The Top Drone News Sites of 2015
BY Alan Perlman
29 April 2015
Image source: VideoUniversity
Drone news sites give you the latest updates in our fast-growing industry.
Websites pop up every day covering the drone and UAV industry. It’s easy to get lost in the crowd, so we wanted to pick out the best sites covering drones and rank each one of them.
Whether you’re new to the industry or a seasoned vet, these resources will keep you in the loop. They will also help you decide which RC drones to buy, how to fly a drone, how to build one, and much more.
But you must be wondering…
How Did We Rank Each Site?
To remove all possible bias from the order, we used Alexa ranking to rank each site.
Alexa rank is a direct measure of a site’s popularity. For example, Google has an Alexa rank of 1, meaning it’s the most popular website in the world.
Let’s hope this article sparks a little friendly competition between the sites covering news, reviews, and other topics in the drone industry. It will be interesting to compare next year’s results.
Related: Don’t forget to check out our list of 80+ drone companies to watch in 2017 as well.
First off, congratulations to all of the winners! You’ve done an amazing job with your sites.
Without further ado, here are the results!
Are you in the top 100?
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The Top 100 Drone News Sites of 2015
The DIY Drones blog boasts over 11,000 articles on the latest news, updates, and changes in the massive DIY community. You’ll often find relatively unknown companies getting exposure for their newest innovations. Read their news here.
Oscar Liang writes about multicopters, RC hobby, electronics, robotics, and website building. He goes into amazing depth with his DIY articles and projects. Check out his portfolio.
#3 MyFirstDrone — Korey Smith
If you haven’t heard of MyFirstDrone or Korey Smith, you haven’t been in the community long enough. If you’ve got a question about drones, one of Korey’s articles can probably answer it for you.
#4 Drone Flyers — Craig Issod
Drone Flyers not only offers great articles, but it also hosts one of the top drone forums around. If you’re looking for news, reviews, or helpful beginner’s guides, head over to Drone Flyers.
Like their name says, Best Quadcopter Reviews offers top notch break downs of every quad under the sun. If you’re struggling to make a buying decision, this is the place to go.
#6 Dronelife
Another crowd favorite, Dronelife offers buying guides, news updates, and much more to help you navigate (as they say) the wild, wild west of the commercial drone industry.
Quadcopters.co.uk is one of the premier suppliers of quadcopters in the United Kingdom. They also keep their customers regularly updated with the latest quadcopter news.
#8 sUAS News
Gary Mortimer has put together a fantastic resource at sUAS News. He and the rest of the team continue to uphold their goal of separating facts from fiction in this ever-evolving industry.
VideoUniversity helps people “master the art, technology, and business of video production.” Through their blog, they focus heavily on aerial videography and relaying news to their audience.
The Aero-News Network “was designed to take the vital and much-needed next step in the evolution of information sharing about and within the aerospace world.” They cover aviation news with a strong focus on UAV FAA regulations.
With 17 years in multi-rotor manufacturing, Draganfly Innovations has positioned themselves as one of the top sellers of unmanned aerial systems. They cover industry news extensively.
Spacewar covers drone and UAV news across all facets of the industry. They’re one of the leaders when it comes to industry updates.
Quadcopter Flyers documents quadcopter news, reviews, and updates, and even a nice quadcopter glossary.
#14 Drones Etc
Drone Etc is full service drone store, which won the Shopify Build-a-Business competition in 2014. Their blog is a constant feed of news and updates.
#15 DroneBly
DroneBly offers loads of articles discussing drone accessories, flying tips, videos, and industry news. If you’ve got questions about which drones and parts to buy, you will likely find your answers here.
UV Online features stories from all over the UAV industry, with a nice mix of product and company updates.
#17 Unmanned Systems Technology
Unmanned Systems Technology is a dedicated directory of suppliers in the unmanned systems industry. They include all unmanned systems, with a news section focusing heavily on air vehicles (UAV/UAS/RPAS).
