On Saturday, December 23, 2017, one of the most interesting drone racing tournaments was held - FPVDudes Events FINAL, which was the summing up of the series of FPVDudes Events tournaments and the closing of the 2017 season. 29 pilots from different cities of Russia gathered in the last race of the year at the Arena Ice Palace. Mytishchi”, where the pilots were treated to a beautiful illuminated LED track, a warm spacious hall and a well-organized service for the participants.

Among the well-known personalities of the Russian drone racing who came to the final race, it is worth noting Alexander Sorokin, who repeatedly won first places in various tournaments, Konstantin Kosolapov, who confidently established himself in the leaders of the racing tournament tables in Russia, Platon Maksimov, a young pilot with extensive experience in foreign tournaments, Vladimir Voronin, who just recently managed to beat his rivals and climb the winning podium of one of the European championships, as well as many other top pilots.

The first half of the day was reserved for training and qualifying rounds. Spotsmen flew to the track, studied and planned the correct trajectories, as well as improved the minimum lap time, according to which the best 16 pilots were subsequently selected for the final rounds.

In the afternoon, a live broadcast on Youtube and sports host Dmitry Malyshko revived the event noticeably, and the race took on a completely different color.

The intensity of passions manifested itself from the very first rounds, when, either due to the fault of the downed flag, or because of problems with counting laps, the flight of the second group was scheduled. Roman Lutkovsky, one of the pilots, filed a claim with the judges - a short meeting - the claim was rejected, after which Roman harshly expresses his opinion about what is happening live. This was the first call - in the final, the rivals will go to the end, and the tournament has turned into an arena of gladiators.

The spectators in the hall watched with interest how the mortal battle of drones unfolded on the field! The copter of Denis Chernausov beat the copter of Platon Maksimov, the gates constantly appearing in the way of Stas Brin broke the propellers and killed the cameras, Sasha Kunashuk, the pilot of the MAI team, flew like an arrow through space, knocking down obstacles and other drones in its path. Ruslan Ivlev, Vladimir Voronin, Pavel Inozemtsev, and even a very young, but quite experienced schoolboy Elisha, left the distance from round to round in turn: there was no mercy for anyone, they were either knocked down, or they themselves did not fit into the goal at breakneck speed and copters had to be pulled out from all corners of the room.

The lighting cable was torn from the gate three times, countless times the copters flew into the net right in front of the audience in the stands, the ladder and the stand for picking up the copters from a height began to wear out and constantly flicker in the live frame.

Comments from viewers from Whatsapp groups (spelling preserved):
- They have rubilovo here !!! Drones fly into chips. Then I’ll stick it into each other.
- Four started two decomposed.

Indeed, rubilovo was notable. Five rounds of carbon-metal mix for an hour and a half kept the audience in suspense, mixing interest, surprise and fear. Each of the sorties was good in its own way, they were wild unmanned battles, and the recording of the live broadcast on Youtube has forever preserved these moments.

And now the race is coming to an end. Having withstood the most severe falls and having received a gift in the form of an error by Artem Ignatov, one of the top pilots, Sergey Belash, makes his way to the final not far from the last gate. His rivals in the standings, drone racing monsters - Alexander Sorokin, Maksimov Platon and Kunashuk Alexander.

The final flight was nervous and fast! From the very first seconds, Sergei and Plato collide at the gate and Plato flies into the net, dropping out of the fight. Sergei falls, but continues to take off, tries to catch up with Kunashuk, but he quickly moves ahead. Literally after a few turns, Sasha Kunashuk makes a mistake and lets Sergei into second place. Futile attempts to change something and catch up with Sorokin, who was ahead of everyone by almost half a circle, do not bring results, the RaceControl system fixes the result:

1st place - Alexander Sorokin (VS Team)

2nd place - Sergey Belash (DroneAdventures team)

3rd place - Alexander Kunashuk (MAI team)

Hail to the winners! This final will be remembered for a long time!

The organizers, the FPVDudes team and RCPilots.pro, as well as participants and spectators express their deep gratitude to the partners and sponsors of the tournament:

To the general sponsor, the Wright Brothers radio-controlled model store, for their assistance in holding this event and a significant contribution to the development of Russian drone racing.

Team DT22 for providing equipment and participation in the organization of the tournament. 33DEVICES for the RaceControl software package, which was used to calculate the results and display information live. To the Air Hobby store and DronesHub, the manufacturer of drone racing gates, for all-round assistance.

