Drone News Roundup: 5 FAA Drones Rules You’re Probably Breaking, FPV Drone Tour of Venezuela, and More!

This week we’re covering five FAA drone rules you may be breaking without realizing it.

We’re also covering an FPV drone journey through Venezuela, a new firmware update for the DJI Neo that adds vertical video, Skypixel’s 10th annual contest, and Sony’s discontinuation of the Airpeak S1.

Now let’s get to those links!

Are You Breaking Any of These FAA Drone Rules?

Did you know? Even if you’re only flying your drone for fun, you still need to take a short course from the FAA called the TRUST. (TRUST stands for The Recreational UAS Safety Test.) And that’s just one of the FAA’s drone rules you might be breaking without even knowing it. We cover five rules you might be accidentally breaking in this video, including flying over people and flying in controlled airspace without authorization. Watch the video for all five.

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Journey through Venezuela by FPV Drone

Home to the epic Angel Falls—the waterfalls that inspired Paradise Falls in the Pixar movie Up—Venezuela is chock full of natural beauty. This video shot by YouTuber Andras Ra features some great, high-energy drone shots of the waterfalls, as well as shots of the Amazon rainforest and several other exotic destinations in the country. The video was shot entirely by FPV drone, and includes some modern AI effects—hope you enjoy it.

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DJI Neo Gets Vertical Video and Faster Tracking with New Firmware Update

Credit: DJI

The Neo is DJI’s first true selfie drone, since it can basically fly itself for simple shots, including aerial selfies. When the Neo first came out, two of its biggest weaknesses were that it didn’t shoot vertical video—important for anyone shooting for Instagram or TikTok—and its automated tracking was too slow. Now, a new firmware update has fixed both of these issues. With the update, the Neo now has vertical video. And it can track subjects much faster, allowing it to keep up with a cyclist as he rides at high speeds, which makes it more valuable for those shooting extreme sports. At $199, the Neo was already a great value. And these new updates will make it even more competitive when compared to other selfie drones on the market.

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$170,000 Worth of Prizes in Skypixel’s 10th Anniversary Contest

Skypixel’s annual aerial photo and video contest is now open for submissions. This contest marks the tenth year in a row that the contest has been run. Every year, the winners include some of the best aerial videography and photography we’ve ever seen. And this year, a new category has been added. In addition to drone photography and videography, Skypixel will also be considering work shot on DJI handheld devices, reflecting the company’s continued push into the photography space. (On that note, DJI recently filed a 360 camera with the FCC.) With $170,000 in prizes on the line, this year’s contest is shaping up to be the most epic of them all.

Want to enter? You can submit your work any time from now until February 10, 2025. Winners will be announced on March 27—follow the link below for the official contest details.

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Sony to Discontinue the Airpeak S1

Credit: Sony

Another company has thrown in the towel on the prosumer drone game. Sony’s Airpeak S1 made a big splash when it first launched in 2022, but it never really lived up to the hype, according to those who used it. At $9,000, the Airpeak S1 was priced at just around the same amount as the Matrice 350 RTK. But while the M350 has proven to be a reliable prosumer platform for commercial work, arguably making it worth the higher price, the Airpeak S1 never seems to have hit the same level of dependability. Or adoption, for that matter. Sony will stop selling the Airpeak S1 as of March 31, 2025, but it will keep supporting the S1 with inspections, repairs, and software maintenance for another five years, until March 31, 2030.

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