Drone News: SiFly’s World Record, New GS-ONE Controller, Freefly Fest 2025, Drug-Loaded Drone Arrest

Welcome to your weekly UAS news update. We have four stories for you this week:

• SiFly sets a new world record for endurance.
• Inspired Flight releases a new controller.
• We attended Freefly Fest.
• And lastly, as always, our “Don’t Be That Guy” segment—this time, in Florida.

Let’s get to it.

SiFly Sets World Record for Endurance

California-based drone manufacturer SiFly has officially set a new Guinness World Record for flight endurance with their Q12 platform, a prototype quadcopter.

The drone completed a flight lasting 3 hours and 11 minutes, shattering the previous record for a small, electric-powered multirotor drone by almost an hour. The record-setting flight took place on July 26 in California’s Salinas Valley and was certified by an official from Guinness on site.

The Q12 is designed for long-duration missions. It features a modular, all-electric design and can carry a 10-pound payload over a 90-mile range. The company also claims it can maintain a continuous hover for two hours, which is ideal for applications such as persistent overwatch, drone-as-first-responder programs, search and rescue, and infrastructure inspections.

SiFly says it’s aiming to hit four hours of flight time within the year—a milestone that would be even more impressive.

Inspired Flight Launches GS1 Ground Control Station

Another story from a U.S.-based manufacturer: Inspired Flight Technologies has just launched a new ground control station, the GS1.

The GS1 is a rugged, handheld controller built for professional operators in the commercial, industrial, and government sectors. It integrates seamlessly with the IF800 “Tomcat” and IF1200 platforms, creating a complete American-made ecosystem.

Key features include:

• 7-inch glove-compatible touchscreen with 2,000 nits of brightness (compared to ~700 nits on a typical DJI controller).
• NDAA-compliant 2.4 GHz radio with up to 6 miles of range.
• Hot-swappable batteries providing up to 5 hours of runtime.
• IP55-rated enclosure for durability.
• Inside, it runs Android 14 on a Qualcomm QCS6490 processor with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage.
• Connectivity includes LTE, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.2.

This is a strong step forward in building a fully American ecosystem for drone operations.

Freefly’s Annual Partner Event

This week, we also visited Freefly for their annual partner event in Washington State. The event was packed with announcements, including, the Alta X Gen 2. A firmware update for the first-gen Alta X (which we test-flew—smooth performance). The Astro platform returning to the Blue UAS list. Upgrades to the Astro AX. The Amber toolbox for Freefly’s high-speed cameras. A 1-million-lumen spotlight (nicknamed the flying sun). More LiDAR and camera tech. One standout demo came from Verizon, which showcased flying the Freefly Astro AX remotely from both Florida and Alaska using 4G and 5G connectivity.

It was great to see a bootstrap American manufacturer not only growing but also continuing to innovate. Congratulations to Matt and the entire Freefly team.

Commercial UAV Expo

Before our last story, a quick word on the Commercial UAV Expo—just around the corner.

Pilot Institute is hosting three workshops:

• September 2: Join Vic Moss, Amy Wiegand, Jared Yanis, and myself for a deep dive into regulation, technology, and business strategy.
• September 3: I’ll be teaching a workshop on building your drone business.
• September 4: Jared will teach his professional mapping process.

Seats are limited and filling fast—visit pilotinstitute.com/cuav to secure your spot.

Don’t Be That Guy: Florida Edition

And now, for this week’s “Don’t Be That Guy” segment. In Lutz, Florida, a 49-year-old man, Jason Brooks, allegedly crashed a drone into a residential home. The drone was carrying multiple bags of methamphetamine and fentanyl.

Crashing a drone is bad enough—but what happened next is almost unbelievable. Brooks allegedly knocked on the front door of the home asking for his drone (and the drugs) back. The homeowner immediately called police. Deputies recovered the drone and drugs, and Brooks was arrested. He now faces multiple charges, including possession of controlled substances with intent to sell.

This is a stark reminder: as drones become more accessible, they’ll be used for both good and bad. But if you’re doing something illegal—maybe don’t go back to retrieve the evidence. Better yet, don’t do illegal things with drones. Please, don’t be that guy.

Postflight

In Postflight, the show where we share our opinions, we’ll be covering these stories, updates on Part 108 NPRM, and news about Eagle’s new multispectral camera. Join us Monday for the live show, and later on Postflight in the premium community. Until then—fly safe, and we’ll see you soon.