Drone News Roundup: Video of Actual Drone Taxi Flight, High Octane Reel of Action Drone Shots from Red Bull, and More!

This week we’re covering a video from drone taxi company AutoFlight showcasing a full flight of its air taxi Prosperity 1.

We’re also covering a high energy mashup of action drone footage from Red Bull, an amazing drone video of a whale gently nudging a paddle boarder on the ocean, the acquisition of Intel’s drone light show segment by Elon Musk’s brother Kimbal, and news that DJI will stop supporting the Phantom 2 and the Phantom 3 in September.

Now on to the links!

New Video Shows Real Flight of Drone Taxi

We hear a lot about all the money being invested in building drone taxis and the infrastructure needed to support them, such as the vertiports where they’ll take off and land. But it seems like most of the promotional materials for these futuristic vehicles feature artist’s renderings instead of actual giant drones in flight, carrying people. But this new video from AutoFlight shows a real flight with the company’s Prosperity 1. The company calls this flight a proof of concept, and it’s the second it has made in the last three months. According to AutoFlight, the Prosperity will be able to carry four people—3 passengers and 1 pilot—for a range of up to 155 miles (250 kilometers) with a cruising speed of 124 mph (200 kph).

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Check Out This Mashup of Red Bull’s Greatest Action Drone Shots

Red Bull has made a name for itself as a brand that supports extreme sports, and this reel featuring high octane drone shots is a great representation of that fact. From racing cars to snowboarding to motocross, this video has some incredible athletic stunts, and the aerial cinematography it features is just as impressive. If you’re looking for something high energy to wake you up, this video is just the ticket.

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Incredible Drone Video of a Giant Whale Swimming with a Paddle Boarder

Ever since Jaws, we’ve always wondered if something might be lurking beneath us when we swim in the open ocean. In this case, something was definitely lurking under the water, but it didn’t mean any harm. Take a look at this incredible drone footage of a Southern Right Whale gently nudging a paddle boarder with its fin. The video was captured off the coast of Puerto Madryn, Argentina by drone pilot Maximiliano Jonas.

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Kimbal Musk Buys Intel’s Drone Light Show Division

Elon Musk’s brother Kimbal recently bought Intel’s drone light show segment through his company, Nova Sky Stories. The company was only recently launched and is apparently focused on making drone light shows. The inspiration to get into drone light shows came to Kimbal when he was attending Burning Man and saw the drone light show featured above, in which light show drones make up the outline of a man, symbolizing the “man” the festival is named after. In related news,  Intel recently confirmed that it is entirely out of the drone industry, and has no plans to return.

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DJI Will Stop Supporting the Phantom 2 and Phantom 3 in September

Credit: DJI

In a recent statement, DJI said it will stop supporting the Phantom 2 and Phantom 3 starting on September 30 of this year. This isn’t that surprising—both drones haven’t been manufactured since 2017. In 2019, DJI said that it would not continue the Phantom line, with the only exception being the Phantom 4 Pro RTK. And even the Phantom 4 Pro is hard to find these days, showing up as out of stock on the DJI website and elsewhere. If you’re still using one of these Phantom models, now may be the time to consider an upgrade.

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