we found is
that incidents tend to only happen when
users break the rules.
Judging from the data, the FAAs
Because manned aircraft fly at low altitudes, sometimes for several miles, while on final guidelines for drone users are far from ar-
approach and during takeoff, the FAA prohibits the use of unmanned aircraft within five miles bitrary. One such guideline calls for drone
of any airport in the U.S. without permission from air traffic control. operators to always maintain a distance of
DREAMSTIME.COM

50 Drone360mag.com
We found that about 60 percent of inci

of this rule. The FAA also asks that drone



feet. And the average altitude of incidents

higher than the FAAs drone ceiling.


incidents that did not involve a drone

miles of an airport. The average altitude

airport.
Prior to the meteoric rise in popularity
of consumer multirotor models and com
mercial drones, most of the unmanned

dedicated community of model aviation

The prices for drones and drone tech has dropped substantially in the last couple of years,
 boosting the number of consumer UAS flying in the NAS to unprecedented levels.
 DREAMSTIME.COM

reason they make up the majority of small unlikely. Sightings are more common
has shielded the hobbyists from overarch drones being used in the U.S. today. And than close encounters. With hundreds of
ing federal regulation. to be sure, multirotors are much more thousands of drones entering the airspace

the size and cost of components like models in fact, three times more com
gyroscopes, autopilot systems, and cam mon. A small number of troublemaking 
eras dropped, advanced model aircraft
helicopter models.
presented some risk of a collision.
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS While the FAA has not yet published a
to buy or build and easier and more OF THE DRONE KIND
 
enthusiasts could gain access to the sky
drones do indeed pose a threat to manned other manned aircraft, the FAA calls such
aviation some claim that the threat is 
ist in the past. And unlike members of the 
hobby community, they can get airborne contend that the problem is overstated
and overhyped. Richard Hanson, the 
sky. director of government and regulatory
 dents involving drones. About 75 percent
tics, has criticized the FAA and the media
 
have been involved in these incidents. ing and mischaracterizing the data makes cases, the drone and the aircraft came
Often pilots reporting drones in their it impossible to assess the magnitude of
the situation and appropriately address The other quarter of close encounter
 the risks involved, Hanson argued in
last only a couple of seconds or less, and

 pilot used language that indicated that
ously vague results there are reports  the encounter had been a close one by
Oct. 7, 2015. using phrases such as came really close.
ers, and trash cans but in hundreds of To try and lay to rest some of these 

enough for us to determine the type of  yourself and the drone that you are trying
 to avoid can be challenging, and yet if
For recreational drone users, multiro a heightened possibility of a collision, a pilot believes that a drone is too close
tors are a more appealing option since 

mere sighting.

March/April 2016 51
According to tests by the Virginia Tech CRASH Lab, a jet engine that ingests a drone could suf-
fer from operational stability issues, at minimum, to catastrophic failure, at worst.
ISTOCK.COM/MSTROZ; INSET/VIRGINIA TECH CRASH LAB
CRASHING THE PARTY
The controversy and disagreements
around the true gravity of the situation
extend to one very important question
that the data we extracted from these
close call reports cannot answer: What
would happen if, instead of a mere close
encounter, one of these drones were
actually to hit an airplane? For decades,
aviation authorities have required that
aircraft manufacturers test their wares
against bird strikes YouTube is full of
strange videos of frozen chickens being
hurled into turbofan engines but since
large-scale drone use is a very new phe-
nomenon, there have been no equivalent
live tests using drones.
There is some talk of the FAA prepar-
ing drone-strike test requirements for air-
craft engine makers sometime in the near
future, but until that happens, the best we
can do is guess. The most sophisticated
guesswork to date has been developed by
a team at Virginia Techs Crashworthiness
for Aerospace Structures and Hybrids
Laboratory (yes, CRASH for short). Using
advanced computer simulations, they
have been able to generate hypothetical
scenarios ranging from drone impacts on
engine long enough to make an emer-
engines.

spell dreadful news for the UAS commu-
Lab teams tests indicate that if even
a small drone weighing three to nine
incident to bring about a severe regula-
deck or fuselage, it could damage critical
structural components. This seems
52 Drone360mag.com
plausible, as birds in this same weight
range have been known to actually
tear holes in airplane wings and break
through cockpit windows.
If the CRASH Labs work is anything
turbofan engine would be messy, too.
In their simulations, when a three-foot
diameter drone met a nine-foot diameter
turbofan engine, three engine blades were
destroyed within a couple of miliseconds
of impact. The chewed-up drone and
the bits of engine blade then proceeded
into the interior of the engine, where the The great worry is what will happen to the
debris began to spin at 700 mph, exerting UAS industry if a small drone accidentally
crashes into one of these.
leading to total engine failure. ISTOCK.COM/SENOHRABEK
Jet planes with turbofan engines, 90 of
which were commercial passenger planes, There are probably several reasons
were involved in about 40 percent of the why these incidents are happening at a
close encounter scenarios. Propeller-driv- growing rate: inexperienced drone users
en aircraft, most of which were single- who dont know the rules, lost links and
props, accounted for about half, and the other malfunctions that send drones be-
rest involved helicopters (which could be yond their owners control, and perhaps
most at risk in a drone strike, given that a small number of daredevils who know
they only have one rotor). the rules and break them anyway. And so
Even though in most cases a jet plane there probably isnt a single, silver-bullet
that ingested a drone into an engine could solution the FAA can use to solve the
problem.
Enforcement is one option, but the
gency landing, its a scenario that would airspace is large and the FAAs ability to

 education on the part of the government
agency told us, it will only take one such and the drone industry could help inex-
tory whiplash that could really hurt the
industry as well as hobby operators.
 In December, the FAA started requir-
ing all drone users to register any aircraft
that weighed more than half a pound in
the hopes that it would induce greater
accountability among recreational
users. But there has been pushback from
the hobby community, and it is unclear
whether registration would have been
much use in the incidents we studied,
given that law enforcement agencies were
often unable to locate the drones that
pilots reported.
In addition to possible policy rem-
edies, a number of technological solutions
that could help integrate drones into the
airspace are currently being explored.
Geofencing systems such as DJIs
Geospatial Environment Online sys-
tem, which bars the companys drones
from entering restricted airspaces, could
enforce the rules for those who arent
sure of how to abide by them, as well
the technology is advancing in leaps and
themselves in the way of manned air-
 
management system that will track the
The takeaway from all this is that it is
-
aircraft, but the program only just began,
and is scheduled to remain in testing until
at least 2019.
On 28 occasions in 2014 and 2015,
pilots of manned aircraft had to take eva-
sive action to avoid a collision. In other
instances, pilots who came close to drones
said that they didnt have enough time to
react and change their course. Sense-and-
avoid technology can help prevent drones
from bumping into other aircraft by en-
abling them to detect an impending colli-
sion and make an autonomous judgment
of how to respond. There are still no com-
pact sense-and-avoid systems that would
be capable of helping a small quadcopter
dodge a jetliner travelling at 300 mph, but
access the sky.
bounds. Eventually, such systems will be
too, will take some time.
of drones operating alongside manned
and the level of incidents that we are
currently seeing is simply a symptom of
those safeguards lagging behind the un-
manned aircraft technology. It is unlikely
that a single solution exists that smoothly
integrates drones into the airspace and,
even if there were, none of these poten-
-
mented overnight. Instead, ahead of the

drone regulations in June 2016, regula-
tors are likely to aim for a combination
of approaches that respects the right of
both drone users and manned aviators to
March/April 2016 53
cover story

Airmen prepare an MQ-9 Reaper to fly from

Creech Air Force Base in Nevada during air-to-
ground weapons evaluation exercises in 2014.
U.S. AIR FORCE

54 Drone360mag.com
Americas hunter-killer drone
program is plagued by human
error and a shortage of pilots.
Thats pushing the military toward
swarms of UAVs that can make
more decisions for themselves

By Eric Betz
 An MQ-1B Predator (left) prepares for takeoff
Early on the morning of Oct. 3, 2009, U.S. mountain, turning the multimillion-dollar behind an MQ-9 Reaper at Creech Air Force
Army soldiers based at Combat Outpost  Base in Nevada. The aircraft are operated
Keating in Afghanistan woke to intense by the 432nd Wing, which trains UAV crew
- distracted and failed to control his aircraft. members and runs worldwide combat and
tants. The outpost sat in a small, rocky  surveillance operations.
CHRISTIAN CLAUSEN/U.S. AIR FORCE
surrounded by mountains. Insurgents
Department of Defense will spend almost
sides. Severely outgunned, the troops OUT OF THE LOOP $40 billion more by 2020 to add an addi-
were forced to surrender the base section
by section, as they gathered the wounded,
consolidated their forces, and called over
 in its war on terror. The once-overlooked
throughout the day, with 19 aircraft even-
tually providing support through intense
 wars are waged. The Pentagon had a
Force pilots 7,500 miles away at the March
Air Reserve Base in California provided
more than 6,000 military drones in opera-
an unmanned Predator drone cruising
high above the fray.
 naissance aircraft with hand-held controls
ended, a second pilot sat down and took
the controls. Within 13 minutes, he had
slammed the drone into a nearby
56 Drone360mag.com
 tional 730 medium- and large-sized UAVs
the Predator drone in combat, UAVs have to its arsenal.

growing pains. Drones like the Predator
- came into favor because of their long
ing a complete rethink of how modern
as their ability to strike in places American
mere 50 UAVs in the year 2000. Current 
estimates indicate that America now has robotic planes crash far more often than
manned aircraft. Crash rates vary by
tion around the world. aircraft and complete studies are hard to
Most of those are short-range recon- come by, but even the most conservative

and a wingspan that looks more like a crash three times more often than the rest
model airplane. But the Congressional Washington Post
 investigation in 2014 showed that more

decisions will be made by machines.
Cadets with only a few months training
will watch over entire robotic squadrons.
And, if the machine loses contact with its
BREEANN SACH/U.S. AIR FORCE
Student teams from the 6th Reconnaissance
Squadron at Holloman Air Force Base in New
Mexico are trained in UAV combat and support
tactics during an MQ-1 Predator super sortie
simulator mission.

