On April 24, 2024, the Iraqi Ministry of Defense commemorated the 93rd anniversary of the Air Force’s establishment with a ceremony attended by notable figures including the Prime Minister, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and the Minister of Defense, among other senior leaders and officers. A significant highlight of the day was the first […]
The three contractors not chosen for the first increment of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program say they’re staying in the arena and will compete for other autonomous aircraft work for the Navy, foreign governments, and in the classified domain. But only two said definitively they will compete for Increment 2 of the Air Force’s CCA. […]
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., San Diego, California, was awarded a $387,545,690 definitized contract action for Global Hawk (RQ-4) aircraft sustainment. This contract provides for contractor logistics support services. The locations of performance are Sacheon Air Base, Republic of Korea; Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea; Misawa Air Base, Japan; Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy; and […]
In July 2023 I ordered the Autel EVO 2 Pro Enterprise V3 from Amazon. It was on sale @ $500 off for $3,500. It flew perfectly, but I had two issues. Spoke with customer service about it. One was I couldn’t get it to orbit around on object. I was used to DJI drones and […]
The MassDOT Aeronautics Division hosted their first public-facing Drone Safety Day, showcasing the innovation, technology and safety culture that the department has developed to deliver a wide variety of drone services across the state. Held at the agency’s UAS training field, the event featured speakers and pilots discussing the broad range of applications that MassDOT […]
Alphabet’s Wing and Walmart extend drone delivery to additional locations. Wing, a drone delivery company and part of Alphabet, is broadening its service area in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, increasing accessibility for customers. Initially introduced to the region in 2022, the company collaborates with Walmart to offer swift drone delivery directly from stores to homes. […]
Advancing Defense Innovation: Defense Innovation Unit 3.0 Focuses on Rapid Deployment of Commercial Technologies By DRONELIFE Contributor Dawn Zoldi (Colonel USAF, Ret.) In the realm of defense innovation, XPONENTIAL shined a spotlight on operationalizing DIU 3.0. A fireside chat discussion between Doug Beck, Director of the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), and Courtney Albon of Defense […]
The national ‘drone holiday’ of sorts is orchestrated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It’s all a way to encourage local drone pilots, businesses, first responders using drones, schools and more to come together and fly drones — all with safety in mind.
Groups all around the country put on their own live events to localize the FAA’s promotional campaign. As for me, I headed to my nearest Drone Safety Event, which was a Drone Safety Day & Swap Meet at Treasure Island in San Francisco, California.
Here’s a video recap of the Treasure Island Drone Safety Day 2024 festivities:
The event took place at the GAA Fields on Treasure Island. Those mark one of the best places to fly drones in San Francisco for one key reason: they’re a FAA-approved FRIA site. FRIA is short for FAA-Recognized Identification Areas, which means no Remote ID is required to fly over the GAA fields.
My trusty DJI Avata 2 came along for the ride with me on Drone Safety Day 2024. Beyond capturing some epic footage of the vibrant atmosphere, I also learned some tricks from the pros. Drone events like this are always helpful to pick up tips and tricks. Special thanks to the folks from UAV911 who helped me get comfortable flying with the DJI RC Motion 3. I had kind of been avoiding using it in favor of the DJI FPV Remote Controller 3 on my new Avata 2 drone. I’m just so much more comfortable on the sticks, so I didn’t want to learn the motion controller functions. Turns out, you can learn new tricks!
And it’s absolutely great to learn new tricks from drone pilots of all backgrounds, which you can absolutely do here! That included first responders, photographers, professional pilots, teachers and drone racers. With such a range of drone pilots came a range of drones, from the DJI Spark (quite a throwback) to DJI Matrice drones to the new Skydio X10D. Yep, this weekend was actually my first time seeing the American-made Skydio X10 in person).
Turns out, my Avata 2 wasn’t the only one of its kind there. Despite having launched only a few weeks ago, other San Francisco drone pilots are on top of the latest and greatest, too!
Here’s some of the footage I caught on my Avata 2 drone:
The entire day was a fantastic blend of education, connection, and pure drone-loving fun. A big shoutout to the sponsors. That includes SF Drone School, Drone of San Francisco, Uncrewed Pro, and Remote Optix, who made this event possible.
If you’re a drone enthusiast in the Bay Area and you missed the Drone Safety Day 2024 shindig, well, let’s just say you’ll have major FOMO (fear of missing out) next year. Trust me, mark your calendars early because this is one event you won’t want to miss in 2025!
And if you’re not in the Bay Area, it’s likely there was a Drone Safety Day 2024 event happening near you. Follow along with the FAA’s website to see what you can plan ahead for next year. Can’t wait until next year? Check out my guide to all sorts of other drone events in 2024 happening around the world.
Well, assuming we can fly DJI drones next year. Alas!
QinetiQ has successfully trialled the UK’s first Crewed-Uncrewed-Teaming demonstration between a crewed aircraft and an autonomous jet drone. The trial – which took place in collaboration with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), the Royal Navy and the Air and Space Warfare Centre (ASWC) – saw a QinetiQ jet aircraft take off from Ministry […]
Mayman Aerospace will unveil a full-scale model of Razor, its high-speed Air Utility Vehicle, during SOF Week 2024, May 6-10 in Tampa, Florida. Razor is the name for the military variant of the dual-use, jet-powered, high-speed vertical take-off and landing (HS- VTOL) vehicle, from US-based manufacturer Mayman Aerospace. Derived from the Speeder design, the scalable […]
On April 24, 2024, the Iraqi Ministry of Defense commemorated the 93rd anniversary of the Air Force’s establishment with a ceremony attended by notable figures including the Prime Minister, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and the Minister of Defense, among other senior leaders and officers. A significant highlight of the day was the first […]
