AirVūz News: World of Drones 11/04/19

Published 11/04/2019 10:05

AirVuz News is here to talk about the latest in the World of Drones.

An unauthorized drone flight hindered rescue operations late last week in California as firefighters continued to battle the growing Maria fire. Ventura County Fire Captain Brian McGrath said there were two instances of drones interfering with his crew’s operations. As a result, a helicopter being used in the firefighting efforts was forced to land. Sadly, this isn’t the first time a drone has prevented firefighters from battling blazes in California. A similar instance occurred in 2015 when a drone flying in the area of the Lake fire prevented an airplane from dropping water from above. As a reminder, please do not fly your drone near wildfires or other emergency situations without authorization.

Nominees have been announced for the inaugural Boston Drone Film Festival, and some familiar faces had their drone videos selected as nominees. The festival includes 13 total categories, including three for photography. Former “Drone Dish” guests Doug Armknecht, Jordan Nelson, Sandrine Hecq, Noel Thomas, Tarciscio Sanudo, Maarten Slooves and Mike Bishop all were nominated in various categories. Recent “Behind the Goggles” guest Benoit Finck had three of his FPV films chosen. We’ve linked to all of the nominees in the video description. The Boston Drone Film Festival runs Nov. 15-16 at WGBH Yawkey Theater.

The Federal Aviation Administration released a list of new sites where drone flights are now restricted for security reasons. Among the 60 sites listed, the majority are federal correctional institutions. This comes amid growing concerns of drones being used to make deliveries to prisoners. Also included in the list of restricted facilities were several military complexes. Restrictions over these facilities begin Nov. 7. Pilots who violate the restrictions could face criminal charges.

Speaking of the FAA, a recent poll put out by the organization showed that more than half of Part 107 drone pilots in the United States are unsatisfied with the FAA’s waiver process. More than 500 pilots took the survey, and 52 percent answered “No” when asked if they were “satisfied with the application status updates provided by FAA throughout the process.”

We’ll be announcing the winner of the October Drone Video of the Month this Wednesday, so be sure to stay tuned to AirVuz.com and all of our social media channels to see which video took home the monthly prize. Nominees for the Drone Video of the Month are compiled of our Drone Video of the Week winners, which each receive $250. You could be our next Drone Video of the Week winner. All you have to do to be eligible is upload your aerial video to AirVuz.com.

Get your drone news from AirVuz News every week on the World of Drones.

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To watch the previous episode of "World of Drones" CLICK HERE

To see all nominees for the Boston Drone Film Festival CLICK HERE

To see the full results from the FAA poll CLICK HERE

To learn more about our Drone Video Contests CLICK HERE

Sources:

McNabb, Miriam. “The FAA Restricts Flight Over 60 New Sites: ‘National Security Sensitive Locations.’” DRONELIFE, 31 Oct. 2019, dronelife.com/2019/10/31/the-faa-restricts-flight-over-60-new-sites-national-security-sensitive-locations/.

“NOMINEES.” BOSTON DRONE FILM FESTIVAL, www.bostondronefilmfestival.com/nominees. Shalby, Colleen, et al. “Illegal

Drones Ground Water-Dropping Helicopters at Critical Moment in Maria Fire Battle.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2019, www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-11-01/maria-fire-drone-hinders-firefighting-efforts-as-blaze-doubles-in-size-overnight.