When One Door Closes

B2, After The Fall

I'll start with the good news: Birdie (B1) is back from the dead.

A few days after inhaling too much smoke at the Alpine Commons fire back in early June her electronics starting acting up and she refused to connect with satellites for GPS lock so none of the motors would fire up.

Alpine Commons June 4th

Now she connects to satellites quicker than ever allowing smooth firing off all four motors. Although she still does not like freezing weather, so her missions will be short in duration and short in range.

The bad news? It pains me greatly to report, B2 had a catastrophic incident on her last mission only about 10 seconds from safely landing next to me.

15 minutes into a flight I lost sight of her and hit the return home button which brings her back to initial launch site at an altitude of 70 feet. I set that height because it's just high enough to clear any buildings or trees in town center.

I actually had her in sight (and sound) and was just about to take over manual control when she listed 45 degrees and plummeted to earth. Solid earth, as in concrete.

But ever the trooper, her final photos came out fine, and even though three of four engines were destroyed on impact the remaining one still fired up after I reinserted the battery.

B2 briefly put a flag back up on Hampshire College main flagpole

B17's were famous for returning to base with two or sometimes even three engines out. And of course the "Miracle On The Hudson" demonstrated how a big old commercial jet can still glide after 100% engine failure.

But a quadcopter relies on all four engines for a balanced lift. Should one fail, it's an instant death spiral. Even a passive fall from 70 feet up would be fatal.

 Birdie, back from the dead

Perhaps that's why the original Birdie suddenly returned to life. Imbued with the warrior spirit of B2.

Drone Revolution Indeed!

Patriotic drone over Springfield Technical Community College

300 feet over Mt. Sugarloaf summit

I was one of about 35 participants in an all-day educational seminar at the nifty new UMass Center, a  satellite campus of our flagship University located at Tower Square in the heart of Springfield on Thursday.

'Twas an interesting demographic mix of DPW Directors, academics, civil engineers, consultants,  agricultural folks, and a couple of Northampton police officers, although I was the only journalist.

And I came away higher than ever on the future of drones doing amazing things for our economy, agriculture and public safety.

The new FAA rules (Part 107) creating a Pilots Certificate for commercial use of a small unmanned aircraft -- aka drone -- go into effect August 29 and as one of the presenters pointed out, "We are the pioneers, similar to where the aviation industry was in the 1920s."

Previously to use a drone commercially you had to have a pilots license, so the new rules will open things up for the average person who could use an eye in the sky.  Especially Public Safety Departments who could use them to save lives.

 Alpine Commons fire June 4

I mentioned how Birdie assisted Chief Nelson at the Alpine Commons fire on June 4th, giving him a clear enough view of the roof to know it was no longer safe for his firefighters to be in the building.

 Pelham brush fire July 24

And again a few weeks ago at the Pelham brush fire where aerial photos over three days showed the location, size, and how effective firefighter efforts had been over the three day battle.

The presenters pointed out the importance of public education to dispel some of the bad press drones have received, mainly due to irresponsible use that gives everyone a bad name.

Amherst's drone ban came up but I was quick to point out it was only an "advisory" article that cannot be enforced.  Besides, Amherst Town Meeting is now on death row so they have bigger things to worry about.

Cities, towns or states can attempt to pass binding legislation (bylaws) but the FAA has control of airspace from just above grass to the heavens.  Although drones are still limited to 400 feet of altitude.

American airspace hosts 90,000 flights per day with a mix of military, cargo and commercial aircraft.  Already the number of registered drones outnumbers licensed pilots nationwide.

And soon enough some of those aficionados will be trained certified professionals.

Class demo by David Price using Phantom 3

Have Drone Will Travel

Drones can quickly ascertain storm damage

The long awaited FAA rules to keep the skies safe from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles takes a scorched earth approach by requiring operators to have a pilots license, which costs many thousands of dollars, and even then restricting flights to more than 400 vertical feet during daylight hours only.

Talk about a deal killer.

Let's hope the outcry, which will mimic the sound of angry bees made by the whirring propeller blades, gets the attention of killjoy bureaucrats.

Mandating a pilots license for flying a drone is like requiring a ham radio license for operation of a smart phone, or requiring Twitter users to have a broadcast license from the FCC.

Back in the mid 1970s when CB radio interest skyrocketed and the 23 channels became swamped by avid users the FCC allowed expansion to 40 channels to deal with the rise in popularity.  And yes, a license was required but all it took was filling out a form and sending in a check for $20.

Sure, like all things in life a nitwit few can give the huge majority of responsible aficionados a bad name by doing stupid irresponsible things.  Just as a hammer can be used as a weapon, so too can a drone flying at top speed into someone's head.  Or getting too close to a commercial jet.

The recent technological improvements using GPS satellites navigation, return home failsafe features, and airport avoidance software demonstrates the industry is capable of policing itself.  DJI the industry leader, is doing for drones what AOL did for Internet usage 20 years ago -- making things simpler and less scary.

Over the past year I can think of many occasions where Amherst public safety departments could have used an eye in the sky:  The Blarney Blowout or Southpoint Apartments fire quickly spring to mind.  Or search and rescue at the top The Notch. 

A drone is fast, fearless, immune to smoke ... and the camera never blinks.  

Rather than throw a bucket of water on solid state circuitry, the FAA needs to apply simple, common sense rules to control drone usage over the land of the free. 

  

Canada keeps it simple