Not Just for the Military Anymore: FAA Certifies Two Drones for Civilian Flights
What would you do with a drone of your own?
We cover a lot of drone stories on Geekosystem. We don’t always agree on how they’re being used, but we certainly agree that they’re cool. We want a drone of our own, but that’s been an unrealistic dream — until now. The FAA has approved two drone models for civilian use. We’re one step closer to a Geekosystem drone piloting the skies constantly on the lookout for geek news.
The two approved drones are the Insitu ScanEagle X200 and the AeroVironment PUMA. They each measure about four and a half feet long, with wingspans between nine and ten feet. They are also both lighter than 55 pounds. Either one would make a fine addition to our office.
The ScanEagle is destined to patrol the Alaskan skies for an energy company monitoring ice floes and whale migrations, while the PUMA will be deployed to the Beaufort Sea just north of Alaska to help aid oil spill response teams and monitor wildlife.
If we had one, we’d probably just have it to constantly monitor Chris Hadfield to see if he’s doing anything cool. He needs to be constantly monitored because we’re pretty sure he’s doing something cool at all times, and many of those things we don’t get to hear about.
Editorial Note: Commander Hadfield, we don’t really want to spy on you with a drone. We respect your privacy as much as we respect your mustache, which is a significant level of respect. But please stay in touch.
(via The Associated Press, image via U.S. Pacific Fleet)
- We’d also like to try piloting our drone with an Oculus Rift
- We’d keep it out of Colorado though. They hunt drones in Colorado
- There’s a disposable paper drone designed to fight forest fires
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