HUMBLE ORIGINS The Predator and its big brother, the

- reconnaissance roles into the hunter-
than 400 large military UAVs have crashed
since 2001. Aside from mechanical prob-
lems, boredom, distractions, and other
Like many disruptive technological Reaper, quickly found a home in the skies
advances, the current drone revolution 
traces its origins to a California garage. that military drones evolved from their

land in 1980 after meeting resistance to killers that made them both notorious and
indispensable.


human errors are often to blame.

 
The military has also quickly learned his Hacienda Heights home and set to militants in Afghanistan, and inciner-
that the term unmanned is a misnomer; work building his dream machine. The ate a terrorist training center in Somalia
most drones actually require more than Albatross was no ones idea of a war-
one human to operate them. The U.S. Air  Predators have also proven their worth
Force now trains more drone operators wingspan were built simply to soar its in combat situations, where they can tell
go-cart engine could keep the craft aloft infantry what waits around the corner, on
Yet the Pentagon is several hundred for days at a time. the roof, or behind a wall.
operators short of the number it needs to By 1984, the modest machine had These UAVs werent the only robotic
 caught the eye of the Defense Advanced 
operations around the globe. Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Afghanistan either. The Department of
 which saw the value of such a constant Defense also poured cash into the Global
 Hawk, Hunter, Shadow, Gray Eagle,
should take more control of themselves. government research group soon helped 
Drones have already proven that they can drones can now be launched from a back-
Albatross became Amber, which eventu- pack or the deck of an aircraft carrier.
ally led to General Atomics Predator. And
a target all without the need for human  THE PREDATOR PROBLEM
supervision. So why not take humans out in 1995 during the Balkan wars, it wasnt 
of the loop entirely? until after the September 11 terrorist
Welcome to the Terminator-esque, not-  but only two and a half more years to
so-distant future of drones, where how much it needed drones. hit the second million. And with them

March/April 2016 57
The RQ-8A Fire Scout can take off and land
autonomously. The unmanned helicopter 
provides surveillance, reconnaissance, and  
battle management, and can track and 
designate targets.  
DANIEL J. MCLAIN/U.S. NAVY 

 

  

 The Washington Post
  


  



 

 




 

  
 

 
 


 
  The Washington Post
  
  
 

58 Drone360mag.com
A Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk awaits a nighttime mission. The surveillance aircraft can hit altitudes up to 65,000 feet, stay aloft for
more than a day, and has a range of more than 13,000 miles.
JOHN SCHWAB/U.S. NAVY

A small patch of sand, and the

future of American airfields
Red Sea
Chabelley An impromptu airstrip
Eritrea Yemen outside Djibouti City is
Airport
now home to Americas
(detail)
Gulf of main drone operations
Aden site in the Horn of
Djibouti City Africa. The military
Chabelley moved from nearby
Djibouti Airport, see
Map
Camp Lemonnier
area
detail below
after five Predators
Somalia Africa crashed in the densely
0 Scale 50 miles populated area. These
Ethiopia 2016 Kalmbach Publishing Co., DRONE360: Rick Johnson small and secretive
lily pad bases are
increasingly common
Djibouti N as the U.S. stretches
Gulf of GOOGLE
out to take on ISIS.
Tadjoura

Chabelley Airport
Djibouti
City

Chabelley Airport 0 Scale 3 miles 0 Scale 12 mile See detail, above

2016 Kalmbach Publishing Co., 2016 Kalmbach Publishing Co., DRONE360: Rick Johnson
See detail, right DRONE360: Rick Johnson

March/April 2016 59
 MEET THE FLEET

RQ-4 GLOBAL HAWK

MQ-5 HUNTER
MQ-1 PREDATOR

RQ-7 SHADOW

SCALE

1 10 20 30
FEET MQ-9 REAPER

MQ-1C GRAY EAGLE MQ-8 FIRE SCOUT

60 Drone360mag.com
 Northrop Grummans X-47B proved it could
safely taxi around sailors in tests on the USS
Harry S. Truman (above) and USS George H.W.
Bush (left). In 2013, it became the first UAV
to catapult launch from an aircraft carrier.
NORTHROP GRUMMAN










  
 

 

  





ROBOTS TO THE RESCUE 
 -

 

March/April 2016 61
Marine Unmanned Aerial Squadron 2 launches
one of the squadrons RQ-7B Shadows at ment systems. And F-16s have ground 
Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C. collision avoidance software that will take million into contracting instructors and
S.T. STEWART/U.S. MARINE CORPS control of the plane and make corrections purchasing the simulators and ground
before handing operations back to the control stations those operators will need.
The Global Hawk crash rates are also human pilot. Theres also a push for pilot- 
lower, thanks to its highly automated optional aircraft. By the year 2035, the RPA pilots will always be in demand,
system. The aircraft sits somewhere in Pentagon predicts its arsenal will include Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee
the middle on the spectrum between the some 5,000 such planes that can either be James said in a statement announcing the
 piloted, or pilot themselves. bonus program for drone pilots in July
landing the most dangerous part of any  2015. Remarkable airmen have ensured
- shouldnt. Automation is common in civil- the success of the [Predator and Reaper]
tions are determined as the mission is ian aviation. The Airbus A320 can already programs. We now face a situation where
being planned, and it is the aircraft itself  if we dont direct additional resources
that sets and adjusts speed, altitude, roll, been running many of its airplanes with appropriately, it creates unacceptable risk.
  We are working hard to put solutions in
and joystick like those commonly used for new study by the Humans and Autonomy place to bring needed relief to our airmen
Predator operators, Global Hawk opera- Lab shows pilots of those planes only and ensure our actions show their value to
tors sit in a desk chair and use a keyboard our mission.
and mouse to control the drone. their hands on the cockpit controls. Boeing 
 777 pilots report that theyre in control for single UAVs. The Air Forces former chief
that the Pentagon says it will retire its U-2 scientist, Mica Endsley, envisions new
spyplane and replace it with the Global forms of warfare enabled by swarms of
Hawk if Congress will allow it. DARPA DRONE PILOTS (STILL) WANTED 
and NASA even successfully partnered on The Air Force says it needs to train together in formation, theyll share infor-
300 remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) pilots
Global Hawks could accomplish high- a year to keep up with the pace of addi- or defense missions.
altitude refueling on their own. tional aircraft and patrols. Theyre cur- Other military minds see similar uses.
And yet, even the Global Hawk doesnt rently training just under 200 each year. 
rise to the level of autonomy the military Fuller automation for drones in the carried out test missions on its Low-Cost
wants. On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is future should lower the number of pilots UAV Swarm Technology (LOCUST) in
fully autonomous and 1 is completely 2015 using swarms of small, rocket-tube
guided by remote control, the Global strain. But humans wont be completely launched Raytheon Coyote UAVs. The
Hawk the most autonomous large UAV obsolete, and automation isnt the only agency plans to test launch a massive
in service only ranks at 2.5, according answer: Beginning in 2016, the U.S. is UAV swarm made up of 30 aircraft from
to the Air Force. paying $15,000 annual bonuses to UAV a ship in 2016.
Drones arent the only focus of auton- A team of students from the Advanced
 nine years. That sum stacks up to $135,000 Robotic Systems Engineering Laboratory
8 million lines of code and automation is for drone pilots willing to stick it out long (ARSENL) beat that number in August,
baked into its missile and threat manage- term, with half of that bonus available up 

