Swiss professional drone manufacturer, senseFly, has announced that its eBee has become the first fixed-wing system to be designated a ‘compliant small UAV’ by Transport Canada—a distinction that moves organisations that use this drone a critical step closer to achieving Compliant Operator status.
Canadian companies that employ drones for civilian applications must hold a Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC), unless qualifying for an exemption. An SFOC typically features an approved term of just one year and applies to a specific region.
However, holding an SFOC when an organisation has been granted Compliant Operator status brings several additional benefits:
- Greater geographical flexibility (including Canada-wide)
- A longer SFOC validity period of up to three years
- Streamlined SFOC renewals (reducing an operator’s admin)
- And priority placement in the SFOC application queue
Transport Canada currently recommends that all SFOC applicants work towards becoming Compliant Operators, in order that their operations can continue smoothly in future when further regulatory updates are due to be completed.
One of the key requirements for becoming a Compliant Operator is to employ a system that Transport Canada has designated a ‘compliant small UAV’ (for more details see Transport Canada’s Staff Instruction 623-001 document). It is this designation that the senseFly eBee has now been granted.
“The eBee becoming the first compliant fixed-wing UAV in Canada is great news for civilian drone operators,” said Felix Weber and Brett Findlater, the respective Presidents of Ag Business & Crop, and Spatial Technologies (senseFly’s Canadian distribution partners). “This designation offers professionals who use an eBee today, such as land surveyors and agricultural professionals, further credibility with their clients and a real advantage as they work towards becoming compliant operators. Plus, it presents future operators with a clear choice of mapping drone, since the eBee is a safe, reliable, easy-to-use system that comes already Transport Canada-approved.”
“Transport Canada’s eBee decision is testament to this product’s airworthiness,” added Jean-Christophe Zufferey, senseFly’s CEO. “It is also consistent with how aviation authorities and legislators in other countries—such as the FAA in the U.S. and most recently in the Philippines—view our drones; as reliable, professional and inherently safe.”
Source: Press Release