Drone News Roundup: Fast FPV Fly Through at a Medieval Castle, Leak Reveals DJI Air 2S Will Soon Be Compatible with the DJI RC, and More!

This week we’re covering a fun, fast FPV fly through of an ancient castle in France shot on a GoPro attached to an FPV drone.

We’re also covering a recent leak revealing that the Air 2S will soon be compatible with the DJI RC controller, a drone survey performed at an altitude of 8,000 feet at an active volcano in Japan, Wing’s development of different sizes of drones for deliveries, and DroneUp’s expansion into Europe.

Now on to the links!

Fast FPV Fly Through of a Medieval Castle

If you’re looking for a serene drone video featuring gloomy shots of castles, this isn’t it. Though it starts with a shot of the castle nestled in fog, this FPV drone video made at the Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy, France is super high energy, featuring shots where the drone flies up ancient stone staircases and dives down into the castle’s gardens. The video was shot entirely on a GoPro HERO8 by drone pilot Benoit Finck—take a look to be transported into a medieval world viewed through a modern lens.

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Leak Reveals the DJI RC Will Soon Be Compatible with the Air 2S

Mass production of DJI Air 2S with Smart RC has stopped, new SKU with DJI RC should be near.

— OsitaLV (@OsitaLV) July 13, 2022

Drone industry insider @OsitaLV recently leaked news that the DJI Air 2S will no longer come with the Smart Controller, but will instead come with the new DJI RC. The DJI RC was recently made compatible with the Mavic 3 via a firmware update. The idea that DJI plans to make other drone models compatible with its latest controller makes sense. It’s also good news if you’ve got an Air 2S, since the DJI RC is both newer and less expensive than the Smart RC.

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Drone Used to Survey an Active Volcano at Night in Japan

Credit: HexaMedia

A company named HexaMedia recently completed a survey of the active Mount Asama volcano in Japan. The mission had to be performed BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) and at night, since sunlight affects the surface temperature of active volcanoes. Flight planning software from UgCS was used for 3D flight route planning and automatic navigation to support the operation in these challenging conditions. The survey took place at a height of over 8,000 feet (1.5 miles) and had a max flight distance of almost 15,000 feet (almost 3 miles). The project was sponsored by the Japan Meteorological Agency. It was conducted as part of a larger disaster mitigation program.

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Wing Is Making an “Aircraft Library” of Delivery Drones

Wing, the first drone delivery company to launch a consumer delivery network in the U.S., recently unveiled work on several different sizes of drones, which they are calling an Aircraft Library. The goal of experimenting with different sizes for delivery drones is to create vehicles that match the size of the item being delivered. The new drones will share the same components as the existing model that Wing uses, but they’ll be able to carry anywhere from seven pounds to .6 pounds. The drone Wing currently uses for deliveries can carry up to 2.5 pounds.

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DroneUp Expands Operations to Europe

Credit: DroneUp

Walmart recently announced a massive expansion of its DroneUp delivery network, with plans to open delivery programs at 34 new sites by the end of 2022. The new network will potentially allow 4 million U.S. households across six states to receive deliveries by drone. Despite this huge news, DroneUp apparently isn’t done—in fact, it looks like it’s just getting started. The company recently announced plans to expand its work to Europe by opening a base in Poland. The European expansion will be headed by Sebastian Babiarz, a 20-year veteran of drone and telecoms activity.

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