62 Drone360mag.com
the control of just one person. The drones
relied on computer algorithms and power-
ful Wi-Fi to communicate with each other.
ARSENLs next step in swarm testing is a
dollars each, have killed thousands of American soldiers in Afghanistan, and dismembered tens of
 thousands more. The U.S. has spent hundreds of billions of dollars in response. Much of that money
to small UAVs. DARPA recently called
for help developing the technology to
allow existing unmanned aircraft to work
collaboratively through its Collaborative
Operations in Denied Environment
(CODE) program. Just as wolves hunt in
coordinated packs with minimal com-
munication, multiple CODE-enabled
unmanned aircraft would collaborate to
but it can still reach speeds typical for a small civilian aircraft. ARES could carry thousands of pounds
all under the command of a single human
mission supervisor, said DARPAs Jean-
Charles Led in a statement.
In the fall of 2015, the Armys
Autonomous Unmanned Systems
Teaming and Collaboration in GPS
Denied Environments program (AUSTC)
announced it would work to fund and
mature technologies that would bring
about revolutionary levels of drone
autonomy. Still, Endsley and others stress
the need to keep humans in the loop
to counteract mistakes made by future
autonomous systems.
GETTING TROOPS OUT OF HARMS WAY
OVER THE PAST DECADE, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), built for just a few hundred
went to heavily armored vehicles and the new generation of Light Combat Tactical All-Terrain
Vehicles, which will eventually replace the Humvee. But what if you could avoid IEDs entirely?
That was DARPAs intention when it kicked off the Transformer program in 2009. Instead
of driving over the most dangerous terrain, this new generation of off-road military ground vehicle
would use electric-powered rotors to take to the air when things got rough. After a tepid response to
the flying car, DARPA took the concept a step further. The current Transformer, known as the Aerial
Reconfigurable Embedded System, or ARES, removes the pilot and crew, as well as the wheels.
ARES, a partnership between Lockheed Martins Skunk Works and Piasecki Aircraft, uses twin
tilting ducted fans that allow for vertical takeoff and landing. So it doesnt need much of an airstrip,
of cargo from home base out to field sites, ferrying everything from combat troops to supply pods and
medical equipment.
Lockheed is no stranger to unmanned helicopters either. In 2011, the companys K-MAX aircraft
began carrying supplies as part of a test mission in Afghanistan. That test mission was continued
indefinitely, and K-MAX has transported millions of pounds of cargo. And Lockheed is now pushing
its use in fighting wildfires, delivering humanitarian aid, exploring oil and gas resources, and even
construction.
ARES, now in its third phase, has that potential as well. It too can fly autonomously or under
remote control. But ARES brings the added practicality of safer enclosed rotors and interchangeable
cargo pods. The U.S. Marine Corps is taking the lead on developing prototype requirements, but
other operators are interested as well. The prototype begins three months of test flights this summer.

SOLDIERS THAT DONT SLEEP

Not everyone is excited about the
future of autonomy: These thinking robots
have sparked debate about whether
robots should be able to kill without
consulting a human. Human Rights Watch
lawyers have pushed the United Nations
to ban the practice before it even gets
started. The group says action is needed
now because killer robots, fully autono-
mous weapons capable of selecting and
shooting humans on their own, are only a
few decades away.
In response, the Department of Defense
issued a directive requiring that humans

yet, the Air Force chief scientist raises
questions about certain limited cases
where drones might be able to take over LOCKHEED MARTIN
when theres not enough time for humans
to act or loss of life is imminent. to restrict them to such situations, the more on robotics in the future but still
Thats not enough for some opponents. group says. expects operators will have a strong role.
Human Rights Watch lawyers say there By 2035, the Army expects to have Most or all Air Force operations
simply couldnt be accountability for advanced autonomous drones that can conducted in the foreseeable future will
autonomously operating killer robots, so steer clear of hazards, making them safe require a combination of both humans
they should never be developed in the to integrate into Americas airspace. The and autonomy to get the job done in the
 face of a broad range of operational condi-
Some proponents of fully autono- working on an Autonomous Collision tions and a determined adversary, says
mous weapons argue that the use of the Avoidance System to allow drones to 
weapons would be acceptable in limited operate over U.S. airspace, keeping them Chief Scientist.
circumstances, but once they are devel- miles away from potential collisions. The The military plans to keep the
Air Force also plans to rely more and machines in check for now.

March/April 2016 63
64 Drone360mag.com
 Bringing order
UAS rulemaking aint for cowards
Another journalist recently asked us
why hobbyists have to register UAS, but
gun owners dont have a similar federal
registration requirement for guns. Both
pose safety risks if used incorrectly, this
took many hours of practice and often
designed for one thing killing. So why
register the drones and not the guns?
There are a number of problems with
the analogy, not the least of which is that
FAA felt compelled to draft voluntary
a right in the U.S. Constitution. However,
it casts a hard light on the frustration that
 - everyday people to do what once was
to regulate the National Airspace System
in an increasingly crowded sky.
The model aviation community, as
represented by the Academy of Model
Aeronautics (AMA), has existed since
1936, two decades before the founding of
the Federal Aviation Administration. By
and large, the community self-regulated,
operating without much oversight from
REGIS
TERED
REGIS
TERE
D REGIS
to the
By Tim Kidwell and Carl Engelking Illustrations by Kellie Jaeger
the federal government. The barriers of powerful brushless electric motors and
to enter the hobby were steep: kits and
engines could prove quite costly, model engine maintenance into a choice, not a
aircraft needed a sizeable time investment 
-
ters without damaging the aircraft was
involved crashing an expensive model still a substantial hurdle, though.
that had taken weeks to complete. And it disappeared with multirotor
Although the rigors of the hobby helicopters.
US AND THEM AND THEM
guidelines for model aircraft enthusiasts. The popularity of multirotor UAS
Advisory Circular 91-57 introduced such shouldnt come as a surprise. Drones allow

within three miles of an airport. the drop in costs for gyroscopes, gimbals,
In the more than three decades since and cameras coupled with advances in
Advisory Circular 91-57, model aviation 
and aviation in general has changed
more than the previous half century. easy. Drones can be found in mass-market
 stores like Best Buy and Wal-Mart, not to
far more reliable and cheaper to manufac- mention all over the Internet. Whats more,
ture. So have the aircraft themselves. The
burden of building a model airplane or
helicopter has become all but nonexistent

RED
R E GISTE
D
TERE
R EGIS
REGISTERED
D
TERE REGIS
TERE
D
REGISTERED
March/April 2016 65
 


from creating new rules for hobbyists so
-
lines of a community-based organiza-


-
tion with an organization, as a violation of


its fair to say that not all hobbyists are



approach for enthusiasts: sign up with a
FAA Administrator Michael Huerta, left, with Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, center, nationally recognized hobby organization,
and ALPA President Tim Canoll, right, fields questions about UAS registration. paying dues and obeying its guidelines, or
AP PHOTO/ANDREW HARNIK 

there isnt an education requirement all  Basically, become a member or deal with
you have to do to get a quadcopter in the 

Drones are a democratizing technology, Weve been working to legitimize 
to be sure, and thats one of the most allur-  
ing aspects of the booming industry for else before we became drone pilots, and 
  I decided very early that my public focus 
photojournalist and owner of New York- and development of appropriate safety
  guidelines [for model aircraft] to organiza-
Buying a drone doesnt make one a pro- pilots see non-commercial users as the 
fessional, he says, but every pro has to get culprits those who arent subject to
nearly the same amount of regulation doesnt qualify as a model aircraft or who
the industry to remain open, with as few and scrutiny, break the guidelines while
barriers to entry as possible as long as Ultimately, both distinctions may be

But the categories arent as clear as
- commercial versus hobbyist: Buying a 

Gyokeres says he and other commer- - 

cial operators essentially self-regulated ing non-commercially doesnt make you a on data collection for enterprise and
- hobbyist either at least according to the 
tions or rolled out its regulation recom-  
mendations: The professional operators We dont view new consumer users the operation, distance from [airports], and
are obsessive about safety, because we 
 payload are more precise indicators of the
 -
 resentative and a 40-year veteran of the
aviation industry, including service in the PREVENTING THE INEVITABLE
While the Wild West portrait painted  
   
for TV ratings, stoking public interest, as theyre interested in the tech or taking
and revving debate, its a reputation that
 The delineation between hobbyist and REGIST


REGISTERED
D
REGISTERE
ED
R E GISTER

REGISTERED REGISTERED

R EGISTERED

66 Drone360mag.com
 A sign warns against the flying of remote controlled drones
ED
at the entrance of Valley of Fire State Park in Overton, NV. R E GISTER
AP PHOTO/ALEX MENENDEZ

R EGISTERED
REGISTER
ED




ED
ISTER 
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REGIS
TERE

D




-

D
REGISTERE 

- 

 -
 
 
TERED  

-
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March/April 2016 67
private investigator, Sachs is the founder
of the Drone Pilots Association, and has
been a staunch advocate for use of drones 

since 2013. Hes also a vocal critic of the
- 


- 

 -
 


 

to a drone operator does nothing to edu- 
-
to Drone360. 
Sachs also argues that slapping a regis- 

-
a person, and there is no statute on the its standards should be an alternative 
- 
sons rather than aircraft. A single user, for 


of drones under one registration, rather to enhance their business.
 
  
- -
 tered would be available to the public


 

 


ED -
ISTER
R EG 
REGIS
TERE
D to the public, although addresses would
REGISTERED 

LAYING DOWN THE LAW


REGISTER
ED




REGISTERED 
-


R EGISTERED
ED
R E GISTER

Out of concerns for safety, the FAA didnt let

Flirteys F3 hexacopter (top of page) and
SEESPAN Aerial Interactives 3D Robotics X8
(left) fly at the same time during last summers
medicine delivery test in West Virginia, even
though the X8 was tethered to the ground.
WALTER SCRIPTUNAS II

68 Drone360mag.com
to register and the FAA can assess civil
penalties up to $27,500. Criminal penal-



Defining model
 - aircraft and

powers, it doesnt have the muscle on the
dence up the chain to FAA regulators and

operating safely

ED
FAA can only launch an investigation departments, the FAA may also launch R E GISTER
-
tion is collected and studied. While police 
can catch a criminal in the act and actively 

 violation occurs, especially since local and
reactive,
actively enforce 
laws.
ACCORDING TO SECTION 336(C) of the FAA
 always an option, depending on the sever-
Modernization and Reform Act of 2012,
Police hats as the airspace gets more
a model aircraft is an unmanned aircraft

that is:
FROM INNOVATION TO INTEGRATION
- 
Capable of sustained flight in
ations. According to the FAA guidelines, 
the atmosphere.
recently that the aviation industry was at
Flown within visual line-of-sight
detect, immediately investigate, and, as -
of the operator.

