It is unclear if the drone was actually endorsed by Hobby king, or just a source for numerous parts. Titled “Roasting the Holiday Turkey”, it demonstrates the CT teenager’s latest project in action – blasting a propped-up turkey with a flamethrower device attached to the quadcopter. Sgt Joseph Flynn told the Courant, noting no state laws now exist that could prevent Haughwout from converting his drones into mobile weapons. Local authorities also declined to pursue charges related to the drone, although Haughwout had a violent confrontation with police shortly after the video of a gun-firing drone was posted.
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A video of a drone firing a gun posted by Haughwout to YouTube led to an investigation by Clinton police, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosion. He is still awaiting trial on that charge. He said he and his son had fire extinguishers, hoses and buckets of water on hand for the flight.
“We had a lot of fun, it was something different to do and there was no danger at all”, said the father, Bret Haughwout.
Haughwout was charged with assaulting an officer in July after he was found in Henry Carter Hull Library.
Clinton Deputy Police Chief John Carbone agreed with that assessment on Wednesday, but added that law may not have caught up with the technology yet.
Speaking to WTNH News, drone advocate Peter Sachs said: “Anyone who does anything of this nature or a similar nature is operating unsafely and irresponsibly, and I certainly would not condone it and I would certainly chastise it as would any responsible operator”. “The only thing he has truly accomplished has been to fuel the public’s unwarranted fear of drones”.
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Clinton resident Austin Haughwout, 18-who made headlines earlier this year when he posted a YouTube video of a four-propeller drone equipped with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun-is in the news again, this time for a combination drone-flamethrower.
