Kittyhawk Newsletter (September 2016)
From the archives :)
From The Skunk Works:
If you’ve ever used our “Call The Founders” or “Text The Founders” feature you know that there are few things the Kittyhawk team likes more than listening to feedback from our unbelievably passionate community of sUAS enthusiasts. For months we’ve been listening to our Android phone users tell us they’re envious of their friends on iOS that can use Kittyhawk on their phone.
We’ve been holed up in the Kittyhawk Skunk Works working on “Project Aileron.” For the history buffs among you, you’ll note that the Aileron was the invention that allowed other aviation pioneers to get around the Wright Brothers’ expansive wing-warping patent.
Today, we’re proud announce Kittyhawk For Android is available in the Google Play store. You can enjoy all of the management features you’ve grown to love about Kittyhawk for Web and Kittyhawk for iOS on the Android version. If you like the app, please, go to the Google play store and make sure to leave a 5 star review so others know!
107 Waivers
If you’re looking to do something not explicitly allowed under Part 107 you’re going to have to apply for a waiver. The FAA has been moving to “performance based standards” that are intended to ease some of the regulatory pressure they exert. Put simply, they want to set the standard and let the industry find creative and innovative ways to meet their standards. In fact, one of their tips for a successful waiver request is: “Fully describe proposed mitigations to meet the performance standards for conducting the proposed operation safely.”
In short, it never hurts to mention you are diligently logging all flights, anomalistic events and monitoring degrading assets like batteries. This may not help you get a BLOS waiver without a type rating — but it could potentially be the small difference that allows you to get an ‘over-people’ or odd airspace waiver.
Kittyhawk Tip Of The Month
The Vortex Ring State is a phenomena in which a rotary aircraft enters it’s own down wash, causing it to accelerate itself down. This typically happens at low forward speed since a column of sinking air is able to form under the aircraft. If you happen to find yourself “settling with power” and increasing the power doesn’t help, or perhaps even exacerbates the condition, you’ll want to immediately begin moving the aircraft laterally into “clean air” to avoid losing control entirely. In the drone community, this is sometimes referred to as the “wobble of death.” One of the causes of this is operating at or above maximum payload capacity. The small amount of reserve power combined with a heavy aircraft often spell doom for the inexperienced pilot. Keep your wits about you and if you find yourself settling with power, increase your airspeed asap! When possible, do your descents into the wind, rather than downwind.
Here’s a video of a Russian Helicopter settling with power. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULCvhgLdbOQ
Until next month, clear skies and unlimited visibility!
Team Kittyhawk
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