announced that the Aeryon SkyRanger sUAS successfully completed the first Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flight in Canada. The SkyRanger was chosen by Ventus Geospatial Inc. and Canadian Unmanned Inc., as the VTOL sUAS flown for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS*) testing and evaluation throughout the trials at the Foremost UAS Range.
These flight trials, among few BVLOS trials worldwide, are a milestone for aviation, establishing safe operational procedures and protocols for operating UAS under 25 kg (55 lb) beyond line of sight. This inaugural flight creates the foundation for how sUAS operators can legally and safely fly BVLOS within Canada and across the globe. Civil and commercial applications, including public safety, power line and pipeline inspection, and large area mapping, will be more feasible and more cost-effective since a larger area can be covered in a single flight without the pilot adjusting location to keep the sUAS within sight.
“Transport Canada continues to be a progressive airspace regulator, establishing standards and guidelines, like BVLOS, that enable safe UAS operations within Canada,” commented Dave Kroetsch, President & CEO, Aeryon Labs. “Aeryon is proud to be support Transport Canada and our aviation partners using the SkyRanger, which is the first VTOL sUAS to conform to the requirements established by Transport Canada for UAV system airworthiness and design.”
Ventus Geospatial is a geomatics firm that uses drones to collect geospatial data that companies use to manage mines, pipelines, roads and other infrastructure, land tracts and buildings. It will operate the Aeryon SkyRanger quadcopter built by Aeryon Labs of Waterloo, Ontario, as well as the Bramor fixed-wing drone produced by C-Astral Aerospace of Slovenia.
Unmanned Systems Canada, a not-for-profit association that represents the Canadian unmanned vehicle systems community, has assisted Ventus Geospatial. “This year we entered our second decade of working with Transport Canada on developing UAV regulations,” stated Mark Aruja, the association’s chairman. “We expect the approval shortly of several more applications for BVLOS operations, at various locations across Canada.”
Photo: Ventus Geospatial plans to use the Aeryon SkyRanger to collect geospatial data over infrastructure and buildings – Aeryon Labs