Flown for hobby or recreational purposes.


IF YOURE FLYING A QUAD or other

R/C aircraft, for it to be considered a
and training program manager with the the greatest revolution in aviation since the
model aircraft, it has to meet all of the
  requirements above. Whats more, you must
 follow specific FAA rules when flying your
that much. model aircraft, which are listed in Section
 - 336(a) of the Act. The section requires:

-  The aircraft is flown strictly for hobby
thing suspicious with a drone, or trespass- or recreational use.
  The aircraft is operated in accordance
arent going to see the drone police out  with a community-based set of safety
 guidelines and within the programming
of a nationwide community-based
  organization (such as the Academy of
FAA Administrator Huerta reminded Model Aeronautics).
 The aircraft is limited to not more than
 55 pounds unless otherwise certified
regarding unauthorized drone use. through a design, construction,
 inspection, flight test, and operational
safety program administered by a
 community-based organization.
 However, the overall goal is total integra- The aircraft is operated in a manner
tion. that doesnt interfere with and gives
process the scene, conduct interviews,  way to any manned aircraft.
 When flown within five miles of an
airport, the operator of the aircraft
 provides the airport operator and the
airport air traffic control tower (when
their way through the courts, total integra- such is located at the airport) with
prior notice of the operation. If youre
flying from a permanent location
ED
ISTER within five miles of the airport, you
R EG
REGIS should establish an agreement with the
TERE
D
airport and air traffic control regarding
operating procedures.

REGISTER March/April 2016 69

ED
At Rice Universitys
Drone Camp, half
the participants
were girls by
their own choice.
RICE UNIVERSITY/
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION
BY ROEN KELLY
 HEADED
RIGHT
in
the
DIRECTION
Mind-blowing growth makes the UAS
industry the perfect place for women
to take center stage
By Liz Kruesi

B
etween Aug. 11 and 13 of 2015, 20 Houston-area
middle-school students converged on Rice Universitys
campus for Drone Camp. They learned about aero-
dynamics and sensing technology, they built drone
components, and they studied the social aspect of the
technology. And of course, the students also had fun piloting
drones for an hour or two each day. To wrap up the intensive
few days, they split into groups to brainstorm drone applica-
tions that hadnt yet been developed. Then
the students pitched their ideas to a board
of UAS and technology professionals from
Microsoft, BP, Trumbull Unmanned, and
Rice. Talk about a productive summer break!
Perhaps one of the most impressive aspects
of the camp, though, was the gender split. If

-
age with far fewer women than men. But Dyan Gibbens
at Drone Camp, half the participants were
girls. I thought the number, that fraction, was going to be
a lot smaller, says Dyan Gibbens, who helped create the
Drone Camp program. I was surprised, but also motivated.
Gibbens is a leader in the UAS industry, and is the founder
and CEO of Trumbull Unmanned, a company utilizing UAS
in support of the oil and gas industry.
The drone camp gender split had nothing to do with a
biased application process. Before selection, organizers
removed names, gender information, and any socioeconomic

March/April 2016 71
 TOTAL U.S. WORKFORCE STEM WORKFORCE


Men
52% Women
Men her career. While she notes that the numbers of
48% -

76%


Women 
24%




 Diana Marina
Cooper
SOURCE: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
WOMEN IN STEM: A GENDER GAP TO INNOVATION AUG. 2011



ILLUSTRATION BY ROEN KELLY -

indicators from the applications. Still, half of
RICE UNIVERSITY 
AFTER A SUCCESSFUL first

year, the 2016 Drone Camp
will likely run as an extension
of a new Aerial Robotics 
Club that the Rice Center for 
Engineering Leadership is  
launching at the university
in the spring. There has a fast rate, UAS women see opportunities to

been corporate interest - 

in expanding the camp 
and requests from other women in those roles.
universities looking to model
the camp. To learn more, GET IN ON THE GROUND FLOOR
contact:  
 
CESARE WRIGHT  
RCEL LECTURER / LEADERSHIP  
& OUTREACH SPECIALIST -
CESARE@RICE.EDU
WWW.RICE.EDU  


Lisa Ellman


protect the public. 
 



 




-
Lia Reich -
Lia Reich is the senior 



- 
 
- 


72 Drone360mag.com
doors to enter the UAS industry, which is pre-
UAS JOB SALARY INFORMATION
THE TECHNICAL ASPECT POSITION ANNUAL SALARY RANGE
 UAS PILOT $85,000-$115,000
 SYSTEMS ENGINEER $72,350-$127,000
-
 INSTRUCTOR/TRAINING SPECIALIST $74,500-$93,000
- INTEL/IMAGERY ANALYST $57,350-$84,600
 MAINTENANCE SPECIALIST $59,500-$67,500

 SENSOR/PAYLOAD OPERATOR $69,300-$89,450

 MANUFACTURING $45,700-$67,890

CONSULTANT $70,500-$145,000

SOURCE: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR STATISTICS

 Traditionally underrepresented in
  STEM careers (opposite), women
Debra Randall - have the opportunity to make
 major inroads in the UAS field,
 thanks to a variety of positions
policies, and procedures that are needed to (above) and an industry poised
for exponential growth.
 
research to seamlessly 


 OBSTACLES ARE NOT INVISIBLE
 Even those women in UAS who have
Some of the most influential
women in commercial drones
addition to the communica-  talked about their experiences at
 Laurie Grindle DroneWorld Expo last year. From
left: Lisa Ellman (Hogan Lovells),
Kristen Helsel (CyPhy Works), Lia
  Reich (PrecisionHawk), Stephanie
-  Spear (National Association
of Realtors), Eileen Shibley
  (Monarch), and Nancy Egan
 (3D Robotics).
 PRECISIONHAWK

March/April 2016 73
Intially drawn to drones as a way
for her to help the victims of
natural disasters, Lakin also turns
her talents to capturing the natural
beauty around her, like this shot of
Mount Hood in Oregon.
RHIANNA LAKIN
WEBSITES
AMELIA DRONEHART
WWW.AMELIADRONEHART.COM
AUVSI
WWW.AUVSI.ORG
HOGAN LOVELLS
WWW.HOGANLOVELLS.COM
NASA
WWW.NASA.GOV
PRECISIONHAWK
WWW.PRECISIONHAWK.COM
TRUMBULL UNMANNED
WWW.TRUMBULLUNMANNED.COM
to follow their passions, ask questions, and
pursue support and mentorship.
Gibbens also notes how important it is to
pursue a career that one feels drawn to. Her
own path has, as she notes with a hint of
humor, not been a linear one. Her father was
in the FAA and so she was exposed to avia-
tion at a young age. With an interest to serve
a purpose bigger than her and a passion for
 To say that Lakin is passionate about
Academy, she trained to be a pilot and studied
engineering to understand how the planes
 Oregon and Indonesia, spending months at
Gibbens has spent much time in the male-dom-
footage captured by a friends drone, she says,
clearly succeeded in following
her passions. As individuals,
we must break our own glass
ceiling and stop holding our-
selves back. Once I realized
this, it was a paradigm shift
 ture footage of the countrys incredible beauty,
she says. Her particular
outlook has served her well in
her career so far. Rhianna Lakin
A BUZZING COMMUNITY
The gender split among drone hobbyists
and enthusiasts echoes that among UAS pro-
fessionals, but there are a few communities to
help promote women in UAS. One of those is
Amelia Dronehart, a community spanning the
and passions more women will become
drones and want to network and support one
another. Drone enthusiast
Lakin started the group
over a year ago, when she
was involved in UAS sales.
She noticed the dearth
of women at expos and
conferences and wanted to
meet other females to con-
nect with at those events.
unmanned systems is an understatement. She
has spent the last 16 years traveling between

I was automatically in awe. And then it hit
me, I thought, why couldnt you use this for

spent four months of last summer in Indonesia
and brought her DJI Phantom Vision+ to cap-
as well as the terrible devastation and the
Lakin now works for an aerial photography,
video, and imaging company in Portland, OR.
She hopes that Amelia Dronehart and other
similar communities increase visibility of the

once more women start to see the connection of
how drones can be utilized in so many areas
that a drone can be used for their own interests
involved and excited about UAS.

74 Drone360mag.com
 BECAUSE ITS SUCH A NEW FIELD, WE HAVE A
LOT OF OPPORTUNITY TO GET WOMEN IN
LEADERSHIP ROLES RIGHT AWAY, KIND OF ON
THE GROUND FLOOR.
LIA REICH, PRECISIONHAWK SENIOR DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING

-

STEM PROGRAMS
STEM RESOURCES LIKE THESE
THE YOUTH CAMPS AND PROGRAMS
 offer new opportunities
to girls and stimulate
- interest in STEM careers.