Quantum company and personally Sergey Nazarov for printing and finishing designs.

Leading Dmitry Malyshko for excellent comments and live broadcasting.

And also to everyone, everyone, everyone who helped in the competition and participated in it.

On my own behalf, I would like to congratulate everyone on the upcoming 2018 year, wish them success and new sporting achievements! Ahead of us is waiting for a lot of interesting races! Well, we continue to watch...

Recording of the live broadcast from the event:

Initially, this article was conceived as a guide to the most beautiful places to travel with a copter, but as we delved deeper into the material, we realized that it was not so simple.

It turned out that in addition to the numerous rules and restrictions on shooting from a height that exist everywhere, there are countries where a traveler with a drone will not even be allowed to leave the airport.

The most annoying thing is that information about new laws changes every day, and the Internet is updated infrequently, so sometimes preparing for a trip with a drone is several times longer than the trip itself.

Safety regulations

And yet there is constancy in the world. Here are some basic rules that apply in any country in the world:

1. Always keep the drone in line of sight.
2. Do not fly above the allowed height. In different countries, it varies, but on average it is 120 meters.
3. Do not approach the airport closer than 10 km with the drone. This distance also varies depending on the country, but it is better not to risk it and stay as far as possible.
4. Do not fly in areas of strategic facilities: military bases, prisons, power plants, etc. Well, if the firmware of your copter contains this information - in this case, it simply will not take off near the forbidden territory or will automatically descend when it reaches it.
5. Stay away from private property - villas, farms, houses.
6. Don't fly close to people. Most countries set the standard at 50 meters, but not everyone will be pleased even with such a neighborhood with a drone.
7. Do not approach wild or domestic animals. If the fact that drone buzzing makes them nervous doesn't sound like much to you, check out the numerous videos of drones being attacked by animals and birds.
8. Most countries prohibit flights in cities, any public places and national parks.
9. Use the aircraft only during daylight hours and in good weather.

If you agree that the rules are reasonable and aimed at protecting not only others, but also yourself, it's time to move on to the next step.

Morocco is one of those countries that ban drone entry. At the same time, you can shoot on it if you bought a drone in the country. Therefore, if you have not made a purchase yet, but are only planning, then there is a chance to kill two birds with one stone and do what those who managed to buy before traveling to Morocco would dream of :)

How to transport a drone on an airplane?

• The first step is to make sure that private copters are generally allowed to use in the country of arrival. If the answer is yes, be sure to find out about the restrictions: somewhere they will be minimized, somewhere you need to register a drone online, and somewhere even amateur photography will require a paid license. Here is a good map with constantly updated information about the rules of many countries, but it is also worth checking carefully.
• When the first issue is resolved, it remains to find a bag or backpack where the copter will not only fit, but also where it will be securely fixed. A special backpack with a dense but not rigid frame, compartments for batteries and free space for other equipment is best suited. You don’t need to buy an expensive branded backpack - a recognizable logo will not add functionality, but it can attract someone’s unwanted attention. Size matters: the backpack must meet carry-on standards if you don't want to check it in.
• Before buying tickets, carefully study the information on the baggage allowance on the airline's website. Usually drones are allowed to be transported in the cabin, but there are exceptions - for example, Emirates obliges passengers to check in drones as baggage. If the site does not have the necessary information, do not be too lazy to call or write a letter to avoid sad situations at the airport.
• Lithium batteries and accumulators are carried exclusively in carry-on baggage, unless they are installed inside the checked-in drone. The norms are different everywhere, but in general, batteries with a capacity of no more than 100 watts / h are allowed for the flight. If you are taking spare lithium batteries with you, pack them according to airline regulations or buy special cases. And yes, the batteries should be charged within 30-50%.

It makes sense to take additional propellers with you, but you need to check them in your luggage, otherwise they may be regarded as weapons and not allowed on board.

• When transporting a copter on an airplane, you need to understand that not all security officers treat it as calmly as you do. Often problems arise at customs when entering the country. No need to resent stupid, as you think, questions and searches. Demonstrate that you understand the importance of verification, calmly explain that you need the drone only for beautiful souvenir photos and show all the documents required to use it in this country.

* All these rules apply exclusively to non-commercial flights and drones weighing no more than 20 kg.

