40 A Multicopter First Flight

David flys a multicopter, an Iranian RQ-170 clone, Embry-Riddle creates an unmanned masters program, Italy looks to build a UAV school, a US Airways flight encounters a UAV, Northrop Grumman and Yamaha team up, and Parrot has a new FPV drone. David’s First Flight Parker Gyokeres from Propellerheads Aerial Photography gives David the opportunity to fly a hexacopter, an AGL Hobbies UAP2-V2 with a Sony NEX camera on a 6-axis gyroscopic gimbal and a Naza-M.V2 controller . The video . The News: Iranian Version of RQ-170 Drone Unveiled The Iranian IRGC Aerospace Force claims to have reverse engineered the captured RQ-170 Sentinel stealth drone. Embry-Riddle Worldwide to Launch Master’s Degree in Unmanned Systems In August 2014, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University plans to offer a Master of Science in Unmanned & Autonomous Systems Engineering . Italy May Build UAV School The Italian Air Force in thinking about opening a UAV school that would be available to other air forces. Italy already provides manned aircraft training to foreign pilots at it’s Lecce facility. Possible UAV incursion and near miss , Airliner-Drone Near Miss Spurring FAA to Clamp Down on UAVs , AUVSI: Uncertainties surround reported UAV and airliner airprox The pilot of a US Airways CRJ-200 reported “a near midair collision” March 22, 2014 at 2,300 feet with a drone near the airport in Tallahassee, Florida. The pilot reported that the small unmanned aircraft involved looked similar to an F-4 Phantom jet. This comes from Jim Williams, head of the FAA’s unmanned-aircraft office. Northrop Grumman, Yamaha Announce ‘R-Bat’ UAV The Rotary Bat (or R-Bat) is based on Yamaha’s RMax agricultural helicopter, and will be part of Northrop Grumman’s Bat line of small unmanned aircraft systems. The R-bat is intended for search and rescue, power line inspection, and forest fire observation missions. Parrot’s New Drone Lets You Simulate Flying, Feet on the Ground The new Parrot Bebop quadcopter is essentially a flying high quality fisheye camera. FPV is provided by your smartphone or tablet. An option is the Skycontroller. This twin-joystick controller extends the Wi-FI range up to 2 kilometers. Normally, the range is 300 meters. The drones can also sync to Oculus Rift virtual reality headsets. AvWeb video from the AUVSI show in Orlando: Parrot’s DIY Bebop Camera Drone . Video of the Week: Incredible First Flight of the AT Black Knight Transformer from Mick The Black Knight Transformer is an autonomous “flying truck” that is both a helicopter and an automobile. Missions include autonomous casualty evacuation and cargo resupply. This is video of the prototype driving and flying tests.