UAV News Talk

UAV News Talk is your go-to source for drone, UAV, UAS, and eVTOL news. We cover the latest developments in drone regulations, pilot certification, emerging tech, advanced air mobility (AAM), and real-world use cases across industries. Whether you’re a drone pilot, developer, policy maker, or just ...

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458

Nov. 4, 2026

Amazon Drone Delivery Retreat, FCC Opens 800 MHz, and DJI's 25-Second Battery Swap

Amazon has withdrawn its application for a drone delivery launch site in Westborough, Massachusetts, following intense community opposition. In UAV News Talk #458, Max Trescott and David Vanderhoof examine what the decision means for the growth of commercial drone delivery—and why Amazon could still return with a revised proposal. The hosts also discuss an FCC rule change allowing drones to operate in 50 MHz of licensed 800 MHz cellular spectrum, and Ericsson's new Integrated Sensing and Commun

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457

Oct. 27, 2026

BETA’s FAA Milestone, Ukraine’s Drone Rescue, and Japan’s Bear Drones

BETA Technologies has received a first-of-its-kind FAA market-survey authorization for its ALIA A250 eVTOL, allowing demonstration flights with prospective customers—but not scheduled, paying passengers. David Vanderhoof and I explain what this milestone means, the certification work still ahead, and why BETA’s MV250 military variant and Sikorsky’s MATRIX autonomy system could be just as important as its air-taxi ambitions. We also discuss a Jetson ONE being evaluated for police operations at Fl

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456

Oct. 20, 2026

FAA Drone Crackdown: $75,000 Fines, FBI Drone School & Shield AI X-BAT Copy title

Drone operators face a new enforcement environment as the FAA takes a tougher approach to violations, with potential fines reaching $75,000 per violation and possible certificate action. In UAV News Talk #456, Max Trescott and David Vanderhoof explain what the changes mean for recreational and commercial drone pilots. The FBI is also expanding its counter-drone training center at Redstone Arsenal following the seizure of more than 700 unauthorized drones during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. On the

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455

Oct. 11, 2026

11,000-Drone Spectacular, DoorDash Delivery Drones & Skydio's New Fixed-Wing Aircraft

This week on UAV News Talk, Max Trescott and David Vanderhoof explore a spectacular record-breaking drone show, DoorDash's new autonomous delivery aircraft, Skydio's unconventional fixed-wing drone, a significant legal victory involving local drone regulations, and major developments in electric aviation—including a $116.9 million verdict against Joby Aviation. An 11,000-Drone Show Sets a Stunning Record The episode begins with what Max calls the most impressive drone show he's ever seen, whi

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About the Hosts

Max Trescott

President

Max Trescott is President of Glass Cockpit Publishing, which owns the Aviation Podcast Network. He is the 2008 National CFI of the Year, selected to represent the 96,000 flight instructors in the U.S. He’s written three books on the Garmin G1000, G3000 and on GPS and WAAS and has online courses for the G1000 at PilotLearning.com. He's also trained in accident investigation at USC.

He lives in the S.F. Bay Area and is a Cirrus Platinum CSIP instructor teaching in Cirrus Aircraft, including the Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet. He became a cohost for the Airplane Geeks podcast in 2015. He started the Aviation News Talk podcast in 2017, which focuses on general aviation and safety. Of the over 250 aviation-related podcasts, Aviation News Talk typically ranks #1 or #2. He's also writes a monthly column for FLYING magazine.

David Vanderhoof

Cohost

David grew up around aircraft. His father was Base Civil Engineer for the USAF 913th TAG at Willow Grove, PA. His first toy was an airplane; from that point on he never stopped looking up. David graduated from Temple University with a degree in Military History and Diplomacy, focusing on the air wars of the Middle East. Realizing that there was no money in knowing about the Air Orders of Battle of Israel and the rest of the Middle Eastern States, and he needed to eat, he eventually landed in a career as a marketing professional.

He founded and co-hosted the original The UAV Digest podcast with Max Flight, who has since left the show. The show name was later changed to UAV News Talk.

David is a plastic modeler, photographer, and reader. You will always find him paging through books looking up some obscure piece of information, or “geeking” out on the latest episode of Doctor Who! He can be found on his blog What Just Flew By?