Where to go with a drone?

With a strong desire, the copter can be taken with you to any country where its use is allowed. It will take a lot of time, money and patience to deal with all the bureaucratic issues, especially when it comes to countries with a strict political regime.

For those who do not want to decide anything, we have prepared a list of places where not only it is very beautiful, but it is also allowed to shoot with a copter. Each of them has its own nuances, but most likely, you won’t have to spend time on processing numerous documents.

• Switzerland - here you can and should shoot absolutely everything, but only during the day and away from people. A very popular place among the "pilots" is Mount Fronalpstock. No permit is required for non-commercial flights.
• Malaysia - it will be difficult to fly in the capital due to numerous bans on filming public places and government institutions. It is much more pleasant to shoot the expressive nature of the country: the undulating tea plantations of Cameron Highlands, the surroundings of the city of Ipo with rock temples and deserted beaches.
• Iceland is one of the most popular countries for drone photography. There are few people here, few settlements and an amazing space for creativity. You just need to register your drone and keep a close eye on the weather.
• Montenegro is great for flights in the low season, when tourists leave and photogenic landscapes remain. The Bay of Kotor looks especially good from a height. There are incidents when importing a drone into the country, so it is better to declare it right away.
• Armenia is not far away, it is very beautiful, and so far, for shooting, it is enough just to follow the flight rules, which we wrote about above.
• South Africa is one of the few African countries where copters are allowed without any problems, and the flight rules are similar to European ones. There are many ideas for shooting: from the panorama of Cape Town to the savannas. One important nuance: someone else may like your drone, so we do not recommend using it in crowded places or carrying it in a branded backpack.
• USA, California - after aircraft registration You can shoot almost anything. The main thing is to keep your distance and not disturb anyone's peace (including the peace of animals, which is why drones are prohibited in national parks). It is beautiful everywhere in California, so we recommend that you think over your travel route in advance.
• Ireland - just remember the landscapes from Harry Potter to understand why you need to go here with a copter. For more inspiration, check out the videos filmed on the Cliffs of Moher. If the drone weighs more than 1 kg, then it must be registered .
• Argentina - at the moment (June 2018) permission is not required for non-commercial flights, but the political situation in the country is difficult, and the rules are changing at a cosmic speed. But the landscapes of Patagonia are definitely worth it to clarify information at the consulate of the country.
• Namibia is a completely desert country with Martian landscapes, dunes and a long line of ocean. The official website says that non-commercial filming requires permission and a fee of $93, but if you do not illegally shoot in national parks, then no one will simply see your drone. To clarify the rules for importing a copter, try writing here .
• Russia - in our country they still cannot decide on the rules for using a drone, but one thing is certain: it needs to be registered. And if you are a citizen of the Russian Federation with a successfully registered copter, then one of the best places for shooting from above is Kamchatka.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Many countries are tightening the rules for the use of drones

Tens of thousands of passengers from London's Gatwick Airport due to two drones spotted over the airfield. The runway is currently closed and authorities are investigating.

How did a small drone cause such havoc, and what kind of danger do these devices pose in general?

What is a drone?

When you hear the word "drone", some imagine airstrikes in conflict zones, but high-tech flying robots are used on the battlefield, and they are unlikely to have caused a stir in Gatwick.

• How drones will save British fields
• Combat drones can be grown in vitro

A significant part of unmanned aerial vehicles are small radio-controlled quadrocopters that are used by photographers and enthusiasts.

This small gadget is produced on a massive scale, its cost varies from 50 dollars to several thousand.

For some, flying a drone is just fun, but it is increasingly being used in various industries, such as construction.

How can a drone damage an airplane?

In October 2007, a drone collided with an aircraft wing in Canada, which suffered minor damage but landed safely.

Image copyright ASSURE Image caption Experts agree drone can damage aircraft

So far, there are few specialized studies on how dangerous a drone can be for a flying aircraft. Several research centers have simulated different collision scenarios, but they all came to different conclusions.

The University of Dayton in the US simulated a collision between a 1 kg quadcopter and a commercial airliner flying at 383 km/h and concluded that serious damage would result.

Researchers from the drone safety alliance (Assure), jointly with the US Federal Aviation Administration, have concluded that a drone strike can lead to more serious consequences than a bird strike, and it is likely that the lithium-ion batteries in the drones Batteries will not break on impact, but will become lodged in the body of the aircraft and cause a fire.

