drones Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Drone skills 101: Special forces train for Ukraine in Methow Valley

By Courtney Flatt March 17, 2023

Dakota Mendenhall learns to fly a drone in Washington's Methow Valley. Mendenhall and two other fighters, who all have embedded with Ukrainian troops, recently took a weeklong intensive drone training class

It’s been more than a year since Russia invaded Ukraine. Thousands of fighters and civilians have died. With no clear end in sight, Ukrainian forces are taking all the help they can get – including from surveillance drone pilots, trained in Washington’s Methow Valley.Read More

Drones could help researchers count salmon nests

By Courtney Flatt October 21, 2022

a pile of red salmon gather in green water

A drone image of salmon during spawning season in Alaska. CREDIT: Daniel Auerbach LISTEN READ Searching for the places where salmon lay eggs, known as redds, is getting a boost […]Read More

Up, Up And Away. Forest Service Looking At Special Balloons To Monitor Big Wildfires

By Tom Banse August 19, 2022

A balloon more than 100 feet tall loitered over the Moose Fire in Idaho for 11 days in early August to demonstrate its surveillance capabilities to wildfire commanders.

The U.S. Forest Service is looking at something different — very different — to improve situational awareness at big wildfires: high altitude balloons.Read More

Amazon Drone Deliveries Nearly Ready For Prime Time With Oregon Crashes In Rear-View Mirror

By Tom Banse June 28, 2022

This latest iteration of Amazon's package delivery drones will be used to drop off packages in customers' backyards.

Amazon made news this month by announcing it will start package deliveries by aerial drone to real customers in a northern California town. In the run up to the U.S. debut, the company conducted extensive flight tests in Eastern Oregon, where it experienced a spate of crashes. Amazon said Monday the upcoming rollout of commercial drone delivery signifies the refined Read More

Drones Flown For Commercial Purposes Face New Registration Requirement In Washington State

By Geoff Roth March 25, 2022

Dr. Leigh Torres releases a drone to study audio pollution in the area. CREDIT: EARTHFIX

Starting April 1st, drones used for commercial purposes in Washington State must be registered in the state CREDIT: EARTHFIX Listen NWPB’s Geoff Roth reports on an upcoming registration deadline for commercial […]Read More

Santa’s Reindeer To Get Competition: Amazon Flight-Testing Package Delivery Drones In Pendleton

By Tom Banse November 19, 2021

The uncrowded skies at the Pendleton UAS Test Range have attracted Amazon to conduct package delivery drone testing. Amazon gave no details about the prototypes it is test flying there.

E-commerce giant Amazon confirmed to public radio that it has begun flight testing of package delivery drones at a test range in Pendleton, Oregon, as well as continuing near Seattle and elsewhere. Routine delivery of online orders to consumers by aerial drones remains a long ways off, though.Read More

When Will Drone Delivery Be A Thing? Slow To Take Off, But Now Building In Bend

By Tom Banse October 21, 2021

Volansi executives Mike Jackson, left, and Ahmad Ziada at the drone delivery company's nearly one year old Bend, Oregon, manufacturing facility.

With all the news about supply chain problems, you might be wondering how to get your online purchases on time. If only the promised future of aerial delivery by drone could be realized during the upcoming holiday shopping season.Read More

FAA Has New Rules For Drones, As Tests For More Package Delivery Move Continue

By NPR News December 29, 2020

The new rules from the Federal Aviation Administration will also require remote identification technology so that the machines can be identifiable from the ground. The FAA said this standard will address security concerns and make drones easier to track.Read More

Robo Air Taxi Testing Wraps Up At Pendleton Airport, And Airbus Moves On

By Tom Banse December 14, 2019

Airbus displayed the Vahana prototype at a trade association event in Pendleton on Oct. 3, 2019. CREDIT: Tom Banse-N3

Airbus has wrapped up flight testing of a pilotless air taxi in eastern Oregon skies and is moving on. The global aerospace company, along with its rival Boeing and many others, is striving to make flying cars an option for your urban commute someday.Read More

‘It’s Cool And It’s Real’: More Than 100 Successful Test Flights Of Robo Air Taxi Over Eastern Oregon

By Tom Banse October 8, 2019

Vahana Project head of flight test Matt Deal. CREDIT: TOM BANSE/N3

Airbus, along with its rival Boeing and many others, is striving to make flying cars an option for your urban commute. The enthusiasm around the test flight hangar in Pendleton, Oregon, has to be leavened, though. Industry insiders said the technology is running years ahead of regulators and public acceptance.Read More

Washington State Patrol Builds Up Its Drone Fleet To More Than 100

By Tom Banse July 10, 2019

Tacoma-based Detective Sergeant Clint Thomas holds one of the Washington State Patrol's 111 drones, a DJI Matrice 200 model. CREDIT: TOM BANSE/N3

In the span of just a few years, the Washington State Patrol has built up a fleet of more than 100 drones. At last check, the Oregon State Police had three. The Washington patrol says its small quadcopters are used for crash investigations, not for surveillance.Read More

FAA Certifies Google’s Wing Drone Delivery Company To Operate As An Airline

By NPR News April 24, 2019

The Wing company, a Google spinoff, has won federal approval to operate its drone delivery system as an airline in the U.S. Wing

Wing's drones are made to deliver a wide range of items — including coffee, chocolate and burritos — from local merchants to their customers. Read More

In Eastern Oregon, Pendleton Has Become A Drone-Testing Hub, With Hopes For More

By Tom Banse November 12, 2018

The latest variant of the Cubic Ares unmanned reconnaissance drone during flight testing at Pendleton on October 28. CREDIT: CUBIC CORP.

A dream to make rural Pendleton, Oregon into a drone testing mecca is becoming very real. It's so real, in fact, that the city-owned airport has run out of hangar space to rent to global aerospace companies. Now, the Pendleton airport is seeking millions more in public funding to help expand.Read More

Defense Contractor Stops Drone Testing After Crash And Fire In Pendleton

By Tom Banse April 4, 2018

A Resolute Eagle drone similar to this one crashed at Pendleton's airport around 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. CREDIT: PAE ISR

Drone testing by a defense contractor has stopped after one of the company's prototypes crashed and set off a small wildfire near the Pendleton, Oregon, airport.Read More

Coast Guard Helicopter Has ‘Near-Miss’ With Drone Over Port Angeles

By Tom Banse March 21, 2018

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter came within 50 feet of colliding with a drone over Port Angeles, Washington, last weekend. The Coast Guard said an air crew was doing low altitude training exercises near Fairchild International Airport when it had to take evasive action.Read More