I read about the drone crash on the White House lawn a few days ago but didn't post as I figured there would be more details in the near future.
Boy Howdy!
Talk about a career-limiting move. From the New York Times:
White House Drone Crash Described as a U.S. Worker’s Drunken Lark
It was 42 degrees and raining lightly around 3 a.m. on Monday when an inebriated off-duty employee for a government intelligence agency decided it was a good time to fly his friend’s drone, a 2-foot-by-2-foot “quadcopter” that sells for hundreds of dollars and is popular among hobbyists.
But officials say the plan was foiled, perhaps by wind or a tree, when the employee — who has not been named by the Secret Service or charged with a crime — lost control of the drone as he operated it from an apartment just blocks from the White House.
He texted his friends, worried that the drone had gone down on the White House grounds, and then went to sleep. It was not until the next morning, when he woke and learned from friends that a drone had been found at the White House, that he contacted his employer, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. He then called the Secret Service and immediately began cooperating with an investigation into the incident.
Oopsie - there is the long-standing internet maxim that you must not post when drunk. I guess the same goes for flying a drone. The unit in question has a payload of about three pounds with a 20 minute flight time. That could make a pretty big bang . The radio link is only good for a couple hundred yards but you can pre-program them to fly a specific course. They have on-board GPS and computer so they can arrive at a location within a couple feet.
The technology is evolving so quickly that I am holding off for a few years to get one. Get some decent communication range and flight longevity.
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