Ravi Vaidyanathan, a professor of robotics at Imperial College London, told the BBC: "For large aircraft, drones pose a small threat, but the chance of a collision is low, but a drone can hit the aircraft engine. A drone weighing more than 2 kg can break glass." cockpits of some types of aircraft.

The head of safety company Quantum Aviation Martin Lunni said: "The drone looks quite fragile, but it is equipped with a large battery, and if you compare the drone with a bird, it poses a big threat if it hits the engine or the fuselage."

According to the UK Airprox Board website, in 2017 there were 92 cases of dangerous collisions of drones with aircraft.

How can airports protect themselves?

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption In 2017, there were 92 cases of dangerous encounters between drones and aircraft

In Britain, a law has been in force since July that prohibits flying drones within a radius of less than 1 km from an airport. It is also forbidden to fly the drone above 120 m.

But experts point out that this rule may not be effective, since the landing plane flies below 120 m. And it is clear that if a person wants to break the law, he will break it.

Some of the country's prisons already have systems that block the radio signal and prevent the drone from landing. This is due to the fact that friends of prisoners have recently resorted to the help of drones to pass them prohibited items.

Airports that want to be safe from drones need to install more sophisticated, costly systems that use radar, RF detectors and cameras to detect the presence of drones and where they came from.

“Ideally, you need to have a conversation with the culprit, but for this you need to determine where his drone came from,” Lanny said. “It is undesirable that they suddenly start falling from the sky.”

Quantum Aviation claims that it can create radio frequency interference to the drone and affect its operation. Many drone manufacturers include an automatic return to owner or safe landing option in their products.

DJI, considered the world leader in the production of drones, began equipping its products with special restraints in 2013 that prevent drones from flying into areas closed to flying. Drone software is responsible for this.

How can you catch a drone?

Image copyright Droptec Image caption They want to use networks to fight drones

If closed spaces and interference do not bring results, then you can resort to other means that will disable the drone.

The French authorities showed how to use a drone and a net to catch another drone. There are several companies, including DroneDefence and OpenWorks Engineering, that have developed technologies to catch intruder drones with a net.

In the fight against drones, a laser is also used. In the United States and China, experiments are being conducted with laser devices that can disable a drone in a few seconds after being detected.

The principle of operation of the device is that the laser is directed to the drone and burns through it.

Regardless of how the situation with Gatwick ends, airports will have to seriously think about security, said Iain Gray, an employee at Cranfield University.

"Airports understand that this problem exists and want to work closely with scientists to create the technology that will be needed in the future," he told the BBC.

Drones have staked out a place in the top news and on the front pages of newspapers. They attack our Khmeimim base and fight against the walls of a nuclear power plant in France, patrol the taiga and beaches, rescue climbers, and try to deliver pizza, medicine and mail to them. The other day there was an attack by a group of copters on the president of Venezuela. All this could not be predicted even by futurologists.

Simply put: the future has come, as usual - faster than expected.

Between an angel and a demon

The term "drone" is not the most successful. Strictly speaking, every drone has a pilot. External, on the ground, but there.

Truly fantastically apocalyptic times are waiting for us all, when there really will be no pilots. Not long to wait, the next generation of drones will most likely be flying cyborgs with artificial intelligence. Simply put, they themselves will be able to make a decision: within the framework of the tasks that the owner will set for them.

But what is already flying over our heads is also a miracle of technology.

Experts divide drones into classes and types. If we talk about models, then there is generally a guard. At the moment, only military drones are being developed in 60 countries around the world! And civilians, it seems, create absolutely all the states of the Earth. Even if some underdeveloped country does not officially create, then its citizens still assemble copters in garages and basements from counterfeit parts. For a variety of purposes. To whom to throw cigarettes in prison, to whom to photograph the dawn.

In order not to get confused in this diversity, we will divide the drones into only two classes. For good and bad.

The idea of ​​a quadrocopter (helicopter with four main rotors) was born back in the 1920s. But the idea was ahead of the state of the art: there were no suitable technologies. Therefore, they brought it to life in the format of a drone today. A photo: Sergey Mikheev / RG

The news picture is determined by the first. In the skies of Iraq, Syria, Israel, Donetsk and Luhansk (although the use of drones there is prohibited by the Minsk agreements), drones of varying degrees of technical perfection fly. Usually - as scouts or bombers.

