Los Angeles, CA —The word of the day is FLIR !  I knew this was in development but now it’s actually here!  FLIR became a major public safety and search & rescue tool more than two decades ago.  Now even civilian camera drones are in the FLIR mix!  Flir has primarily been delegated to expensive cameras carried on board conventional aircraft for military, police, fire and every public safety application. Recently the popular drone maker DJI and Flir teamed up to offer these now affordable lifesaving cameras.   They can now operate from the popular DJI Inspire1 and Matrice 100 drone platforms.   That means anyone with these drones can save or at least protect lives.   Flir is simply an optical device that captures imagery of heat signatures or thermal patterns.  At 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit our bodies are normally warmer than the ambient air temperature.  At night the outside air is almost always colder than the bodies of hu...

Washington, D.C .—We have a full-blown crisis!   We are being told that government must suddenly regulate and register the well over two million drones used by hobbyists, photographers, filmmakers and other ordinary civilians. For over two years now we’ve heard the media tell us how these little pesky devices will bring down airliners, invade privacy and destroy our way of life.   Pulling the puppet strings of the media has been the FAA and DOT .   Chicago’s Mayor, Rahm Emanuel said it best back when he was Obama’s Chief of Staff, “ Never let a good crisis go to waste! ”   This drone crisis is nothing more that a manufactured one. The FAA has showered the media with their “facts” in that they claim there are well over 700 cases of near misses with airliners and other conventional aircraft. Missing from these statistics are a single fatality, serious injury or even a report of notable property damage.   Because drones have driven news stories like w...

Kathmandu, Nepal —Drone video of the tragic earthquake that struck the very top of the world is beyond epic.   As soon as the quake hit television networks and camera drone operators were boarding all available means of transportation.   The drone pilots understood full well the absolute importance of rushing to the scene.   They know that drone images and video helps rescuers and engineers determine the safest ways to extract victims.   At the same time shows the rest of the world just how this desperate the situation is being handled. Drone pilots and first responders everywhere are beginning to understand that in natural disasters, search and rescue along with other emergencies analyzing the material is a genuine lifesaver.   It’s much easier for ground crews to locate survivors, evaluate hazards and determine the need for specialized equipment with the help of the new small drone technology. Helicopters are too large and their prop wash can actu...

Los Angeles, CA —As Crimefile News prepares to cover the first ever Drone Expo here on Saturday, we are watching as more corporate and business refugees are fleeing this once great nation.   Americans are also renouncing their citizenship now, more than ever before. Currently drone hobbyists have no licensing or training requirements to fly their drones.   T he only FAA restrictions currently are in the form of somewhat vague “guidelines”.   They suggest maximum altitudes of 400 feet, staying three miles or more from airports and keeping visual contact with the drone. Frankly the hobbyists have already proven that civilian drones really pose no threat to Americans, their safety or privacy.   The only hard and fast enforceable civilian drone regulation is that they can’t be used to earn or generate money.   Of course the government can’t realize any income tax revenue from drone operators either.   Civilian multi-rotor drones cur...

Los Angeles, CA —Report after report has been broadcast and published by the mainstream media alleging dangerous misconduct committed by people piloting little camera drones. “Experts” quoted in media reports are constantly citing serious danger and privacy concerns.   They all talk about the large number of the sighting reports as a reason to regulate, restrict or otherwise outlaw this new technology. There is just something really fishy about this propaganda campaign.   There is not one reported collision between a single little drone and any aircraft.   Despite the reality that absolutley everyone has a decent cellphone camera in their pocket there is not a single image of a drone even near an aircraft.   All  we have are unsubstantiated claims from various pilots flying conventional aircraft.   More importantly there is not a single death or serious injury involving a civilian multi-rotor camera drone despite the fact that more th...

Los Angeles, CA –Nearly everywhere there are some frightened members of Congress, various state legislatures and city councils that are considering ways to ban or severely regulate the little multi-rotor camera drones.   Must we always adopt the Chicken Little fear that the sky is falling ? The FAA would like to expand their budget and manpower by at least tenfold or more to regulate every 12 year-old boy with a camera drone in America.   Can the FAA be trusted to not create or engage hysteria when they have so much to gain?   We all know the answer to that! Pilots everywhere, especially those flying helicopters see the very clear handwriting on the wall.   Inexpensive and substantially safer drones will soon replace half of them. Careers are at stake here .   Should we be surprised those pilots are making the most noise condemning camera drone?    Fighting camera and delivery drones through propaganda scare tactics is already i...