Talent Parks and Recreation is proud to sponsor a drone skills competition on Saturday June 4th at 2pm, located at the Chuck Roberts Park. 

Test your skills - prizes will be awarded to the victors! For more information, email talent@cityoftalent.org.

Note: Southern Oregon Drone has no affiliation with this competition nor the City of Talent. This post is strictly to help the City of Talent spread the word.

Eugene Oregon drone photography services are now available at reduced costs, as we have relocated our aerial photography operations to Eugene! This more centralized located will allow us to travel all throughout the state of Oregon to provide aerial drone photography and videography at a lower cost - which we will pass on to our valued clients.

If you are interested in our Eugene Oregon drone photography services, please contact us via message or call 541.326.1745!

Up until now, Southern Oregon Drone has flown using the DJI Phantom 3 Pro exclusively. The Phantom is a work horse, and with its impressive 4K camera and long battery life, we have been able to work with internationally-known clients such as Garmin and Monrovia. However, there comes a time when one maxes out the potential of a tool, and for Southern Oregon Drone, this is that time.

We will be upgrading to the impressive DJI Inspire 1. The Inspire 1 will allow us to fly in more turbulent conditions, fly faster, and will allow a second operator to control the camera while we fly it. This can come in handy when a director or producer has a particular vision in mind. 

Other benefits include the ability to upgrade cameras to cinema RAW-capable rigs, and retracting landing gear, which removes any chance of catching prop blades in the shot and lowers the CG of the aircraft, creating more stability.

We will let you know when we receive the new drone!

The FAA and its government partners are expanding research on ways to detect “rogue” drones around airports. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and its government, industry and academia partners have joined forces to evaluate drone detection technology at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York.

Over the last two years, the FAA has received numerous reports from pilots and residents about unmanned aircraft systems – UAS, or “drones” – around some of the nation’s busiest airports, including JFK. “We face many difficult challenges as we integrate rapidly evolving UAS technology into our complex and highly regulated airspace,” said Marke “Hoot” Gibson, FAA Senior Advisor on UAS Integration. “This effort at JFK reflects everyone’s commitment to safety.”

Beginning May 2, the FAA conducted evaluations at JFK to study the effectiveness of a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) UAS detection system in a commercial airport environment.  Five different rotorcraft and fixed wing UAS participated in the evaluations, and about 40 separate tests took place.
The JFK evaluation involved extensive government inter-agency collaboration, and cooperation from industry and academia. The tests expanded on research performed earlier this year at Atlantic City International Airport.

In addition to the FAA and the FBI, the agencies combining forces in this research included the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Justice, Queens District Attorney’s Office and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. DHS and the FBI want to identify unauthorized UAS operators for law enforcement purposes, and the FAA’s mission is to provide a safe and efficient airport environment for both manned and unmanned air traffic.

“We applaud the FBI and FAA for their efforts to detect and track unmanned aerial systems (UAS),” said Thomas Bosco, Port Authority Aviation Director.  “We look forward to supporting continued U.S. Government efforts to identify and deploy countermeasures to neutralize the threat posed by rogue UASs.”
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The team evaluating the FBI’s detection system also included contributions from one of the six FAA-designated UAS test sites. The Griffiss International Airport test site in Rome, NY, provided expertise in planning the individual tests as well as the flight commander for the tests and two of the UAS used.
The FY 2016 Appropriations law mandates that the FAA continue research into detection of UAS in airport environments. The agency is continuing to formulate an inter-agency strategy to evaluate detection systems in a variety of airport environments.

SOURCE