#18 Dronethusiast
Dronethusiast was founded by two Drone Maniacs, Nic and Zsolt. Together, they bring you tips, tutorials, news, and reviews that any drone enthusiast wouldn’t want to miss.
#19 Aeryon Labs
Aeryon Labs is a sUAS provider “at the center of major world events and international media stories.” For a global perspective on the drone industry, check out their aerial systems news.
#20 AUVSI
Serving more than 7,500 members, “the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International is the world’s largest non-profit organization devoted exclusively to advancing the unmanned systems and robotics community.” Read their news.
BirdsEyeView Aerobotics is a startup company based in New Hampshire. With a background in aerospace engineering, they’re testing their chops in the consumer aerobotics market. Check out their industry news and their awesome creation.
#22 Droneblog
Droneblog offers a whirlwind of news, industry updates, and cool feature stories about drones and UAVs. They also welcome contributors with open arms, so if you have something to say, Droneblog might want to hear it.
#23 Quadcopter HQ
Quadcopter HQ gives out quadcopter reviews and drone information. This site specializes in helping you pick the right quadcopter and making sure you know when new products are launched or regulations change.
#24 PrecisionHawk
PrecisionHawk offers 3D mapping and aerial data collection services to a wide range of clients. They’ve been featured in many high-profile publications, and they offer a nice curation of UAV industry news.
#25 Skyward
Skyward is a cloud-based information management platform that powers the global aerial robotics network. They’re a team of “professional pilots, computer scientists, and regulatory experts who are passionate about this new era of aviation.” Read their industry news.
#26 iRevolutions — Patrick Meier
Patrick Meier is an internationally recognized thought leader on humanitarian technology and innovation. His blog, iRevolutions, discusses how innovation and technology are revolutionizing the power of the individual. One of those technologies are drones/UAVs.
#27 Personal Drones 
Personal Drones has been on “a quest toward the perfect quadcopter or multirotor for aerial video and personal flying freedom” since 2013, and is one of the best resources for keeping up with multirotor and quadcopter news.
If you’re looking for UAV news that you simply won’t find anywhere else, look no further than RotorDrone. From manufacturer updates to Lady Gaga’s quadcopter dress, you will find it all here.
#29 Quadcopter Guide
Quadcopter Guide was born out of Felix‘s pure enjoyment with quadcopters. Get a glimpse of his top stories and the rest of his quadcopter articles.
Started by two drone enthusiasts, Quadcopter Garage evolved from a place for them to post their builds and product reviews, to a resource for advice and learning. Check out their articles.
#31 QuadHangar
As soon as you enter the QuadHangar, you’re offered a detailed overview of which drones to buy. Their blog sports high quality news, quadcopter reviews, and in-depth how-to’s.
Ready Quadcopters provides some of the best product information around. Their goal is to “bring quadcopters to the masses,” and they’re doing it in a big way with their blog.
#33 AirVid
AirVid offers a valuable UAV pilot directory to help connect people seeking aerial video with drone experts in hundreds of locations. And they make sure to keep both pilots and clients up to date with new regulations and products hitting the market.
Drone Training HQ helps people find drone trainfing and UAV schools in their area, while giving you the scoop on drone schools opening up around the country (as well as other news).
#35 Drone Analyst
Drone Analyst is a research and consulting firm specializing in the commercial UAS industry. They provide key insights to buyers, investors, and suppliers to help them make decisions with confidence. Their UAS news is just as unique as their service.
#36 Best Quadcopter
The Best Quadcopter blog is a treasure trove of quadcopter, hexacopter, and multirotor resources. From news to reviews and tutorials, they have you covered.
#37 That Drone Show
That Drone Show covers the best of the drone industry — in both written AND video format. If you really want to get into drones, don’t miss an episode!
#38 UAV Coach
Our goal is to push the drone community forward — with the latest news, drone reviews, and UAV pilot training. We couldn’t be happier to share our passion for drones with you all.
