In May, the FAA asked for public input on requests for waivers to fly Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS.) Phoenix Air Unmanned, uAvionix, Zipline, and UPS Flight Forward all applied for waivers: today, FAA announced that Pheonix Air Unmanned has been granted authorization to operate BVLOS for “aerial work, aerial photography, survey and powerline and pipeline patrol and inspection. The authorization allows these operations below 400 feet altitude over certain roads and sparsely populated areas below pre-planned flight paths.”
The agency is reviewing the opposite requests.
The authorization allows BVLOS flight with an uncrewed vehicle weighing greater than 55 kilos, the SwissDrones SVO 50 V2 UAS – a multipurpose uncrewed helicopter. BVLOS is a big issue for a wide selection of industries: from long range infrastructure to completely distant operations or drone-in-a-box solutions, directed from a control center a big distance away.
Phoenix Unmanned will operate the SVO 50 V2 UAS, which has a special airworthiness certificate, for training, research and development: in order that they will evaluate the aircraft before applying for the authorizations required for normal flight. A significant provider of mapping and inspection services, the corporate says that they’re exploring the usage of larger aircraft with a purpose to accommodate business needs for greater flight endurance and payload capability. Phoenix will operate under the waiver in rural and sparsely populated areas.
The waiver is a win for Phoenix and for the FAA. While the agency has not yet indicated when a final rule on BVLOS flight could also be expected, they have steadily granted more waivers in an effort to proceed to assemble pertinent data from the sector. From the FAA announcement:
The FAA is concentrated on developing standard rules to make BVLOS operations routine, scalable and economically viable. The agency chartered the Beyond Visual Line of Sight Aviation Rulemaking Committee on June 9, 2021 to supply safety recommendations to the FAA. We’re reviewing their final report.
Read more: