UAV News Talk – Drone News, eVTOLs, UAS Policy & Air Mobility

The FAA’s proposed framework for routine beyond-visual-line-of-sight drone operations moves closer to publication, raising a controversial question: Could some BVLOS drones receive presumptive right-of-way over crewed aircraft? Max Trescott and David Vanderhoof examine the proposed Part 108 rules, UAS traffic management, detect-and-avoid technology, and the risks posed by low-flying agricultural aircraft and helicopters that may not be electronically visible.
DJI appears throughout the episode. For the Video of the Week: In China, a heavy-lift DJI agricultural drone rescues two people trapped on top of a nearly submerged tanker truck during severe flooding. DJI also tests its winged EV50 electric aircraft near Mount Everest and introduces a parachute system, the Matrice 400, that shuts down the rotors before lowering the drone under canopy.
In eVTOL and advanced-air-mobility news, Electra receives an FAA Part 23 certification basis for the nine-passenger EL9 ultra-short-takeoff aircraft. Vertical Aerospace, however, postpones anticipated certification of its Valo eVTOL from 2028 to 2029.
Additional stories include Zipline prescription deliveries for Cleveland Clinic, an LAPD helicopter collision with a drone, Australian shark-patrol drones, FAA approval for drone-assisted avalanche control, and DJI FlyCart operations carrying supplies and removing more than 20,000 pounds of waste from Mount Everest.

In episode 444 of UAV News Talk, Max Trescott and David Vanderhoof announce that the show is returning to a weekly schedule, then dive into a packed week of drone and eVTOL news.
Video of the Week: Max taxiing by the Archer Midnight during testing at Salinas, CA.
They begin with how aerial robotics supported Venezuela after devastating earthquakes, including bridge inspections, thermal imaging for search and rescue, medical supply delivery, communications relay, LIDAR scanning, gas-leak detection, and traffic management.
They then discuss the Pentagon’s move to appoint a drone czar to coordinate drone programs across the military services, followed by the UK’s major new counter-UAS investment to protect British bases after drone surveillance incidents linked to Russian activity.
On the eVTOL side, Max covers Archer Aviation’s new Salinas manufacturing and test hub, plus a proposed four-airport California test corridor linking Salinas, Marina, Hollister, and Watsonville. David highlights Beta Technologies’ electric aircraft demonstration work in Hawaii with Surf Air Mobility and Hawaiian Airlines, and the two discuss Joby and Toyota’s new manufacturing joint venture.
The episode wraps with Sora Aviation’s subscale 30-seat eVTOL demonstrator and a fun final story: drones dropping one million baby oysters in Galveston Bay.

Max Trescott and David Vanderhoof open episode 443 with their Video of the Week. It's a remarkable Sacramento Sheriff’s Office video showing a drone carrying a magnet into a cluttered house to remove a knife from the hand of an apparently unconscious armed suspect. They discuss the flying challenges of carrying a suspended load indoors and whether the magnet could affect the drone.
The episode then turns to eVTOLs, where a new Valour Consultancy forecast projects a much smaller future fleet than earlier air taxi predictions. Max compares the hype to the very light jet boom that never fully materialized, while David points out the continuing problems of infrastructure, regulation, and public acceptance. They also discuss growing eVTOL litigation involving Joby, Archer, Vertical Aerospace, and Wisk, and compare it to historic patent fights in early aviation and other emerging industries.
Drone stories include the FAA breaking ground on an advanced air mobility research facility in Oklahoma City, hundreds of unauthorized drone flights around World Cup-related TFRs, and NASA’s drone transport test using a non-viable human kidney. Both encourage listeners to register now to become an organ donors at RegisterMe.org. They also discuss a drone flown into a tornado, Flock Safety adding drones to license plate camera systems, Irvine police using a drone to find a shoplifter, and Ohio’s first commercial drone-delivered deli lunch.

Can American drone technology compete with DJI? In this episode of UAV News Talk, Max Trescott and David Vanderhoof talk with Mike Horton, CEO and co-founder of HYFIX Spatial Intelligence, about U.S.-made drone chips, AI drones, RTK GPS, and the HYFIX H1D drone module.
Mike explains that one of DJI’s biggest advantages is deep electronics integration. Many American drone manufacturers still build drones from separate components: flight controllers, companion computers, radios, IMUs, motor-control boards, GNSS receivers, and AI processors. That approach can work, but it adds weight, cost, complexity, power consumption, and time to market. Mike says DJI’s integrated drone technology helps explain why small, capable DJI drones are so difficult for U.S. companies to match.
The conversation then turns to HYFIX’s H1 chip family, including the H1P positioning and flight-control module and the H1D, which Mike describes as a more complete drone module supporting long-range video, RTK precision positioning, dual-antenna GNSS heading, AI capability, PX4, ROS 2, and GPS-denied visual inertial odometry.
They also discuss U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, drone-in-a-box systems, LEO satellite tracking, FCC rules for tiny Chinese toy drones, and how large drone shows use RTK corrections.

In this episode of UAV News Talk, Max Trescott and David Vanderhoof cover a wide range of drone, UAS, counter-drone, and eVTOL stories. They begin with their video-of-the-week: an unusual drone-assisted police story from Louisiana, where officers used a drone to locate a fleeing suspect after he was bitten by an alligator in a swamp.
The show then turns to Wing and Walmart, which are adding seven new drone delivery markets, including Philadelphia and the San Francisco Bay Area. Max and David discuss why dense urban areas and apartment deliveries may be harder than suburban drone delivery.
They also look at the Pentagon’s reported $54 billion drone push, including interest in low-cost, disposable drones from former hobbyists and small companies. Motorola’s $1.5 billion counter-drone acquisition leads to a discussion of rogue drone threats around major events.
Safety takes center stage with Shield AI’s V-BAT after two reported finger-injury incidents involving rotating blades. The episode also covers Vancouver police using Skydio drones linked to body cameras, Honda’s first full-scale eVTOL flight, Volocopter’s light-sport eVTOL plans, BETA’s CTOL strategy, and a feel-good Ukrainian drone rescue of a cat and four kittens.