Verizon Skyward, energy company Southern Company, and representatives from Hitec recently came together to conduct multiple beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) UAS test flights at the New York UAS Test Site in Rome, New York.

The goal of the testing was to help Southern Company test UAS and procedures at an active airport as a precursor to long-range BVLOS flights that could help with tasks such as storm damage assessment and routine power line inspections.

“The work we did at NUAIR was an important first step to operating in the BVLOS world,” says Corey Hitchcock, Southern Company’s chief UAS Pilot.

“Procedures were developed that will lay the foundation of safe BVLOS testing and ultimately lead to BVLOS operations in the greater National Airspace System.”

To demonstrate a major use case for Southern’s UAS program—line pulling—Hitchcock used one of Southern Company’s Matrice 600 UAS to pull a line over a water obstacle, keeping the line elevated and successfully delivering it to a crew member on the other side.

Southern uses this process in the field to pull pilot ropes for electrical transmission and distribution lines, which is beneficial when it comes to time and safety. Following a hurricane in Puerto Rico, Southern used UAS to pull 72,000 feet of rope for conductor wire during power restoration efforts, which saved weeks, maybe even months, of time.

At the airport, core testing was conducted using Hitec’s fixed-wing Xeno FX aircraft. Hitec personnel provided hands-on training for everyone present, and after a day of orientation with the aircraft, obtaining permissions, and performing brief training flights, the entities were prepared to conduct sample BVLOS operations.

According to the entities, the first flight successfully tested a modified antenna and proved the aircraft was ready for longer flights. The flight traveled approximately one mile round trip, with about one-quarter mile distance between the launch location and the ground control station. 

The second flight doubled the distance of the first flight, with three-quarters of a mile between launch and ground control. Like the first flight, the aircraft performed as expected and accurate data was collected.

The final flight tested the endurance of the aircraft, as it flew for 32 minutes while using just over half the battery capacity. The flight proved the aircraft was well-equipped for long-range BVLOS flights.

“We flew without incident and the aircraft performed just as expected,” the entities say.

“We demonstrated that we could safely deploy and control drones beyond visual line of sight using the equipment available.”