DJI Inspire 3 Released! Currency Check PSA, and Drone Sense to Make DJI NDAA Compliant

This week in drone news, we have three exciting stories for you. The first one is the DJI Inspire 3, which is finally here. Additionally, we have a PSA for you to make sure you check your currency, as it’s that time of the year. Lastly, we discuss a device that will make DJI drones NDAA compliant, which is a big deal. Let’s dive in!

DJI Inspire 3 released

The first story this week is the long-awaited release of DJI’s Inspire 3. After years of rumors, the upgraded DJI Inspire 2 has arrived. It features a stunning 8K, 75 frames-per-second camera, the same one found on the Ronin 4D.

The Inspire 3 also includes e-mount lenses, RTK, and the new O3 Pro, a slightly upgraded version of the O3 Plus. The drone also has the ability to stream at 4K, 30 frames-per-second using the DJI RC Plus controller.

Surprisingly, the flight time has only increased from 23 to 26 minutes, and it will use the TB51 batteries, which are slightly different from the TB50 batteries used in the original Inspire 2.

The Inspire 3 will also be using the Pilot 2 app, which is designed for enterprise drones. The X9 camera has a resolution of 8K, 75 frames-per-second, dual native ISO of 800 and 4,000, and 14 stops of dynamic range. All footage will be saved to a one-terabyte internal SSD that can write up to 900 megabits per second.

The Inspire 3 allows for both a pilot and camera operator to use two different controllers, as was the case with the DJI Inspire 2. Compatibility with DJI’s 4G dongle enables Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations within regulations.

ALC-677: Part 107 sUAS recurrent

The second story this week is for everyone, especially those who completed the ALC 677 training on FAASafety.gov two years ago. If you’re not familiar, this is the training you need to complete in order to stay current.

We first saw this training in the first week of April 2021, which means it’s time to do it again. If you completed it in April 2021, you’ll be good until the end of April 2023, as it covers a 24-calendar-month period. Make sure you visit FAASafety.gov to complete the training; it’s free and takes about two hours.

While some may choose not to do it, it’s always a good idea to refresh your knowledge, especially if this isn’t something you do regularly. At the end of the exam, you can’t really fail, as it will be corrected to 100%. Make sure you save the completion document somewhere accessible, so you can show it to the FAA in case you get ramp checked. After that, you’ll be ready for another 24 calendar months.

DroneSense device to make DJI drones NDAA compliant

The final story this week is a product announcement from our friends at DroneSense, a Texas-based company. They have announced plans to produce a new communication device that can be attached to any public safety drone. This device would bypass the existing radio frequency link used to operate drones, including DJI drones, from the ground. By doing so, they are ensuring Data Security.

This development follows what we mentioned last week, which is the Florida government banning the use of DJI drones for public safety agencies.

The DroneSense device is expected to be compliant with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which means it could potentially turn a DJI drone into an NDAA-compliant drone.

It will be interesting to find out how this works with current regulatory limitations and whether these limitations were truly based on the fact that DJI drones pose a security risk or not.

Kudos to everyone at DroneSense for figuring this out, as it could be life-changing for many public safety responders in Florida, Texas, Tennessee, and other states that are currently looking into implementing similar regulations to those passed in Florida.

This development gives hope to agencies that have spent their budgets and don’t have the funds to purchase new drones.

The device will help ensure altitude limits, no-fly zones, emergency landing sites, and maintain functionality even when the drone loses connection.

Additionally, it would enable the drone to fly beyond the visual line of sight when allowed, just like the previous story mentioned. The device should be available later this year, and we’ll keep you updated when we hear more.

That’s it for this week! We hope you enjoyed these stories. As always, like, subscribe, and we’ll see you next week.