Everything is primitive: it flies up, hovering over the target and, at the command of the operator, drops a grenade, a mine or a shot from an underbarrel grenade launcher. The target can be a group of soldiers, a car, a warehouse.

There is quite a lot of drone footage posted by Islamic radicals on the Web. Some of the footage shows that after the explosion of the dropped bombs, the soldiers rush about chaotically, and then take up defense against the ground enemy. They simply do not understand who attacked them and from where.

There was a case in Syria when a terrorist drone blew up tons of ammunition, seemingly well-camouflaged in a stadium.

Technique on the brink of fantasy: scientists and engineers reduce aircraft-type drones and helicopter copters in size to a frightening level. The day is not far off when the special services will send unmanned "insects" with poisonous stings to attack the enemy. You can't tell them from real bees and flies. A photo: REUTERS

They are not only used in war. Last month, a drone was used in Mexico to assassinate the minister of public safety in Baja California. Two grenades were dropped from the drone. The minister is alive.

In France, Greenpeace activists have made a drone in the shape of Superman and sent it to the Bugey nuclear power plant near Lyon. The drone crashed into the wall of the spent fuel pool. The Greens said they did this in order to draw attention to the vulnerability of nuclear plants.

A matter of technology

The list of "crimes" of drones is endless. In the United States alone, up to 250 incidents related to a dangerous approach to aircraft and helicopters occur per month. With the help of quadrocopters they transport drugs and try to deliver mobile phones to prisons. The "transit" of cigarettes across the border has been stopped in the Kaliningrad region. In the US, the DJI Phantom model drone wants to record the first helicopter crash in the history of drones. In South Carolina, the crew of the R22 Robinson saw a drone-Phantom heading. During an evasive maneuver, the pilot crashed into a tree. The helicopter was damaged, people survived.

But drones are not only killers, but also guardian angels. Recently, a drone of the Russian Emergencies Ministry, using a thermal imager, found a lost woman in the Siberian taiga.

And thanks to a small unmanned vehicle, the life of the famous British climber Rick Allen was saved. He fell from a glacier on the slope of the Himalayan peak of Broad Peak in Pakistan. The 65-year-old athlete was already considered dead, but the climbing brothers from Poland who were in the Himalayas had a DJI Mavic Pro drone with them. Compact: fits in a backpack. When folded, it is a box 8x8x20 cm. In calm weather, it can stay in the air for up to 27 minutes. It flies at a speed of 65 km / h, the flight altitude is up to 5000 m. The Briton, by the way, was lying at an altitude of 8000 m.

Photojournalist Sergey Mikheev is the only pilot in RG. Jokes aside. By law, he is the "external pilot" of the drone. The result of his "flights" before your eyes. Photo: Sergey Mikheev / RG

And from this 750-gram copter they found Rick Allen. Frostbitten and injured, but alive. Interestingly, the rescued admitted that before this incident, flying drones annoyed him a lot ...

If the drone had not been there, the rescuers would have found only the body.

Bodies are also found by drones. On July 30, a drone found the deceased Russian climber Natalia Chionova, who died under an avalanche while descending from Lenin Peak in Kyrgyzstan.

The drone may also be used to search for the body of a Russian climber who died at the end of July in Pakistan on the slope of the Latok-1 mountain peak.

There is a delicate aspect to such tragedies. When rescuing people who are in trouble on the mountain slopes, helicopter pilots are at great risk. If these are professional rescuers, then one could say that this is their job. But in the same Pakistan, military pilots risk their lives. The military, of course, is supposed to risk their lives, but not at all in order to pull civilian extremals out of the other world. But due to international outcry, the army receives an order from the government - to save the climber at any cost, regardless of the risk of losing the crew and materiel.

And this is an age-old dilemma: if someone is ready to risk his life for the sake of conquering a mountain peak, then he, of course, is a hero and a tough guy (option: unrealistically tough girl). But his survival game is his own business. The question is, why put others at risk of death? Pilots' widows don't understand this.

The drone is the best compromise in this difficult moral and legal dispute.

Silence them all

Technique is developing so rapidly that the legislator does not keep up with it. The Government of the Russian Federation recently returned for revision the procedure for accounting for civil unmanned aerial vehicles proposed by the Ministry of Transport. Most likely, state control systems for drones and copters that are heavier than 250 grams, as well as their insurance services, will be launched in 2019.

