On Friday, Nov. 8, Airbus Helicopters’ VSR700 UAS prototype performed its first flight at a drone test center near Aix-en-Provence in the south of France.
The UAS performed several take-offs and landings, with its longest flight lasting approximately 10 minutes.
The VSR700 UAS was tethered with 30-meter cables to fully secure the flight test zone, so that it was in compliance with airworthiness authority that provided the flight clearance. Going forward, the flight test program will move towards free flight, with plans to progressively open the flight envelope.
UAS
UAS
New York Gov. Cuomo announces completion of 50-mile drone corridor
New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has announced the completion of New York’s 50-mile unmanned traffic management (UTM) drone corridor, which runs from Central New York to the Mohawk Valley.
Considered the first of its kind in the nation, the corridor will provide companies with the space to test UAS and UTM technologies in real world settings to collect data that will help inform the industry and regulators, and push society towards regular commercial drone use.
Oceans Unmanned, partners expand drone training to Scotland
In an effort to provide UAS support for marine mammal disentanglement response efforts in Sweden, Oceans Unmanned Inc. (OU), the Scottish Entanglement Alliance (SEA) and DARTdrones have expanded their freeFLY initiative into the country.
Through the freeFLY program, which was launched in 2018, networks of local volunteer drone operators that are available to support regional response groups are provided with equipment and hands-on training.
OU notes that UAS operators were provided with initial flight training and advanced safe launching, operating, and recovering drones from small boats and support vessels over the course of a two-day session that it hosted.
European Maritime Safety Agency extends contract for Schiebel's Camcopter S-100 UAS
The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) has extended the contract for Schiebel’s Camcopter S-100 UAS to the end of the year after two months of successful maritime surveillance services for the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Croatia.
Based on the Croatian island of Brač, EMSA’s Camcopter S-100 performs regular day and night patrolling flights, on-demand incident monitoring missions and specific inspection operations.
Thus far, the UAS, which is equipped with Harris L3 Wescam Electro-Optical / Infra-Red (EO/IR) camera, an Overwatch Imaging PT-8 Oceanwatch payload and an Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver, has completed 67 missions and 210 flight hours during two months of maritime operations.
KDOT, Iris Automation conduct first BVLOS UAS flight using only onboard detect-and-avoid systems
The Kansas Department of Transportation’s (KDOT) UAS Integration Pilot Program (IPP) recently successfully completed the first beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) UAS flight that utilized only onboard detect-and-avoid systems.
This was the first time under Part 107 that the FAA has authorized a UAS to fly BVLOS without a requirement for visual observers or a ground-based radar, as the flight instead utilized Iris Automation’s detect-and-avoid system known as Casia, which provides commercial drones with automated collision avoidance maneuvers.
Virginia establishes itself as a place to be for all things unmanned
Virginia is for lovers, but it is also the place to be for innovation when it comes to all things unmanned, according to speakers during the Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) Autonomous Technology Summit on Thursday, Nov. 7, in Fairfax.
“I absolutely believe the potential for autonomous vehicles, whether in air, on land, in sea … could be as much of a revolution as wireless was,” said Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, an early investor in the cellular telephone business and cofounder of the company that would become Nextel.
New York UAS Test Site receives FAA approval to conduct BVLOS ops within first segment of 50-Mile UAS Corridor
The FAA has granted the New York UAS Test Site at Griffiss International Airport in Rome, New York approval to fly UAS beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) within the first segment of New York's 50-Mile Unmanned Aircraft System Corridor, which is currently under development.
Considered the first “true” BVLOS authority granted to the FAA-designated test site, the approval will allow UAS testing to be conducted without the need for ground-based observers.
UPS, CVS complete first revenue-generating drone deliveries of medicine in North Carolina
On Friday, Nov. 1, UPS Flight Forward Inc. (UPSFF) and CVS Pharmacy Inc. successfully completed the first revenue-generating, residential drone deliveries of medical prescriptions from a CVS pharmacy to customers in Cary, North Carolina.
One of the people on the receiving end of these landmark deliveries was a CVS customer with limited mobility, which makes it hard for them to make the trip to the store to pick up their prescription.
“We now have an opportunity to offer different drone delivery solutions, tailored to meet customer needs for speed and convenience,” says Scott Price, UPS chief strategy and transformation officer.
UAVOS completes test flight of modified ApusDuo solar-powered high-altitude platform system
UAVOS has successfully completed a test flight of the new modification of its ApusDuo solar-powered high-altitude platform system (HAPS), which has a wingspan of 14 meters.
The reliability of HAPS increased while the aircraft’s overall structural weight decreased thanks to the modifications to the design of the main elements of the aircraft.
“UAVOS demonstrated a flight of ApusDuo aircraft with a wingspan of 9000m in August 2018,” says UAVOS CEO Aliaksei Stratsilatau.
“Following lower-altitude test flights and other preoperational activities, currently we coordinate with the Air Traffic control getting permit to perform stratospheric test flights.”
