Droning on.....

[Kip Powick]

Well the boat is back home,  and the summer, as far as the weather was concerned,can be rated as a 6 out of 10.

Lots of wind, lots of rain and few really hot days.......but still it was enjoyable

A buddy who owns a sailboat and myself were asked by USA folks to look after their island, (Private Island in 1000 Islands Park), because they were unable to get up to Canada, (COVID and health problems..... so for the past two years we have always had a dock to go to)

In any National Park the operation of drones is prohibited unless authorized by the Park superintendent.

My case was a little unusual. The island we were on was about 75 feet away for a National Park island and as such I could fly my drones but boaters that docked on the Park Island could not fly theirs...unless they took their boat out and launched and recovered on their boat.

Anyhow, some good video was acquired   even though the RCMP patrol boat did stop and ask to see my operating licences.

My son is an avid mountain climber, in fact he proposed to his wife 16 years ago atop Mt DENALI, the highest mountailn in North America.

Recently he sent me a link of drone footage of Mount Everest and I was surprised they were using the same brand of drone that I have  but one model above mine... I have included a link and as you view it you will see many parts of the video being rather short as they switch from one scene to another.....The reason is that most DJI drones are limited to 25-35 minutes of air time due to the battery but when you consider the temperature on Everest you can understand why the drone battery did not last very long.

I thanked my son for sending the video and said, " don't even think of Everest" and he replied " He would give it a go if someone else paid for the adventure !!! " 

 

https://www.adventure-journal.com/2022/08/spellbinding-drone-footage-over-everest/

[GDR]

Wow!! Tanks KIp

[J.O.]

Welcome back, Kip.

Very cool video! I suspect the shortened time frame of the footage above the summit was also a function of how little time the climbers are able to stay there.

[conehead]

Spectacular!

[Specs]

All that snow and ice makes me wonder if I should start up the snow blower just to get ready or is it too soon?

Edited September 7, 2022 by Specs

[Guest2]

An advanced Drone....

What the new "bat drone" means for the Air Force’s autonomous fighter plans

Nicholas Slayton - Yesterday 11:09 a.m.

It’s official: The U.S. Air Force has a bat drone. Not a swarm of tiny drones disguised as bats but rather a new combat airframe. Specifically, it’s the MQ-28 Ghost Bat from Boeing’s Australian arm. And the new acquisition is the latest part of the Air Force’s efforts to test combining piloted aircraft with semi-autonomous wingmen.

The MQ-28 "Ghost Bat" drone. (Boeing Australia)© Provided by Task & Purpose

Breaking Defense first reported on the news. The Air Force’s Strategy, Integration, and Requirements office, also known as Air Force Futures, will be testing the combat drone. The Air Force confirmed with Breaking Defense that the MQ-28 Ghost Bat will be used in testing for technologies for “next generation capabilities.” The Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering acquired the Ghost Bat from Australia. The Royal Australian Air Force is already testing the drone, first flying it last year.

The Ghost Bat is a combat drone, meant to be controlled by lead human pilots. The name is less spooky in nature, instead taking its name from an Australian mammal known for its sight and hearing abilities. In design, it doesn’t resemble a bat, instead looking more like a slightly wider combat aircraft, minus a cockpit. The design is meant to be modular, being able to be modified for certain missions.

 

 

The acquisition is part of a wider effort by the Air Force to build out its Next Generation Air Dominance program, its term for developing sixth generation aircraft. Key to that will be the use of robotic wingmen, or as the Air Force calls them, combat collaborative aircraft. The tests are still early, and Air Force Futures commander Lt. Gen. Clint Hinote told Breaking Defense, early testing of prototypes are meant to collect data. From there, the Air Force will look at wider acquisitions. The Ghost Bat will be part of those early tests, not a sign of a full commitment from the Air Force yet.

“The first one sucks. Just always keep that in mind. Article one of anything we buy is not what we really want,” Hinote said.

It’s unclear exactly how many Ghost Bats the Air Force has — it could be just one or multiple airframes under the same system — or if more are needed for tests. 

And on a wider level, the military has been testing and fielding uncrewed devices as part of its efforts to modernize its forces. Some, like tiny sail drones, are already in use by the Navy. The Army’s Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing/Space Cross-Functional Team, a part of Army Futures Command, recently tested an Airbus Zephyr S drone at the Yuma Proving Grounds in Arizona (and other locations including overseas) that managed a record-breaking 64 days in flight before suddenly dropping out of the sky. 

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