AERIAL FILMMAKER
NEWS
Drones have beenmaking the headlines in the UK for all the wrong reasons lately – sightings have closed one of Europe’s busiest airports, and new legislation looks to impose tough new rules WORDS TERRY HOPE
Countering the cowboys The sighting of UAVs in the vicinity of
Gatwick Airport made headlines all around the world, andmystery surrounded the whole episode as police failed to establish who the pilot might be – and whether there were even any UAVs in the area at all. The announcement of tough new legislation shortly followed from the UK government (although this was in response to consultation that took place during 2018). Under the new plans, the exclusion zone around protected airport boundaries is set to be extended from 1km to 5km, while the police will be given additional powers to land, seize and search drones. The government also announced that it’s to work on expanded use of technology to detect and repel drones in sites, such as airports and prisons. These plans build on the announcement made last November that it will become a legal requirement for all owners of drones weighing 250 grams or more to register their drone with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and complete
RIGHT Drones over 250g will need to be registered with the Civil Aviation Authority
an online safety test. Owners who fail to comply will face fines of up to £1000/$1300. DJI was quick to offer assistance to the authorities in the wake of the Gatwick chaos, and promised to comply with appropriate requests from law enforcement and aviation regulation officials. “Aviation authorities should strongly consider several steps to help build a modern framework for managing the potential for drone interference,” the company commented. “This includes mandatory ‘Remote ID’ systems to identify andmonitor airborne drones, which require all drones to transmit the location of the drone and its pilot incoming danger. The drone will then land safely and in one piece, and the pilot can use the built-in black box to analyse what the issue was that arose in the first place. The product designed for the DJI Phantom4 is the first to receive an FAA waiver for flight over people with a parachute system, and it weighs just 9.9g/5.6 oz, so won’t adversely affect performance. Cost is $299 and a version for the Mavic Pro 2 is on the way. parazero.com
in real time, as well as an identification code. Governments should also consider authorising systems to directly counteract drones in extreme situations, with appropriate precautions to ensure it can be done safely and responsibly.” DJI’s own Remote ID system, AeroScope, provides location and serial number information for DJI drones to the authorities, and has been deployed at airports, stadiums and high-security locations around the world. Although not yet required by law, DJI also called on other drone manufacturers to implement Remote ID systems as soon as possible.
SELLINGASOFTERLANDING?
The ParaZero SafeAir systemuses independent sensors to constantly
monitor and analyse a drone’s flight data, immediately identifying critical failures and triggering a series of safety measures. In the event of a problem, the SafeAir will cut power to the drone’s motors via a Flight Termination System (FTS), then deploy the parachute, aided by a patented ballistic parachute launcher that can fully open the canopy in a fraction of a second. As it descends, the systemwill sound an alarm to warn bystanders below about
57
SPRING 2019 PRO MOVIEMAKER
Powered by FlippingBook