SO MANY GIVEAWAYS!
| Since our website giveaway was so popular, we decided to do another one! SKYFIRE DOES A GIVEAWAY, PROPELLER HEADS DOES A GIVEAWAY, EVERYBODY DOES A GIVEAWAY! The stakes may be a little lower, but still, who’s going to complain about free stuff? For real though, if you complain we (probably) won’t send it to you… This giveaway once again has us in cahoots with W.S. Darley & Co. and we’ve teamed up with them to give away a DJI Inspire 1 v2! Sign up for the giveaway will begin August 11th when the next Propeller Heads comes out. No real need to mark it in your calendars, we’ll mention it then too! |
| DODGE, DUCK, DIP, DIVE AND DRONES |
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Image courtesy: Knowridge Science Report
| For years, robotics and aeronautical engineers have turned to nature for inspiration. The Wright Brothers wing design was modeled from a birds wing, Boston Dynamics have their robotic dog/horse things, and Roomba based their vacuum off of… Hmm… We’ll circle back here. A catfish maybe? The point is, why reinvent the wheel? If something is working in nature, just take a note from that and apply it where you can. A team of scientists based in South Australia, Singapore, China, and Taiwan have come up with what seems to be a lighter than air meets flapping wing hybrid.They’re still in the development phase, but their drone weighs just 26 grams. It’s not more efficient than a quadcopter purely because of its weight or lack thereof, but it also has wings that provide lift and allow it to glide, which is something quadcopters are typically not designed to do.. It’s also much quieter than typical drones which is a definite plus. Some of the plans for this drone include surveillance, but also chasing birds away from airports and acting as pollinators at large farms. |
| 150mph WINDS, SURE! BUT THEN THERE ARE ‘GATORS |
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Photo courtesy: TimesofIsrael.com
| Hurricane season is upon us and an Israeli company, Percepto, has created the first drone to fly in 150mph winds, called the Sparrow. Well, we should qualify that the Sparrow is the first drone to safely fly in 150mph winds. Does a tourist holding on to an umbrella count as a manned drone? Where better could a drone that can survive hurricane level winds be, than the great state of Florida? Florida Power and Light seems to be one of their biggest current customers. The power company intends to have one of these systems at every substation, transmission yard, plant and solar facility. The only price estimates we were able to find were in the range of $100-250k. So Florida Power and Light customers should be on the lookout for a rate hike once they roll this one out! Because the drones are capable of autonomous flight, they can fly the drones even in the off season to maintain their infrastructure. The drones launch, land, charge, and can even be assessed for damage from the station or “Box”. What happens when the drone hits a pterodactyl sized mosquito, or the buzzing aggravates a momma alligator nearby? Winds are one thing, but dinosaurs are a completely different ballpark. |
| NO NEW INFO ON ROGUE DRONES, UNLESS THAT’S WHAT THEY WANT US TO THINK?? |
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Photo courtesy: Business Insider
| In the before time, the latter part of 2019 A.D., a phenomenon known as “Rogue Drones of Colorado” swept through the drone community. Nighttime sightings of a larger “Mothership” surrounded by many smaller drones flying in formation were reported not only by people living in RVs near Area 51, but also by trusted members of these rural communities, including police officers. Much has happened in the year 2020, making it easy to forget the mysteries of the past, but dedicated investigators never gave up on the search. There still isn’t much known about what type of drones they are, or who was operating the swarm, and no government agency claims to be responsible. The FAA sticks to their story that they are in the dark, the same as us all. But one can’t help but think, someone knows something. Were we visited by an alien species? What did they want? Did they know there are better places to visit than Colorado? Did they get bad directions from someone at a gas station outside of the Milky Way only to find there was no intelligent life on this planet? We may never find out. But that won’t stop us from searching. |
| A FEW MORE FOR YOUR BRAIN |
| UPCOMING EVENTS |
| Alright, folks — that’s it! Hope you have a great week! P.S. You digging Propeller Heads? Yeah? Us, too! Why don’t you forward it over to a buddy or encourage them to sign up here. We have a blast putting it together each time and the more the merrier! |