 GIRLS INC.
Three programs are offered
across the U.S. and Canada:
 - Eureka!
- Girls Dig It
HATCHING A PLAN  - Thinking SMART
Its one thing to recognize the potential of WWW.GIRLSINC.ORG

 - GIRL SCOUTS OF THE USA
 Imagine STEM engages girls
in a multitude of STEM-related
 - activities. Girls of all ages
can participate, and adults
 can volunteer to assist in the
 program. Program specifics
  differ based on location.
  WWW.GIRLSCOUTS.ORG

  TECH TREK
 Open to girls entering the
eighth grade, this summer
  program is available at
eight California university
 campuses.
  WWW.AAUW-TECHTREK.ORG
-

 TECHBRIDGE
  With afterschool and summer
 programs in California,
 Seattle, and Washington, D.C.,
 Techbridge also offers training
  for adult role models and a
family resource guide.
WWW.TECHBRIDGEGIRLS.ORG
Gretchen West 


 -


March/April 2016 75
A VideoRay ROV and an NPS
underwater archaeologist explore
and document the grand staircase
of the America shipwreck at Isle
Royale National Park.
BRETT SEYMOUR/NPS SUBMERGED
RESOURCES CENTER
Drones take underwater archaeology to new depths
By Elisa Neckar

March/April 2016 77
On Halloween night, 1780,
the HMS Ontario struggled
through rough waters on Lake
Ontario. Strong hurricanes
had plagued the Caribbean
throughout the month, and the
remnants of those systems had
spun north and turned into a
ferocious fall gale.
A 22-gun brig-sloop, the
warship had been built and
commissioned only months
earlier to aid British control
of Lake Ontario during the
Revolutionary War. Bound
from Fort Niagara to Oswego
for a raid, it carried an esti-
mated 120 people onboard,
including British troops,
camp followers wives and
children of soldiers and
American prisoners of war.
The Ontario and those
120 passengers would never
make it to Oswego. Vicious
northeast winds rose rapidly
around 8 p.m., sweeping
down the lake. Similar storms
plague the Great Lakes each
autumn, producing whiteouts,
snowsqualls, and freezing
rain; waves cresting over
35 feet and wind gusts over
80 miles an hour have been
recorded. The Ontarios sails
probably blew out search-
ers found large sheets of torn
canvas on the lake days later.
The rolling waves and wind
likely caused the ship to list,
then take on water, the can-
nons and ammunition shifting
ROV footage shows the bow of the HMS Ontario emerging from the
darkness 500 feet below the surface of Lake Ontario.
DAN SCOVILLE
78 Drone360mag.com
violently. A few lifeboats,
blankets, and personal gear
can exceed that by breathing
debris surfaced, suggesting
the ship went down rapidly.
Nine months later, six bodies
washed ashore; no other trace
of the Ontario was seen again.
Until 2008, that is, when
Dan Scoville piloted his ROV
Proteus 500 feet below the
of other underwater archaeo-
Ontario where it sits on the
to be unmanned.
Scoville and fellow ship-
wreck enthusiast Jim Kennard
had been searching for the
Ontario for three years, using
archival research and side-scan
unmanned vehicles. Those
self-built Proteus to explore.
 of the water fall under the
says. You look for that thing
for years, you spend days star-
ing at the screen and driving
the boat back and forth ... [And
underwater vehicles (AUVs)
something thats 230 years old,
that hasnt been seen since the
day it sank, and it looks just
like it did on the day it went
Proteus video continual input from a pilot,
shows the Ontarios twin masts
still standing, spearing out of
the inky depths complete with
crows nests. The ships bell is
still in its belfry, cannons askew
but still on the decks. The old-
est wreck found in the Great
Lakes, its remarkably intact.
Conventional scuba div-
ing is restricted to a depth of
130 feet. Highly trained and
experienced technical divers
specialized mixed gases and
following a precisely calcu-
lated schedule of decompres-
sion stops while surfacing, but
even those divers rarely try
the depths where the Ontario

resting place and hundreds
logical sites worldwide had
VEHICLES FOR THE
FINAL FRONTIER
Theres no shortage of
acronyms in the world of
that operate below the surface The ROV Hercules hovers near
the stern of the RMS Titanic
umbrella term unmanned during a 2004 joint mission
underwater vehicles, or to the wreck with NOAA and
UUVs; the most commonly Robert Ballard.
used UUVs are autonomous CENTER FOR EXPLORATION/
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND/
NOAA OFFICE OF OCEAN
and remotely operated
EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH
vehicles (ROVs).
AUVs move beneath the
surface of the water without
tion, while they became essen-
operating independently on a tial to the oil and gas industry
preprogrammed course. Often throughout the 1970s and 80s
used for mapping or survey- for line inspection and repair.
ing, AUVs are not tethered to 
a ship, and return to a pick-up began to use ROVs in that
point once the mission is com- timeframe as well, largely for
plete so data can be down- observation and specimen
loaded and processed. ROVs, 
on the other hand, connect deputy chief of the National
to the surface via cables that Park Services Submerged
bring signals from the operator Resources Center (SRC), says
and return data and images
in real time. (Why the cable? 
While aerial technology like ROV was in the 1980s, when
 National Geographic brought
tied to their pilots, radio waves one to Isle Royale National
do not travel well through Park. At the time, the technol-
water, necessitating the tether.) ogy was bulky and expensive;
ROVs like Scovilles Proteus since the agency mostly works
look at something under the boats, they bided their time,
water navigation hazard waiting for an ROV with a
smaller footprint. By 2000, the
inspection, pipeline mainte- platform had matured, and
nance and may carry tools 
far beyond a standard camera, observation-class VideoRay.
including arms or manipula- Kate McGarry, marketing
tors that can cut, repair, and 
retrieve. Since the 1960s, the PA-based VideoRay, says the
military has used ROVs for company saw growth on a
mine detection and neutraliza- similar timeline, entering the
 


 Titanic
 


 Alvin
 Jason Jr.
Titanic










Mary Celeste

 Arizona
Titanic
 


Star Trek

A DEEP DIVE An NPS underwater archaeologist manages the tether as an ROV enters
  a hatch to the second deck of the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor, HI.
BRETT SEYMOUR/NPS SUBMERGED RESOURCES CENTER

March/April 2016 79
 Because recovering artifacts
was a primary goal, the proj-
ects work-class Triton ROV

retrieval tools: a suction

and containers, shovels and
brushes, pincers, and claws.
It was painstaking work
archaeologists aboard the ship
relayed instructions to the
ROV pilots, who then had to
perform the delicate maneu-
vers to pluck, scoop, or suck


and even the ships stove from


destroyed, says Peter
Hitchcock, who was involved
as part of A&Ms Department
of Oceanography. Thats

The work-class ROV Hercules sits on the deck of the NOAA research vessel Ronald Brown during the 2004 consider the glass and china
joint NOAA-Ballard mission to the wreck of the RMS Titanic. we recovered.
CENTER FOR EXPLORATION/UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND/NOAA OFFICE OF OCEAN EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH Still, most archaeology
is tactile, notes nautical
archaeologist Ben Ford, part
of the projects team through
A&Ms Department of
Anthropology. You handle
artifacts, rotate them, squint
at them, look at them under
microscopes. To watch in 2D
as the artifacts were recovered
was tricky, he says, as was
relaying all his thoughts and
directions to the ROV pilots
rather than performing the
The Hercules gently recovers a medicine bottle filled A team of scientists and technicians stand watch in actions himself.
with ginger, a seasickness remedy, from an early the shipboard control cab, directing the ROV more Hitchcock disagrees. Its
19th-century shipwreck in the Gulf of Mexico. than 4,300 feet below them.
OCEAN EXPLORATION TRUST/TSU MEADOWS CENTER FOR ALAN FRANKS/OCEAN EXPLORATION TRUST/TSU MEADOWS Every shipwreck has a story,
WATER AND THE ENVIRONMENT CENTER FOR WATER AND THE ENVIRONMENT and you want to know what
it is. The ROV is simply a tool
capacity, and horsepower; as might sound more agile and  to get to the artifact to get to
with any tool, the right ROV therefore easier to drive, says Orleans. It was, at the time, the story.
for the archaeological job is Mark Gleason, an ROV pilot the deepest wreck explored in And the Mardi Gras ships
dependent on the environment and an assistant professor the Gulf. story?
and the goals of the project. specializing in marine Led by Texas A&M The artifacts the ROV
Going down like way, education at Michigans University with a team of more recovered were traced to
way down? Work-class ROVs, Grand Valley State University. than a dozen archaeologists, manufacturers in Great Britain,
like the one used as part But the heft of the work-class  France, Mexico, the U.S., and
of the 2007 Mardi Gras ROVs helps keep them on  Germany, and dated; based on
shipwreck project in the course when tugged about by Gras projects goals were to the age and availability of the
Gulf of Mexico, dwarf their strong ocean currents in deep- record the site and recover items on board, researchers
operators. Huge, heavy, and water environments. artifacts for analysis. Work placed the wreck between 1808
expensive, the minivan-sized In the case of the Mardi was underway 24 hours a day, and 1820. More importantly,
ROVs can be equipped with Gras shipwreck named after live-streaming to a bullpen of the project gave the team an
a variety of manipulators the nearby oil and gas pipeline monitors on the ship so several opportunity to experiment
and go to depths of 10,000 system the mystery ship sets of eyes were always on the with the ROV as a deep-water
feet or more. A smaller ROV rested 4,000 feet below the work being performed. archaeological tool.