#39 Drone-Flyers.com
Drone Flyers offers an amazing amount of reviews and news for just about every quadcopter out there. Make sure to browse through their header. You’ll be sure to find a type of quad that interests you.
#40 UAV Expert News
UAV Expert News features industry news, the latest products products, and the best in aerial photography and videography. Get it here.
#41 Drone Girl
Drone Girl is run by Sally French, a drone journalist who reports on drones (and sometimes with them). Her blog was created “with the intent of exploring drones and how they can assist the world via the imagery they produce.” Drone Girl produces some of the most interesting news around.
Geospatial Solutions provides news and discussion on GIS, Earth imaging and geospatial markets. Their UAS/UAV news focuses heavily on drones and their applications in GIS (and other uses).
#43 Drones Den
Drones Den aims to be a one-stop-shop for anything drone related. Their articles beautifully cover industry news, drone reviews, opinion pieces, buyer’s guides, and more. Check out their useful “Instafinder“.
#44 UAS Magazine
UAS Magazine is “the only quarterly publication, exclusively highlighting the most critical developments and cutting-edge technologies for unmanned aerial systems in the civil, agriculture, defense and commercial markets worldwide.” A must-read for all enthusiasts.
MultiRotor Pilot Magazine is dedicated to helping readers learn more about multirotors and their capabilities. Their expert staff puts together amazing industry news, technology overviews, DIY articles, and more.
#46 Unmanned Tech
Unmanned Tech specializes in providing unmanned systems for both fixed wing and rotor wing platforms. Their blog gives you the information you need in a nice, friendly tone you don’t see in most business blogs.
#47 FlySafe
FlySafe is an in-person UAV pilot training conference. They offer multi-day training sessions, stocked with food, photography lessons, mechanics tutorials, FPV training, and more. Check out their blog to stay connected with the UAV industry and FlySafe’s own news.
#48 QuestUAV
QuestUAV is a UK based manufacturer of small, fixed wing unmanned aircraft (sUAV). They not only manufacture winged drones, but also provide product training, flight training, and data analysis support. QuestUAV keeps you up to date with UAV industry news from around the world.
#49 Drone Examiner
Drone Examiner writes about drone reviews, news, and manufacturers. But they will also paint, assemble, program, and calibrate your drone. That’s some service!
#50 Miami Aerial
Miami Aerial offers aerial video and photography services. They provide multirotor news for the beautiful state of Florida.
#51 DroneAbove
Justin Edwards started DroneAbove to showcase his aerial videography/photography and explore new technology and techniques related to drone operations. Read his blog for first-hand reviews and opinions on the drones you’re probably using.
#52 Drone Select
Drone Select is a hub of useful drone and quadcopter knowledge. It’s packed with reviews and walk-throughs for all kinds of drones and accessories.
#53 Unmanned Aerial 
Unmanned Aerial’s UAV news articles delve into many applications for drones, including fire/rescue, agriculture, land surveying, wildlife management, real estate, visual arts and utility management. Learn more here.
The UAV Digest is a 30-minute weekly podcast discussing anything and everything about unmanned aerial vehicles. David Vanderhoof and Max Flight host the show every Friday. Make sure to tune in!
The Small UAV Coalition advocates for law and policy changes to permit the operation of small unmanned aerial vehicles beyond the line-of-sight, with varying degrees of autonomy, for commercial, consumer, recreational and philanthropic purposes. Read their small UAV headlines.
#56 Urban Drones
After much frustration with the dissatisfactory quality of drones and their parts, Urban Drones was founded to provide quality parts for amateur drones. Their blog features tech developments, drone deals, and drone law updates.
#57 Farming Drones
Into drone applications in agriculture? Farming drones has you covered with everything you need to know to get up to speed.
#58 Skyvantage
Skyvantage offers experienced aerial video and photography services. Their blog features news as well as how drones are being used for marketing and other business purposes.