Captured drones that attacked the Khmeimim air base. At first glance - the work of people who were fond of aircraft modeling in childhood. In fact, in Syria, the effectiveness of our air defense is also being tested by very advanced drones. But serious "fighters" do not surrender. A photo: NTV

However, with the drones of law-abiding citizens, order will be restored. It's just a matter of time.

But what to do with the drones of radicals, criminals, madmen and terrorists?

There is no universal remedy, the battle is on all fronts and directions. The surest way is to shoot him down with a bullet or projectile. After all, they fly low, not very fast and absolutely not armored.

First, shooting at drones was introduced into the training of snipers. Now all the soldiers who are supposed to have weapons according to the state have been thrown to destroy enemy drones. Starting this fall, the Russian Ministry of Defense, taking into account the experience of military operations in Syria, is introducing a special exercise: shooting at a target simulating a drone. Both individually and as part of a department. So to speak, life forced.

Of course, army air defense is fully involved in this battle. In addition to traditional means of destruction, new types of ammunition are being developed (the so-called air explosion), laser systems are being tested.

A section appeared at all weapons exhibitions: "Anti-drone guns". Futuristic-looking "rifles" that burn out drone electronics with electromagnetic pulses and drown out satellite navigation signals with them.

There are also controversial developments.

The British have created a device resembling an underbarrel grenade launcher - a "white noise" generator. Much has been written about this "noise". It is also called "killer sound" or high power infrasound. They attribute special properties: it can bring a person to panic or completely deprive the mind. But trying to bring a drone to hysterics ... Infrasound, of course, will also affect electronics. The main thing is that your soldiers do not run away from fear before.

Well, the most exotic way: the use of birds of prey. In France and the Netherlands create a police "feathered special forces". It looks nice, but the real result is in question. Eagles ignore small copters. In principle, it is possible to set them on those that are larger. But there is a problem: propellers injure hunters.

For protection, gloves are put on their paws. And... the classic competition of armor and projectile begins: the projectile is more powerful - the armor is thicker. But a bird is not a tank, you can’t book it much. Won't take off.

Therefore, the most effective measure is to intercept control channels and force the drone to explode or "surrender". Such work is underway, and there are successes. The best evidence is the captured drones shown at the Khmeimim air base.

From Moscow to New York

Our newspaper has already written about restrictions on drone flights in the center of Moscow ("Kremlin no fly zone", 08/21/2017). The crossed-out drone silhouette and the inscriptions in English: "No fly zone" and in Russian "No-fly zone" reduced the number of violations last year. It is indicative that mostly foreigners launch copters near the Kremlin. For six months - 9 incidents, only two of the citizens of Russia. The rest are tourists from Taiwan, China, Iran, Colombia, Brazil, Japan and Greece.

This summer, again, a surge in violations. In June, police detained an Australian who launched a quadcopter on Red Square and an Israeli on Varvarka. On Manezhnaya Square, citizens of Argentina and Peru went to the station together with a drone... Administrative protocols were drawn up against tourists on violation of the rules for using airspace.

It's not just ours. New York has banned drone flights since 2014. There are exceptions - a few parks. And in the US capital, even more stringent measures: the movement of drones is limited 48 km from the center of Washington.

You may ask: but we are talking about drones, from which careless tourists wanted to take a spectacular shot. How is the Kremlin protected from truly dangerous UAVs?

Well, how, how ... Reliably.

And everyone is not supposed to know the details.

Still those doves

The imagination of the creators of drones is becoming more sophisticated.

In France, a transforming drone is being tested. In flight, it can line up the rotors in one row in 0.3 seconds to fly through narrow openings.

In China, under the Dove ("Dove") program, scientists from an institute in Xi'an are developing a drone that looks like the bird of the same name and imitates its flight.

This is not the first time a drone has been disguised as birds. In Yemen, a terrorist apparatus was shot down, which performed manipulations resembling the flapping of a bird's wing. Judging by the poor performance, it was assembled in a local workshop. Although he flew, he caused nothing but laughter.

But no one laughs at the Chinese "Dove". Equipped with HD camera and GPS antenna, weighs 200g, flies 30 min. at speeds up to 40 km/h. It was announced that the batch of "pigeons" will be used only for the needs of civil aviation. Some believe.

