Drone News Roundup: FAA Working on Major BVLOS Rule, Futuristic Drone Bike, and More!
BY Zacc Dukowitz
29 August 2024This week we’re covering what we know so far about the FAA’s new rule on BVLOS, which will be released as a draft at the end of this year.
We’re also covering a futuristic—but super sketchy-looking—drone bike, a beautiful FPV shot from the Dolomites, experiments with flying a drone inside a moving truck, and Cyberhawk’s nationwide BVLOS waiver.
Now on to the links!
FAA’s BVLOS Rule Will Be Released at the End of 2024
The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024—the recurring bill that funds the FAA for five years, reauthorizing the agency and setting its goals and priorities—mandated that the FAA draft a BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) rule by the end of 2024. Since the FAA released the Part 107 rules back in 2016, flying BVLOS has been a kind of holy grail for the drone industry. The FAA knows this, and it has been testing BVLOS operations for years, most recently in the BEYOND program (which takes its name from the first word in BVLOS).
So far, we know that the FAA’s Part 108 BVLOS rule will:
- Establish operating rules for BVLOS operations.
- Streamline the acceptance process for BVLOS drone ops, replacing the current system of individually applying for waivers or exemptions.
- Define standards for remote pilots or UAS operators for BVLOS operations.
After the FAA releases the draft rule it will be open for public comment, at which point you can submit your thoughts on the rule to the FAA. Once the public comment window closes the FAA will collect feedback, finalize the rule, and release it. Follow the link below for more information on the rule’s timeline.
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Would You Ride This Drone Bike?
View this post on Instagram
Call me a worry wart, but I don’t see a seatbelt on this thing—though we have to admit, it looks pretty cool. This video was shared to an Instagram account called Upscale Luxury, but riding one of these flying bikes looks more like an extreme sport than a high-end transportation offering. Either way, I guess we’ll have to wait a few more years until we can try one for ourselves, since the post says “drone bicycles coming in 2026.”
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Tricky FPV Flying in the Dolomites
This short FPV shot was captured by YouTuber SirM Productions in the Dolomite Mountains, a famous mountain range in northeastern Italy. But the video doesn’t just feature stunning natural beauty. It also has some pretty tricky—not to mention gutsy—flying. Against a gorgeous backdrop, the pilot flies across a bridge and then under another one, with the space between the bridge and the water looking like it’s barely big enough to fit the drone. Said one commenter, “At first glance, I thought it’s kinda a video game trailer. Awesome shot and unrealistically beautiful place.”
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What Happens When You Fly a Drone Inside a Moving Truck?
If you’re standing in the back of a U-Haul, you’ll be pushed backward as the truck accelerates. This happens because of inertia. Newton’s First Law of Motion states that an object at rest tends to stay at rest, and an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by an external force. Since your body is at rest it wants to stay at rest—until the force of the truck’s movement causes your body to move. But what happens to a drone hovering in the air? Does it also follow Newton’s First Law, or is it more complicated because it’s in the air? Watch this video to find out.
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Cyberhawk Secures Nationwide BVLOS Waiver
Credit: Cyberhawk
The FAA has granted drone inspection company Cyberhawk a waiver that allows it to operate drones BVLOS without the need for a visual observer—and the waiver applies throughout the U.S. This kind of sweeping BVLOS waiver is rare, and a big win not only for Cyberhawk, but also for the drone industry at large. These kinds of waivers are great for the drone industry because they expand the capabilities of commercial drone ops, opening not only new use cases but also expanding the vision for what drones can do to support work. According to the company, the waiver will “significantly enhance Cyberhawk’s ability to support critical infrastructure sectors, including utilities, oil and gas, and capital projects, with robust high-precision aerial inspections and data analytics.” With the waiver, Cyberhawk anticipates it will be able to increase efficiency, enhance safety, gain greater coverage, and get access to innovative data solutions.
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