MAY 2020
NEWS www.theengineer.CO.UK
Skyports joins ‘beyond visual
line of sight’ UAV trials
Project aims to validate drones in non-segregated airspace
Skyports been accepted
into the UK Civil Aviation
Authority’s (CAA)
Regulatory Sandbox
programme to trial beyond
visual line of sight (BVLOS) UAV
flights in non-segregated airspace.
The CAA’s Regulatory Sandbox
was established in 2019 to create
an environment where innovation
in aviation can be explored in line
with its core principles of safety,
security and consumer protection.
Alex Brown, Head of
Operations at Skyports, explained
that BVLOS UAV deliveries are
already happening globally
through trials and in dedicated
corridors that keep UAVs away
from other airspace users.
“To achieve commercial
operations at scale, particularly
in more congested environments,
delivery UAVs will need to be able
to safely share the skies with
other airspace users in nonsegregated
airspace, which our
project in the CAA Regulatory
Sandbox is aiming to achieve,” he
said.
To this end the London-based
cargo drone deliveries specialist
will work with consortium
partners Iris Automation, RSK
and Thales on putting a longrange
Wingcopter – a fixed wing/
tilt-rotor aircraft – through the
Sandbox project.
San-Francisco based Iris is
providing its Casia computervision
based Detect-and-Avoid
(DAA) technology, Thales its
Remote ID for UAV tracking,
and RSK will apply its skills
and expertise in environmental
assessment.
“We will be testing the use
of the DAA system on our UAV
initially in segregated and then
in non-segregated airspace and,
if everything is successful, the
CAA will have a proven means of
providing regulatory approval to
UAS operators wishing to fly UAVs
into non-segregated airspace,
which is key to enabling fullscale,
permanent commercial
operations,” said Brown. “We
plan to complete our project by
summer 2020, subject to any
future government rules and
advice on social distancing in
response to COVID-19.”
The drone package delivery
market is projected to be worth
£21bn by 2030. Brown told The
Engineer that Skyports has
multiple aircraft in its fleet that
give it the flexibility to overcome
various logistics and supply chain
problems.
May 2020 / www.theengineer.co.uk 6
“We work with our aircraft
OEMs to up-spec the aircraft to
a standard where they meet the
rigorous regulatory standards
required to fly Beyond Visual
Line of Sight in different types
of environments,” he said. “This
includes, for example, enhanced
triple-redundant communications
systems for the C2 link as well as a
parachute system.”
Skyport’s fixed-wing UAV
has the greatest range in the
company’s fleet with the capability
to travel distances of up to 100km
with a maximum ceiling of 3000ft
AMSL (above mean sea level),
depending on the payload weight.
According to Brown, this makes
it an ideal platform to connecting
hard-to-reach communities in
more remote environments.
“As UAV regulations progress,
we will begin to integrate longer
distance and heavier payload
UAVs, and we have already begun
discussions with heavier payload
UAV OEMs about taking this next
step.”
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