Our biggest story this week is about the all-new Freefly Astro drone. Freefly is known for its super-expensive and heavily-engineered Alta series of drones which are used mainly in big productions. Now, it is heartening to note that this American drone manufacturer has decided to target a wider audience with their new Astro drone. But, are the specs on this new drone comparable (or even superior) to the likes of DJI, Autel, and Skydio? And with such specs, can we expect this new drone to be launched at an affordable price point? For the latest scoop on this new drone, tune in to this segment of the show.

Our next big story is about flying drones in NYC. As most of you might be aware, an old avigation law makes it illegal for pilots to fly drones in NYC. Notwithstanding this law, a drone pilot recently posted a breathtaking video capturing the beauty of Manhattan on Facebook and YouTube. Because of COVID, the streets below were quite empty which resulted in a safe flight. There are many NYC drone pilots who are disregarding laws and just taking to the skies. Do you think it is high time that the FAA should change such drone laws? Do such archaic drone laws serve little to no purpose?

Other stories covered in today’s show include drone industry updates, how the ban on Chinese drones and spare parts is affected industry majors, reasons why remote-id is set to become a reality soon, and the marked difference in FAA’s attitude towards manned and unmanned aircraft.

We hope you enjoy this show!

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Timestamps

• [01:07] Are there any drones that are truly made in the USA?
• [01:38] Are industry majors like Autel, DJI, and Skydio gearing up to make drones that are completely made in the USA?
• [03:47] Can the new Freefly Astro drone be termed the “Honda Civic of Drones”
• [05:22] How does the new Freefly Astro drone compare to Freefly’s Alta series of enterprise drones?
• [07:32] What are the specs for this new Freefly drone?
• [07:55] Can we expect the new Freefly Astro drone to sell at an affordable price point?
• [08:38] Will the new Freefly Astro drone come with remote-id capabilities? What about the flight controller?
• [11:15] “]New Facebook video capturing the beauty of Manhattan raises questions about the current avigation law which prevents drone flight in NYC
• [13:53] To date, how many drone pilots that have been pulled up for flying illegally in NYC?
• [19:00] Are archaic drone laws resulting in non-compliance?
• [22:50] Can we expect remote-id for drones to become a reality anytime in the future?
• [27:17] Is there a marked difference between the FAA’s attitude towards manned and unmanned aircraft?
• [31:20] Will mass non-compliance eventually force the FAA to introduce more progressive drone laws?