80 Drone360mag.com

A VideoRay ROV examines the windlass deck machinery of the America
shipwreck located in Washington Harbor of Isle Royale National Park.
NPS SUBMERGED RESOURCES CENTER
As nautical archaeologists,
we realize more and more that
the tools ocean explorers were
using, we could use too,
Hitchcock says.
TIME CAPSULES ON
THE BOTTOM
Shallower waters call
huge ocean operations like the
Mardi Gras project get much
Observation-class ROVs
rarely exceed depths of 1,000
feet. Lighter, smaller, and less
expensive than work-class
ROVs think 15 pounds,
rather than 300, and several
thousand dollars, rather than
several hundred thousand
observation-class ROVs
are more suitable for launch-
 perfectly, marred only by
name suggests, these vehicles
are generally intended for
Mark Gleason teaches a student to
pilot an observation-class ROV in
northern New Yorks Lake George.
LAURLYN HARMON
observation, rather than
retrieval, and while they may
be equipped with cameras,
sensors, and sonar, wield
fewer manipulators.
Observation is the name of
the game at the archaeologi-
cal sites in the Great Lakes.
Big names like the Titanic and

draw maritime archaeologists
and shipwreck enthusiasts
from around the world in
increasing numbers. The fresh
water and low temperature
even in the summer, the
water below the surface rarely
climbs above 40 degrees
preserve shipwrecks almost
level of preservation means
zebra and quagga mussels, for
decades or even centuries.
You can explore a wreck in
Lake Superior thats been on
recovering concretions
still see the name painted on
the ship, says Kevin Cullen,
president of the Wisconsin
Underwater Archeology
Association (WUAA). Theyre
time capsules.
On the SS Kamloops, one
of the graveyard of wrecks
that circle Lake Superiors
Isle Royale National Park in
Michigan, nearly 90 years in
- there. Unlike what we think
- of with archaeology, theres no
John V. Moran USS Arizona
365 ft. 40 ft.
SS America
Conventional 80 ft.
scuba Technical scuba
diving < 130 ft. diving < 350 ft.
HMS Ontario
5,000 ft. 500 ft.
Mid-sized or
light work-class
ROVs < 3,000 ft. Mardi Gras
shipwreck
Observation-class project
ROVs < 1,000 ft. 4,000 ft.
Heavy work-class
ROV < 10,000 ft.
RMS Titanic
12,500 ft.
15,000 ft.
GET A FEEL FOR THE DEPTHS
TO WHICH ROVS DESCEND.
THE DEPTHS CHARTED HERE ARE, in most cases,
averages or conventions. For example, technical
divers rarely exceed 350 feet,
but deep-dive records have been set more than
800, 900, and even 1,000 feet down. Similarly,
heavy work-class ROVs usually operate in waters
25,000 ft. up to 10,000 feet, but that depth has been
exceeded by specific vehicles, too.
Nereus hybrid
AUV/ROV lost = 32,800 ft.
35,000 ft. The Challenger Deep, the deepest
point in the ocean = 36,070 ft.
ILLUSTRATION BY KELLIE JAEGER
age: Crates of shoes and the excavation we document as
wrappers of Lifesavers candies it lies in place. Simply mov-
still look nearly new. That ing artifacts is discouraged,
because not only what the arti-
that while archaeologists and facts are, but where they are
ROV operators on the Mardi can tell archaeologists a lot.
Gras project sifted through While WUAA uses
splintered remains of the ship, observation-class ROVs to
document, other organizations
conglomerate lumps created
by natural elements form- before divers are sent in. The
ing around artifacts and National Park Services SRC,
encrusted artifacts, wrecks sit- for instance, employs ROVs as
a precursor to diving opera-
Lakes allow archaeologists to -
study ships as a whole. stand what the site looks like,
The goal is to document, or to maneuver in spaces that
Cullen says, to look at a wreck would be unsafe for divers. In
the wreck of the USS Arizona
to leave the artifacts down in Pearl Harbor, for instance,
the SRC used an ROV with an
March/April 2016 81


NOT JUST SHIPWRECKS -

UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGY IMMEDIATELY conjures
the haunting image of a shipwreck sitting on the
bottom and its understandable, WUAAs Kevin 
Cullen says. Shipwrecks are sexy. 
But shipwrecks arent the only underwater -
archaeological sites. For instance, the SRC and 
VideoRay worked together in 2002 to explore a
U.S. Army Air Force B-29 bomber that crashed into An ROV films a diver collecting samples from a caribou
Lake Mead, and Lake Michigan holds a collection hunting structure at the bottom of Lake Huron. 
of World War II aircraft as well, lost during aircraft- UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MUSEUM OF 
carrier training missions. Even relatively recent ANTHROPOLOGICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 
cultural resources like docks, mines, and other
structures that were once above water may now be Sea level changes over the last two million
below the surface thanks to damming and flooding. years have significantly changed the landscape, -
Ashley Lemke, a doctoral candidate in she says. Areas that were once coastal dry land -
the University of Michigans Department of and would have supplied early hunter-gatherers
Anthropology, is the primary ROV pilot for her with thriving resources like fish, shellfish, and 
research team. They follow a pattern similar to seals are now underwater, offering preserved tools, 
that used by shipwreck researchers: Large-scale animals bones, and even wood boats, paddles,
mapping, then choosing promising targets from and spears. Archaeological sites Lemke has 
the sonar and sending ROVs down for a closer look. worked in Lake Huron include caribou hunting 
But the underwater sites she flies her ROV around structures long lines of stones once used to 
are a bit older than your average shipwreck. channel caribou towards hunters and the -
Like 40,000 years old. remains of a 9,000-year-old campfire.


to survey the interior compart-  


-
 John 
 V. Moran opportunity to test its equip- 
 
  

  
- Moran on the 
 


 

 
Ontario  

 
 can in turn teach them much




  -

-
- TRAINING, TOOLS, AND RULES 

An ROV with a 3D HD camera
package explores the Flag - 
 Secretarys Stateroom on the - 
 second deck of the USS Arizona. 
 BRETT SEYMOUR/NPS SUBMERGED  to the carferry Milwaukee
RESOURCES CENTER  the schooner Rouse Simmons

82 Drone360mag.com
Tethered to and operating in tandem
with Hercules, the Argus (shown here
hovering over the Titanics stern) acts
as a stabilizing platform, supplies
extra light, and allows pilots to view
Hercules in the water.
CENTER FOR EXPLORATION/UNIVERSITY
OF RHODE ISLAND/NOAA OFFICE OF OCEAN
EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH
involving the public in
documenting the underwater
topography and creating pho-
tomosaics.
The impact of the public
seeing the bunkbeds inside
the Milwaukees crew quarters,
or the pine trees in the Rouse
Simmons, and sharing that
experience in real time, is
huge, Cullen says.
Other underwater explor-
ers, maritime archaeologists,
and shipwreck enthusiasts
have known similar moments.
In 2012, NOAAs Delgado was
a member of the Monterrey
shipwreck survey in the Gulf
of Mexico. Their work-class
ROV, Hercules, retrieved about
60 artifacts from depths of
4,300 feet, including muskets,
- a smaller scale, Cullen and
gational instruments all
while a livestreaming feed was
available for public viewing.
 to the observation-class ROVs,
recalls, that the public was
able to watch live and partici-
pate in such a project. That
Watch ROV footage and see more underwater pics Drone360mag.com
because education is always a
focus might be.
TURNING ON THE LIGHTS
But the most exciting part,
Delgado adds, is whats next.
Wireless and acoustic
communication systems, not
limited by the impenetrability
of water to radio waves, allow
for untethered ROVs a
game-changer, if the technol-
reliable and high-quality data
reporting without a cable.
Already hybrid AUV-ROVs
(HROVs) are being used The Nereus, a hybrid AUV/ROV developed by the Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institute, explored the oceans deepest reaches. In 2014, it imploded in the
edge, like the Woods Hole Kermadec Trench, under pressure as high as 16,000 pounds per square inch.
Oceanographic Institute. On WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTE
van Heest are eager for higher And as prices fall, more Whether for documentation,
resolution cameras and other hobbyists will be able to pur- education, or artifact retrieval,
elite features to trickle down chase their own ROVs. the utility of ROVs as archaeo-
The growing number of logical tools is clearly
and hope for ROV-mounted ROV hobbyists doesnt worry blossoming.
measurement and mapping Cullen. The more the mer- The technology is such
systems for surveying wrecks. rier, he says. Recreational that were really seeing unpar-
users can be like an extra tool- alleled access, Delgado says.
kit. With the proper advocacy, ROVs turn the lights on in a
theyll help create an archive. darkened room.
March/April 2016 83
 An essay by Faine Greenwood

