AirVūz News: World of Drones 12/16/19

Published 12/16/2019 09:41
It was a busy week in the "World of Drones." Let's get you caught up.

The Federal Aviation Administration gave a rare approval last week to a drone company to fly its fleet of drones beyond visual line of sight. DroneSeed, which uses heavy-lift drones to plant trees by dropping seeds, received the authorization to fly beyond visual line of sight.
This exception isn’t awarded often by the FAA. DroneSeed adds this exemption to its list of others, including the ability to operate a swarm of up to five heavy-lift drones each carrying more than 57 pounds.
Speaking of the FAA, it announced last week the list of organizations that will help the FAA craft its knowledge test for recreational pilots. Among those invited to participate are DJI, Horizon Hobby, the Drone Racing League, the Academy of Model Aeronautics and the FPV Freedom Coalition, which is headed by Rotor Riot’s Chad Kapper.
The 12 total stakeholders will assist the FAA by making recommendations for the test, as well as how to administer the test. Thanks to a law passed in 2018, all recreational drone pilots will soon need to pass an online knowledge test and carry proof of passing the test whenever flying a drone.
We’ve shared stories before here on World of Drones about drones being used to find missing people. Now we bring you some happy news about a dog being found thanks to a drone.
A state trooper in Wisconsin was able to use a drone to find a dog that went missing when a vehicle rolled over in a crash in Brown County. The 3-month-old Australian Shepherd named River ran from the scene of the accident. Thanks to the drone and trooper John Jones, River was found in the woods and was reunited with his owner.
Chinese drone company Ehang went public last week with an initial public offering on the Nasdaq Global Market. Ehang has been making headlines for its development of human-transport drones.
The company’s IPO began at $12.55 and closed at $12.49 on the first day of trading. A total of 3.2 million shares went public.
Later this week, we’ll have a new episode of “Behind the Goggles.” In this episode, we chat with Justin Namon, aka Who FPV, about how he transitioned from a professional photographer to an FPV pilot building an impressive portfolio of clients thanks to his cinematic drone flights.
And don’t forget, we’ll also be announcing yet another “Drone Video of the Week” winner. The winner will take home $250 — and you can, too. All you have to do to be eligible is upload your drone videos to AirVuz.com.

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To watch the previous episode of "World of Drones" CLICK HERE To learn more about DroneSeed CLICK HERE To see the FAA's full list of stakeholders CLICK HERE SOURCES: “Aeronautical Knowledge and Safety Test Updates.” FAA, 9 Dec. 2019, www.faa.gov/uas/recreational_fliers/knowledge_test_updates/. DroneSeed. “FAA Approves Rare Permit to Replant After Wildfires.” Daily Record, 12 Dec. 2019, www.dailyrecordnews.com/news/state/faa-approves-rare-permit-to-replant-after-wildfires/article_130aa32b-53dc-5540-af20-e6633f22d11b.html. Filenius, Jodie. “State Trooper Uses Drone to Find Dog Following Crash.” TMJ4, 13 Dec. 2019, www.tmj4.com/news/local-news/state-trooper-uses-drone-to-find-dog-following-crash. Hytha, Michael. “Robo Air Taxi Maker EHang Ends Trading Debut Down a Penny.” Bloomberg.com, Bloomberg, 12 Dec. 2019, www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-12/chinese-robo-air-taxi-maker-ehang-falls-in-u-s-trading-debut.