Category Archives: Regulatory Matters

Kansas Approved for First BVLOS Drone Flight

The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) received permission to conduct the first ever Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone operation in the nation leveraging only onboard detect-and-avoid systems. This is the first-ever FAA authorized operation to fly without a requirement for visual observers or ground-based radar and is the result of the 31-member Kansas Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Pilot Program (IPP) team efforts to advance drone technologies. Continue reading

FAA Approves Drone Food Delivery in North Carolina

Drone company Flytrex and the drone services company Causey Aviation Unmanned, Inc. (CAU) received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to begin food deliveries by drone in Holly Springs, North Carolina. As part of the FAA’s UAS Integration Pilot Program (IPP) and in partnership with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), Causey Aviation, the Town of Holly Springs, and Kite Realty Group Trust  Flytrex will soon begin its on-demand, unmanned food delivery via commercial drones for local residents. Continue reading

Skyfront Perimeter Drone Performs First BVLOS Flight under FAA Part 107

Skyfront’s Perimeter 4 long-range hybrid gas-electric drone successfully performed the first civilian beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) flight without visual observers under the FAA’s Part 107 rules. This flight is a significant step toward the safe integration of unmanned aerial vehicles into the national airspace. Continue reading

HAPSMobile Receives Authorization to Fly in Stratosphere Above Hawaii

HAPSMobile Inc., a subsidiary of SoftBank Corp., announced that it received a COA2 (Certificate of Authorization) from the FAA (US Federal Aviation Administration) to fly “HAWK30,” a solar-powered unmanned aircraft assembled in April 2019 to provide a stratospheric telecommunications platform system, in the Hawaiian island of Lanai’s stratosphere. Continue reading