#59 MultiRotor USA
MultiRotor USA is run by Anthony, a MultiRotor builder, flyer, and enthusiast based in New York City. MultiRotor USA features drone videos, awesome build logs, a drone store, and news on the latest technology.
Inside Unmanned Systems provides actionable business intelligence to decision-makers and influencers in the global UAS/UAV/drone community. Their industry news features amazing technology insights, independent reports, and actionable evaluations. This is some advanced stuff you don’t want to miss.
#61 DroneZon
DroneZon covers UAV news across the industry. They provide great beginner’s resources, DIY videos, and drone reviews. Definitely worth checking out.
#62 Drone Laws Blog
The Drone Laws Blog, by Antonelli Law, covers FAA approvals, petitions, and regulations that every pilot or aspiring pilot should be aware of.
#63 SmartDrone
If you’re into action sports and awesome shots, SmartDrone covers a ton of these drone-captured events. They also produce how-to’s, FAA updates, and fun articles.
#64 Quadcopter Blog
Quadcopter Blog covers a solid host of quad-related topics, including micro quadcopters, mini quadcopters, nano quadcopters, and tri-copters. If you like a certain style, you’ll probably find articles about it on this blog.
#65 Black Tie Aerial
Black Tie Aerial is a “site for the most dignified multirotor enthusiasts”. Here you’ll find builds, designs, tutorials, tips, and more.
#66 theUAVguy — Iain Butler 
Iain Butler runs theUAVguy, a blog covering UAV industry news, its growth, and applications. You will find personal anecdotes about UAV expos, photos, and more about Iain’s experiences in the industry. Check out his articles.
#67 DroneSpeak
DroneSpeak offers beautiful navigation to everything you want to know about drones, including different applications, videos, resources, DIY information, industry news, and a comprehensive glossary of drone terms. Want your drone information fix? Check out DroneSpeak.
#68 Drone Definition
If you’re looking for total coverage of the industry, Drone Definition offers it. The future of drones, commercial applications, military drones, drone law, law enforcement drones — there’s something here for everyone.
#69 Drone Lifestyle
Living the drone lifestyle? We all are. Drone Lifestyle is a news site that takes a different spin on integrating them into society. The author advocates integrating them into our entire lifestyle — even giving reasons why drones are great for teens. Read this blog for a new angle on drones and their role in society.
#70 Drone 55
Drone 55 are Los Angeles-based aerial cinematography and photography specialists. Their drone blog covers everything from aerial filming to quadcopters, drone training, and commercial UAV news.
The Drone Journalism Lab is part of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s College of Journalism and Mass Communications. It was started by Professor Matt Waite as a way to explore how drones could be used for reporting. If you’re interested in drone journalism and want to learn more, this is your go-to resource.
#72 FAA Daily
A large part of the UAV industry’s future rests in the FAA’s hands. Every enthusiast is interested in the regulations they roll out. FAA Daily will tell you about it whenever it happens.
#73 Detroit Drone
Detroit Drone is a Detroit-based aerial videography company. They provide news and updates on the drone industry on their blog.
The MultiRotor Podcast is hosted by multirotor experts Joe Papa and Erick Royer. The podcast has over 30,000 subscribers and has been downloaded over 200,000 times. This is some of the most in-depth multirotor information directly from the experts themselves. Download it here.
Looking for the best quadcopter kit? This site has you covered. It will walk you through features, pros, cons, and pricing options for each kit.
#76 Drones.org
Drones.org covers everything you can imagine about the drone industry. They even provide whitepapers, press releases, and job information. Check out their news articles.
#77 Jamie Brightmore
Jamie Brightmore is a designer and filmmaker specializing in aerial photography and videography, motion controlled timelapse, cinematography, and motion graphics. Jamie’s blog covers all of these topics, including his own work.
Quadcopter Academy was founded by David, a drone enthusiast who saw a need for quality advice in the industry, and decided to do something about it. He’s focused on helping you find the best quadcopter that you can afford, along with videos, industry news, and how-to guides.
