It's Friday September 1st and here is Aviation Weekly #9.
In this edition:
1.
Three ways in which drones are helping save people and animals.
2.
Free checklist for aspiring helicopter pilots.
3.
Development of Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Dream Chaser reaches another milestone.
Hello, my name is Ben Lovegrove and here is this week's round-up of aviation news from
high altitude to below 400 feet.
Each week I bring you selected stories in the worlds of airlines, flight training, aviation
history, drones and UAV.
Head over to Redspan.com to find out how I can make marketing videos for your aviation
business.
So chocks away then.
1.
Drones are being used in an increasing number of ways and just three of those methods show
their versatility.
Volunteer drone pilots as well as those operated by the emergency services have been used to
spot people, pets, and livestock in need of rescue in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.
They will also be used by insurance companies who need to inspect the extent of damage to
property.
In Australia, drones fitted with artifical intelligence will be used to spot sharks near
beaches.
They will provide live feed to the drone pilot and the AI can identify sharks more accurately
and quickly than the human eye.
Another way in which drones are being used is in the process of gathering data during
forest fires.
It's well known that water bombing aircraft, both propeller driven and jet, are used to
fight fires but before they can fly data must be gathered.
If the fire and the local climate cause an inversion over the fire then they may not
fly at all.
Fixed wing UAV are being tested to fly through smoke to gather data that will enable the
water bombing to be more accurate.
2.
According to AOPA the drop-out rate among trainee helicopter pilots is as high as 80%.
It's a sad fact that the majority of student helicopter pilots give up before they complete
the training and obtain a Private Pilots Licence.
This is attributed to the fact that many are unsure of the training path and do not receive
the all necessary guidance.
If you're a student pilot or an instructor you might have an opinion on this so add your
feedback in the comments section below this video.
It is thought that student pilots are unsure of how to evaluate all the options open to
them and don't make timely and correct decisions in order to maintain the contininuity in their
training.
To address this problem 11th Dimension Helicopters have put together a free helicopter training
checklist.
You can download it at the address on the screen now 11thDimensionHelicopters.info.
3.
Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Dream Chaser reached another milestone recently with a
successful lift test.
It's designed to be a reusable, pilotless cargo vehicle that can transport material
and crew into orbit.
It will have autonomous launch, flight and landing capabilities and will be able to operate
on many commercial runways around the world.
With the retirement of the Space Shuttle in July 2011 the International Space Station
has been resupplied using Russian built Progress spacecraft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
in Kazakhstan.
Dream Chaser has been in development for over ten years.
Once the project is complete each aircraft will be able to be reused up to fifteen times.
It's anticipated that the Dream Chaser will enter service in 2020.
That's all for this edition of Aviation Weekly so subscribe to my channel for the next and
to catch up on any you've missed.
This was a Redspan Solutions production.
Head over to Redspan.com to find out how I can make marketing videos for your aviation
business.