When drones in the form of flies, bees and other insects, capable of carrying not only spy cameras, but also stingers with poison or viruses, go into the series, the world will change.

I'm afraid someone is laughing now. I agree. Just because we don't read about them in the news doesn't mean they aren't being tested anymore.

Beyond

Harvard has created a HAMR cockroach robot that can run, walk on water like a water strider, and dive while under water for 30 minutes. With a weight of 1.65 grams, it carries a load of 1.44 grams. Now he is being taught impulse jumps. It remains to teach to fly - and ... According to one source, the Pentagon has already shown interest. According to others, this is a miracle and was created by order of the US Army Research Directorate.

And here are new ideas, as they decided to protect prisons from UAVs in Germany, Switzerland and the UK. This is not a forecast: some elements have already been installed, for example, the SkyFence system for the Guernsey prison in England. Some will be installed soon.

So, imagine: the bandits from the outside sent a drone with a prohibited cargo to their fellow prisoners. Prison radar, a dozen TV cameras and infrared sensors detect him. And at a distant approach they are jammed with an active electronic suppression system.

Did not help. Then the drone is fired from 35-mm cannons with AHEAD air blast shells.

2,000 new models of military drones are now being created in 60 countries around the world

If the bastard dodged again, then - attention! - the Sentinel interceptor drone of the Swiss company Skysec starts to meet him.

1.8-kg Sentinel accelerates to 230 km / h, range - 4 km. He is given the coordinates of the intruder, then the interceptor "thinks with his own head": all decisions when approaching are made by artificial intelligence. Interception tactic: get close, throw out a net that will capture a hostile drone. The net is equipped with a parachute, on which the captive descends to the ground. That is, the task is not to destroy it, but to take it red-handed.

If the interceptor could not do anything, then there is also a last line defense system: Net Gun X1. This is a device that also throws out a network of two kinds. The first is as a barrier. The second is a trap net, the last chance to catch the drone.

Specifically

The number of drones in the Russian Defense Ministry has reached 2,000. It is believed that our army is the second in the world (after the United States, where there are 7,000 of them).

Issue price

Quadrocopter so-called. pocket form factor Syma and Hubsan can be bought for 1.5 - 2.5 thousand rubles. Quadcopter DJI Phantom 4 PRO Plus - 130 thousand Professional Geoscan 401 even in the basic configuration - from 1.6 million Geoscan 401 Geophysics for creating electronic maps for navigators - from 4 million Drone DJI Mavic Pro, which saved climber Rick Allen, costs from 50 to 90 thousand rubles.

You can buy (or build your own) a quadcopter of almost any size. Some of them, others will not fit in a backpack. Have you noticed that the flight duration of a drone directly depends on its size? Tiny pocket quadcopters rarely fly more than four or five minutes. Larger drones (like ) can stay in the air for about half an hour. Why do larger and therefore heavier drones fly longer than small and light ones?

Imagine a drone with spinning propellers. In fact, it doesn’t matter how many there are: one (like a helicopter), or four (like a quadrocopter), or even eight (like an octocopter). The important thing is that the drone's propellers capture the still air above the craft and push it down. Acting in this way on the air, the screw takes over the force from its increased momentum. If this force is equivalent to the weight of the aircraft, the drone will hover in the air. Thus, at , we arrive at the following equation for determining the air speed required to hover the drone.

In this equation, ρ is the air density, m is the mass of the drone, g is the gravitational constant (9.8 N/kg), and A is the propeller area. As you can see from the formula, increasing the size of the propellers will reduce the air speed. This is important for power, which can be expressed by the following formula:

Here you can see why larger propellers are better. By increasing the propeller area, you reduce the airflow rate - and the power depends on the airspeed to the third power. If you want your drone to consume less power, you want the airflow to be as low as possible.

It remains to add one more thing - the definition of power. Power is the rate at which an object uses energy. This can be expressed by the following equation:

If energy is measured in Joules, and the time interval is in seconds, then power will be expressed in watts. Thus, the drone b about more power will be needed about Bigger battery to stay in the air long enough.

Now let's move on to the most interesting. Let's compare the size and battery power of two drones. For example, we will take the tiny Syma X20 and DJI Phantom 4. And we will start with the “Phantom”.