Model Airplanes

We told you back in December that the Federal Aviation Administration established a new rule for owners of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) — more commonly known as drones — requiring them to register their aircraft with the government.

Less noticed — in most parts of the country, anyway — was another new FAA rule declaring Washington, D.C., a “no drone zone.” Specifically, UAS devices are now prohibited from flying within a 30-mile radius of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

This new special flight rules area (SFRA) isn’t exactly new; rather, it resulted from a new interpretation of existing rules that now apply to anything that flies — including drones and model aircraft. “Unmanned aircraft, including model aircraft, are ‘aircraft’ and are subject to FAA rules,” an FAA spokesperson told Yahoo Tech in an email. “No aircraft is allowed to fly inside the SFRA unless it complies with the published airspace security requirements.”

Among those requirements: An aircraft must be in touch with air traffic control by two-way radio and must have a transponder that can broadcast a unique code. Few drones can comply.

The requirement for a transponder is the real deal killer here. Transponders designed for small airplanes are readily available and aren’t overly expensive, either. But they generally weigh more than a pound, which makes them heavier than most drones. They also require

Article source: https://www.yahoo.com/tech/feds-to-washington-d-c-1342582595649590.html

When Bonny Doon’s Henry Kaiser isn’t diving in subzero temperatures in Antarctica, he’s playing on the edge as one of music’s most acclaimed experimental guitarists

Henry Kaiser recently returned to his home in Bonny Doon from an eight-week scientific expedition to Antarctica, during which he braved temperatures that got as low as -40 F, did 40 dives and worked 20 hours a day, seven days a week—all to secure a picnic cooler worth of samples that will further the study of single-celled organisms called forams. It was his 11th deployment as a freelance diver for the United States Antarctic Program, and coming back from 8,800 miles away isn’t so disorienting anymore.

“It used to be weird to come back and see green things and animals and people under the age of 20,” he says. “But now it just seems normal.”

Normal, however, is relative; when he’s done visiting faraway worlds, Kaiser is known for transporting other people to them—through his music. As an internationally acclaimed experimental guitarist, Kaiser has appeared on some 270 albums, including 10 in 2015 alone. Besides his solo work, he has collaborated with Richard Thompson and David Lindley, along with dozens of other musicians who share his love for improvisation and musical exploration. He also has a passion for film, shooting and editing video of his Antarctic trips both for research and documentaries, and scoring films for director Werner Herzog—including his Academy-Award-nominated work on the soundtrack of Herzog’s 2007 documentary about Antarctica, Encounters at the End of the World.

So

Article source: http://www.gtweekly.com/index.php/santa-cruz-news/good-times-cover-stories/7191-notes-from-the-end-of-the-world.html

 Added on January 13, 2016
 Kevin Cody
 Drop Zone , Drop Zone LA