#79 UAV-America
UAV-America develops custom drones for specific applications. Their blog features reviews, how-to’s, and informative articles about UAV applications. Read their articles to learn from some of the most experienced builders in the industry.
#80 The Drone News
The Drone News features videos from around the web. They showcase drones, their applications, and latest updates.
#81 Dronologista
Dronologista wants to connect people and organizations that are developing, producing, or using drone systems for private, commercial, artistic or any other non military purpose.
#82 FPV Blog
FPV Blog features everything to do with first person view quadcopters. Videos, builds, gear, quads — Crashpilot has you covered.
#83 The Drone Zone
The Drone Zone is a club for drone enthusiasts and aerial photographers. Their members regularly post content, and the site features videos, photos, and news related to drones.
#84 DroneClick
DroneClick is a directory of professional drone operators. They curate every news article from some of the top blogs in the industry. Want to keep up with what the best blogs are saying? Follow DroneClick.
#85 Drone World
Drone World is a hand curated source for quadcopter/multirotor news and reviews from around the globe. They feature news from personal, commercial, and military drones.
#86 Totally Unmanned
Totally Unmanned covers a variety of UAV news, including agriculture, charity, emergency services, infrastructure, and logistics. They focus on how these drone applications affect society today.
#87 UAV Protect
UAV Protect offers worldwide UAV insurance. Their news features a mix of the latest FAA regulations, aerial videos, industry news, and, of course, UAV insurance! If you’re looking to get your news fix and learn about insurance for your rig, head over to UAV Protect.
#88 UAVwire
UAVwire monitors news from over 30 respected sites in the UAV industry. This curation offers you the best of all news the industry has to offer.
#89 Droneflo
Droneflo covers news from across the industry, with a nice mix of photography, interviews, tutorials, tips, and deals.
#90 Drone TV Network
The Drone TV Network is a subsidiary of sUAS News. Their videos cover important events in the drone industry.
AirSpace Consulting provides UAS services in the commercial industry. Their news covers FAA updates, reactions to new regulations, interesting stories, and more.
There you have it:
The top drone news sites of 2015!
Congratulations to everyone who made this list. If you think you should be on the list, and aren’t, go ahead and fire off an email to support@uavcoach.com and we’ll sort it out.
Before you go, here are our honorable mentions:
The (Very) Honorable Mentions
The following sites were omitted from the above list for one or more of these reasons:
- They’re not mostly dedicated to drones, UAVs, UAS, multirotors, etc.
- They’re not mostly single-author sites.
As you will see, many of these sites would have skewed the results from sites that are more dedicated to drones or are mostly single-author sites.
However, these sites would have DEFINITELY made the top 100. And they deserve the same recognition.
Here they are:
Drone 360 Blog (Discover Magazine)
Center for the Study of the Drone (check out their weekly news roundup)
(If your site is an honorable mention and you think it should be on the main list, send an email to support@uavcoach.com)
More Honorable Mentions
There are much more than 100 sites covering the drone industry. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to find all of them.
We missed the mark on these sites, but they are in the top 100 and deserve to be featured as well:
Drone Flyers (different) — Drone Flyers offers a ton of information on quadcopters to help you choose the best one.
The Best Drone Info — The Best Drone Info covers news from across the industry to help you form your own opinion about drones and their uses.
Drone Reviewed — Drone Reviewed helps drone enthusiasts make purchasing decisions and even offers a $2000 quadcopter scholarship.
DroneYard — DroneYard combines company and industry related information in an easy-to-read format. They experiment with UAS and remote sensing.
Heliguy — Heliguy offers a whirlwind of RC helicopter and UAV products and services. Their blog also covers the latest product updates, events, and much more. Definitely worth spending some time checking out what they offer.
VideoDroneZone — VideoDroneZone is an excellent site offering drone reviews, videos and photos. The owner, Robbie, has over 50 years experience as a model airplane enthusiast.
Thank you to everyone who continually contributes to our amazing community.
What are your favorite sites covering the drone industry? Comment below.