Drones for Good

84 Drone360mag.com
A FEW YEARS AGO, most people thought of drones, if they
thought of them at all, as deadly military machines deployed to
rain stealthy death upon foreign enemies. Times are changing:
Drones, or UAVs, or UAS, or whatever youd like to call them,
Restrictions aside, U.S. groups are forging ahead. Some large
news organizations have successfully received Section 333
Globally, civilian drones for benevolent, peaceful purposes are
here to stay, and while the U.S. has lagged behind the rest of the
world in UAS implementation due to regulatory struggles, they
will soon become a normal part of life here, too.
FEW PROFESSIONS HAVE EMBRACED DRONES as enthusiastically
money for aerial photography from a manned aircraft or for
expensive satellite imagery, researchers equipped with drones
can gather the data they need themselves. Danish researcher
Jason Box of the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland

- turnaround aerial imagery of a derailed Amtrak train. Hes also
 -
drones to monitor orangutan nests since 2012, while in Peru, the
Ministry of Culture funds the worlds largest drone archaeology
program, using drone imagery to create maps and 3D models of

hundreds of important historical sites.
Journalists and activists have taken to experimenting with
UAS as well. Back in 2013, many people
night operations or operations beyond visual line-of-sight all
restrictions that pose particular problems for groups like disaster
responders and reporters. The process to obtain a public COA
exemptions, and CNN has entered into a research partnership

-
ian group to secure a Section 333 for search-and-rescue work.

Lone Star UAS Center at Texas A&M University used drones to
The University of Vermonts Jarlath ONeil-Dunne and his

disaster photos, with funding from the U.S. Department of
Transportation and a Section 333 exemption backing them up.
nities, delivering high-quality imagery of damage that isnt quite

has constructed a thoughtful drone program that should serve as
a template for the FAA and the use of benevolent civilian drones
in the U.S.: drones working in close concert

time when a Thai citizen journalist recorded

Its about building with federal and local authorities, and as a
particularly useful tool for small communi-
intense political protests in Bangkok. stakeholder support at the ties without the budget for manned aircraft
Now, drone footage is everywhere, from or satellite imagery.
the YouTube video of the bombed-out ground level. This will likely be a watershed year for
Donetsk airport posted by supporters of the public opinion on drones. Unfortunately,
Ukrainian army to images of refugees crossing the border from while more people are beginning to see drones as potential
Croatia into Slovenia as the crisis escalated last summer. Christmas presents or innocuous hobby aircraft, the technologys
 public image has also taken some serious hits, from the White
left 8,000 people dead, UAS quickly captured photographs and

-
disaster satellite imagery marred by cloudy weather. Volunteers mer. With these negative examples in recent memory, more local
uploaded the imagery to OpenStreetMap, a free editable map of authorities are beginning to propose restrictive drone rules.
the world, helping create accurate photographic representations
of the damage. WHAT CAN DRONE ENTHUSIASTS DO THEN, assuming they lack a
Nepals drone response does highlight some pitfalls, though. 
Reports said some drone operators failed to coordinate with 
Nepalese authorities and aid workers, creating headaches (and
potential risk) for the manned aircraft crisscrossing the airspace. then average people who arent already drone owners need to
By May, the Nepalese government had banned the use of drones -
without explicit permission. 

THE UNCERTAIN REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT in the U.S. means the drone is helpful thats a more powerful case.
that non-hobby drones remain a relatively rare sight. While Show your drone to your friends, your neighbors, your school,
 and teach them what it does and how. Explain how drone imag-
permit limited commercial use of drones, the process is relatively
-
cerns about privacy and safety, and think about ways to come to a
pilot. The pilot requirement is especially problematic for cash- compromise that suits everyone. Drone technology has the poten-
strapped, aspiring UAS operators, like freelance reporters and tial to improve the lives and secure the rights of people in the U.S.
private search-and-rescue groups. and around the world, but to use drones to their full potential, we
Private industry Section 333 holders must also adhere to a have to ensure they are used responsibly and thoughtfully.
blanket COA, which includes a 200-foot altitude restriction, main- Drones are only as good as we are, but that means they can be
very good indeed.

FAINE GREENWOOD March/April 2016 85

 Cool. Curious. Bizarre. By Carl Engelking and Leah Froats

FORGET JOYSTICKS,
TWEETS WILL DO
Users on social
media are known for
their responsibility,
rationality, and restraint.
So it makes sense that
wed want
a whirring
drone
controlled 140
characters at a
time.
In 2014, Twitter filed
a patent application
(No. 20150362917),
for a messaging-
enabled unmanned
aerial vehicle. It wasnt
until the final days of
December that the U.S.
Patent and Trademark
Office published Ya-
Ting Wang and Wayne
Robins idea. INTEL CORP.
Twitter users would
be able to control a LIKING FIREWORKS WILL parents while waiting for the sun drones airborne simultaneously.
UAV with commands MAKE YOU LOOK OLD to set in a city park: The drones, coordinated by
embedded in messages In the not-too-distant-future, Mom, Dad? What were those you guessed it Intel soft-
directed toward the children going to see the Fourth
UAVs account. Tweets of July show will have the fol-  
could control the lowing conversation with their paper tubes jam-packed with lights programmed to a song,
aircrafts location, gunpowder, and when you lit the
camera orientation, -
lighting, UAV-mounted formations in midair. Four opera-
display, or other down from the sky along with tors each controlled a squad of
onboard technology. 25 drones. In the end, the drones
Basically, a Twitter-  
controlled drone would Your child just wont Sure, it was a publicity stunt.
give couch potatoes understand your old-timer refer- But to be blunt: The show put
with a smartphone
unprecedented abilities illuminated drones will have
to control their viewing
experiences. Who that captivated you as a child.
wouldnt want to Tweet In November, Intel launched
the following: 100 drones equipped with lights
#MTVAwardsDrone into the night where they
follow subject performed a coordinated
#KatyPerry? dance to a live performance of
Of course Beethovens Fifth Symphony. The
this technology is performance, which took place
theoretical. Maybe it in Hamburg, Germany, set a
should stay that way. Guinness World Record for most
INTEL CORP. INTEL CORP.
86 Drone360mag.com
 FIRST A GUN, NOW A THE WORLDS FIRST
FLAMETHROWER DRONEPORT
The drone communitys Drones are here
THINKSTOCK.COM

infamous young provocateur is at to stay, and now the

it once again. infrastructural roots of
Connecticut teenager Austin the nascent industry
Haughwout shocked rule-abid- are digging into the
ing UAS pilots, the FAA, and the fabric of the U.S.
world at large when he posted a In Boulder City,
video of a homemade drone NV (just outside Las
Vegas), nonprot

- organization
est irresponsible innovation? A Aerodrome is building

The video, posted in Decem-
ber, and sponsored by online
retailer HobbyKing, shows a
perfectly good turkey being in-
cinerated by a drone that would
give even DARPA nightmares. HOGWIT/YOUTUBE AERODROME
The drone itself was assembled
with HobbyKing parts, as well as of deploying a drone-mounted went something like this one, the nations rst
a number of 3D printed acces-  commercial droneport.
 is also cryptic. Local laws, again, Thanks to the producers of Developers have
purchased on Amazon thats would likely regulate the use this video and others like it. This broken ground on
reassuring. of such a device. Maryland, for is why the FAA and the Govern- the project, and once
Strapping weapons to drones nished, itll be the
lies in a somewhat gray area down the RC hobby. Thanks for rst facility where UAS
in terms of the rule of law. The Regardless of where it falls your help... I for one will be boy- take precedence over
FAA launched an investigation on the legal spectrum, the use of
manned systems.
into Haughwouts gun-drone, on [sic]. The 50-acre
but, as The Verge reported, the  Eldorado Droneport is
 anti-drone crowd. Several com- Haughwouts antics, this is likely one of only six FAA-
law enforcement. The legality ments on the YouTube post itself the worst way to cook a turkey. approved UAS test
sites in the country,

THE AIRMULE IS A BEEFY

TRANSPORT DRONE
Drones are getting bigger, badder
and even more useful.
The AirMule, from Israels Tactical
Robotics Ltd., a subsidiary of Urban
Aeronautics, is an unmanned VTOL
(vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft
thats designed to rescue injured AERODROME
soldiers in hard-to-reach places in
conict zones. The AirMule can be and itll be a one-
controlled via remote control or rely on stop-shop for both
its autonomous navigation systems. current and aspiring
And, unlike helicopters, the AirMule can professionals. The
squeeze into crowded spaces because public, but privately
it doesnt need room for large, spinning operated, droneport
propellors. will offer FAA repair
The prototype made its rst au- service, UAS training,
tonomous, untethered test ight at the TACTICAL ROBOTICS LTD. (2) pilot certication,
Megiddo aireld in northern Israel on Dec. testing, and research.
30, 2015. The AirMule can climb to an elevation of 12,000 Skyways (another Urban Aeronautics subsidiary) is one Companies
feet and reach speeds of 140 mph. It can also carry a company thats looking into developing this technology for with their Section
payload of 1,100 pounds or two casualties and gear. The civilian applications. 333s and hobbyists
downside, according to stats from Tactical Robotics Ltd., is You may wonder what the civilian uses are for this will be welcome
that it can only ferry a full load within a 31-mile radius. technology. There are rumors that, if successful, the AirMule andAerodrome says
Future tests will challenge the AirMules cargo delivering could pave the way for autonomous ying vehicles for the there will be drone
capacities and its ability to y beyond line-of-sight. Metro typical consumer. Well be ying like the Jetsons in no time. racing on site.

March/April 2016 87
BLADE RUNNER
Blender afficionados
love to debate whether
Vitamix or Blendtec
is the more superior
blender technology.
However, it seems
as though a new
competitor has entered
the ring: drones.
Speed Motion Films
had the clever notion of
putting drone-blending
capabilities to
the test by
dropping
grapes, eggs,
carrots, and even a
cucumber, into the
whirring blades of a DJI
Phantom.
The slow-motion
video captures the
carnage in all its glory
as the produce is
thoroughly pulverized.
The anticipation builds NORTHROP GRUMMAN
as the fruits and
vegetables fall to their OFF TO GREENER PASTURES -
inevitable destruction, The MQ-5B Hunter still vividly remembers the
followed by the premiere of Star Trek: Voyager, the revelation that 

complete satisfaction of  
 
- the Hunter moves into retirement, the Gray Eagle
ing through the hourglass, leaving nothing but 
 

 

 
 
- 

JAPANESE POLICE LAUNCH and neutralize it. Based on initial at-

DRONE DRAGNET
SPEED MOTION Bad pilots, bad pilots, whatcha
gonna do? Whatcha gonna to do when
effortless blade slicing. the drone police come for you?
At the end of the In response to highly dubious aer-
video, the messy, food- ial behavior, the Tokyo Metropolitan
covered Phantom is run Police Department in Japan deployed
over by a car, reminding a special drone unit to monitor the
us all that even the skies near critical government build-
mighty must eventually ings in the capital. The drone squad is
fall. armed with an old-fashioned solution
Ultimately, the to a high-tech problem: a net.
answer to Will It This unit scours the skies for
Blend? is yes. Who suspicious drone behavior. When they
knows, maybe your see it, they issue a warning over a
next juice cleanse will loudspeaker to cease. If orders arent
be powered by drone obeyed, police launch a swift drone of
blending. justice equipped with a nine-foot-long
net to ensnare the felonious aircraft
tempts, it appears to get the job done.
Officials had good reason to launch
their dragnet operation. In April, youll
remember, a drone carrying a plastic
bottle filled with radioactive sand
landed on the roof of Prime Minister
Shinzo Abes office.
Several days later, Yasuo
Yamamoto, a 40-year-old man from the
city of Obama, turned himself in to the
Fukui Prefectoral Police. He said he
planned the whole flight to protest the
governments energy policy. JIJIPRESS/YOUTUBE
What Yamamotos stunt did to
advance his political cause is in mind, a member departments
unknown, but it certainly didnt Security Bureau told The Asahi
endear drones to government officials. Shimbun in December.
We hope to defend the nations So watch out, rebellious UAV
functions with the worst-case scenario pilots. Theyve got their eyes on you.

88 Drone360mag.com
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT DITCH THE
In the history of close calls with a SELFIE STICK
drone, world champion Austrian skier The technology
Marcel Hirschers ranks near the top. and art of the selfie
Hirscher was on his second run has come a long
during a World Cup slalom event at way. From remote-
Madonna di Campiglio in Italy when a controlled digital
drone carrying a camera fell from the cameras to modern
sky and shattered into pieces just feet front-facing camera
behind him. The close call was any phones, people today
responsible filmmakers worst night- are always on the hunt
mare. Thankfully, the 26-year-old skier for innovative ways to
escaped unscathed, but the incident capture self-portraits.
upset many. Say hello to the
In a statement, the International Ski ONAGOfly: a so-called
Federation (FIS) strongly asserted that selfie drone that
an accident such as the drone crash automatically takes
cannot happen again. FLEYE (2) photographs after
Here in the U.S., ESPN in January detecting a smiling
2015 received special permission from THE WORLDS SAFEST DRONE? face. The drones Auto
the FAA to fly camera-rigged drones in You may call it a quad, a UAV, or a drone, Follow function also
Aspen for the X Games. The network but anyone who has made contact with a allows the tiny peeper
published a video in June touting its whirling propeller blade is familiar with to record your every
pioneering use of drones to broadcast move, allowing for
live downhill events in 2015. However, Thankfully especially for those selfie opportunities
never before imagined.
small company from Belgium developed Its easy to get
a drone that wont have concerned loved those sweet shots from
ones shrieking, By God, be careful, itll put your drone to your
your eye out! phone. Pictures sync
The Fleye, billed as the worlds safest drone, is automatically through
essentially a soccer-ball-sized orb that can do everything a traditional phone data or Wi-Fi.

all its moving parts are entirely shielded the design is based on the

NICOLAS GARCIA/YOUTUBE 
 DRONE
following Hirschers close call, ESPN 
decided not to use drones for the 2016 Fleye can also be switched into Autonomous Mode to execute missions
event. 
The accident in Italy makes it abun-
dantly clear why safety is a constant When the Fleye is in Hover Mode, it will automatically correct itself
concern for any responsible profes- midair if, say, an absentminded passer-by walks into it another ONAGOFLY
sional working in the drone industry. 
As a result of these
user-friendly features,
DJIS NEW HOME(S) the demand for this
You havent made it as a cutting- adorable drone has
edge gadget company unless you been overwhelming;
have a cubist retail outlet that ONAGOflys
embodies your innovative spirit. crowdfunding effort
By that measure, DJI has made it has already been
to the upper echelon of tech produc- funded over 1,000
ers. In 2015, DJI officially opened percent of its goal, with
its 2,600-square-foot flagship thousands of units
store in Shenzen, China. The store preordered.
features a theater, a maintenance Best of all, this little
desk, a lounge, and a place to fly drone is small enough
some drones. The buildings design that it doesnt need to
is meant to reflect the shape of a be FAA registered.
drones blade. Instagram will
DJI has announced plans for store never be the same.
in Seoul, Korea, this March.
DJI
March/April 2016 89
MAY THE DRONE THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE
BE WITH YOU UAV, UAS, UFO the distinction is
Fans of the Star minor. A mysterious green light in the sky
Wars series know that used to be a harbinger of extraterrestrial
the Millennium Falcon doom, but in the drone age, it might just
is capable of perform- be a well-meaning amateur pilot. The
ing the Kessel Run in FAA reported that a manned airplane
12 parsecs, but even poised to land at LaGuardia Airport was
a drone version of Han targeted by a green laser on a UAV.
Solos famous ship It is unclear whether the laser was
is capable of some from standard-equipped lights on the
surprising feats. drone or an actual laser pointer, but no
In a video arrests have been made.
uploaded by Ontario The drone pilot was identified and
native Ian Fisher to questioned, but maybe someday what
theweathernetwork. we assume to be a drone will actually be
com, the DIY Falcon- an interdimensional traveler.
lookalike drone begins Also in recent alien-related drone
to hover over a snow- news, the government has banned UAS
covered walkway. KOREA INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (KAIST) flight in and around the infamous Area
51. Concerns for safety were cited, as the
HIGH-FLYING, FIRE FIGHTING compound is a known testing ground for
Imagine a robotic insect, roughly two feet in length, that can climb military aircraft. But were smart enough
 to know a coverup when we see one.
- We want to believe.




IAN FISHER

As the drone flies 
over a scene akin to -
a small-scale Hoth,
the snow beneath the
drone is blown clear -
by the air expelled by 
the quickly spinning ALIEXPRESS.COM
rotors.
Now all that comes
to mind is recreat- DRONE FIELD ADVANTAGE That being said, the pairing of
ing the best flight Strict drone regulations surround- athletics and drones does not only
sequences from the ing sporting events are understand- benefit the viewers. Both coaches
films, even perhaps able, what with risks of bootleg and players can gain from the new
with a miniature Chew- game footage and potential injury to perspectves provided by drone
bacca to copilot. athletes and spectators. However, photography.
fans everywhere lament the loss New angles provide a better
of dynamic sports footage. understanding of players move-
Yet, there does seem to ments and positioning on the field,
be a loophole. Yankees TERRENCE ANTONIO JAMES potentially helping to decrease
shortstop Didi Gregorius has injuries and improve player and
posted videos on his Insta- Certain collegiate and professional team performance.
gram of both Yankee stadium teams are also using drones to film While all-drone filming of profes-
and warm-ups among teammates. their practices. Steps like these sional sports games seems like a
Shot from his personal 3DR practice films, Gregorius videos, distant dream, we can only hope
Solo, the videos are definitely those and the NFLs FAA drone exemption that more players will take up
of a hobbyist but give a unique granted last year open the door to Gregorius interest in drone flight to
glimpse into the everyday experi- amazing possibilities to make watch- allow us deeper looks into the world
AMAZON.COM ence of a pro athlete. ing sports more immersive. of sports.

Drone360 (ISSN 2470-4687) is published bimonthly by Kalmbach Publishing Co., 21027 Crossroads Circle, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI, 53187-1612. Application to Mail at Periodical Postage Rates is
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90 Drone360mag.com
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