Drone News Roundup: DJI Avata 360 Finally on Sale in the U.S., Tips for Making Great FPV Drone Videos, and More!

This week we’re covering the DJI Avata 360 finally going on sale in the U.S.

We’re also covering tips for making a great FPV drone video, a Skeletor drone light show over Coachella traffic, a program that uses drones to help rescue lost dogs, and the FAA dropping a NOTAM tied to federal vehicles.

Now let’s get to those links!

DJI Avata 360 Is Now Available in the U.S.

The DJI Avata 360 launched on March 25. But you couldn’t find it anywhere in the U.S. back then. Despite DJI saying it would launch shortly after the March 25 date, the rollout continued to be pushed back. Now, after a month of waiting, the Avata 360 is finally available in the U.S., marking the official arrival of DJI’s first drone with a native 360-degree camera.

The Avata 360 is the first drone with both a native 360 camera and an FPV camera. It’s also one of the last drones the FCC gave DJI approval to sell in the U.S. DJI got the approval in the 11th hour late last year, shortly before the FCC moved to block approvals for new, foreign-made drones.

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How to Make a Great FPV Drone Video

Want to make great FPV drone videos? Sally French (The Drone Girl) has some tips for you. She’s fresh off of serving as a judge for the AirVuz 2025 Drone Video of the Year, and she learned a lot from watching dozens of impressive FPV videos. According to French, the strongest FPV drone videos:

• Have a clear concept
• Use the flight path to support that concept
• Show viewers something they haven’t seen before—instead of relying on pretty scenery alone

Read French’s full article to get all of her tips for making great FPV videos.

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Skeletor Drone Light Show Trolls Coachella Traffic

Drivers stuck in Coachella traffic got an unexpected show when a fleet of drones formed a massive Skeletor in the sky, complete with animated motion. The show played off the long-standing traffic headaches around the festival, turning a frustrating experience into something a little more entertaining. It’s a good example of how light show drones are being used in more playful ways—not just for planned events, but also to create live advertisements in real time.

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How Drones Are Transforming Dog Rescues

Drones are proving their value in finding lost dogs, especially when teams need to cover large areas quickly or search terrain that is slow or risky to search on foot. On the Isle of Man, a non-profit called Noodle’s Canine Rescue has been using thermal drones like the DJI Matrice 4T to scan cliffs, farmland, and low-visibility areas for missing dogs, then direct ground teams toward sightings. In several cases, the team has been able to locate dogs within hours of deploying the drone—sometimes spotting them in areas that searchers had already passed through without success.

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FAA Drops NOTAM Restricting Drone Flights Near Federal Vehicles

The FAA has rescinded a recent NOTAM that would have restricted drone flights near moving federal vehicles, including law enforcement convoys and other operations. The notice had raised concerns because it was broad in scope and could have created confusion for drone pilots trying to stay compliant in fast-moving situations. Critics—including journalists and civil liberties advocates—specifically pointed to the potential impact on documenting federal operations like those carried out by ICE, arguing the rule could limit aerial oversight in real time. Its removal suggests the FAA is still working through how to manage these kinds of operations without creating unclear or overly restrictive rules for drone pilots.

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