Autonomous operations: Making maps with drones

Written by Patrick Sherman Advanced Flight Technologies Column As seen in the November 2018 issue of Model Aviation. “It’s about the data, not the drone,” is a sentiment heard frequently among serious commercial operators these days, but with the Roswell Flight Test Crew, it’s an idea that runs counter to our approach to flying. We proudly consider ourselves to be “silk scarf” pilots, in direct control of the machine at all times. Those newfangled systems such as GPS position-hold and optical collision avoidance? We don’t need ’em!…