HexCam obtains 9km drone flight permission

HexCam can now fly BVLOS-VM (BVLOS with Visual Mitigation) out to 9km from a Remote Pilot – a great step on its journey towards fully BVLOS flights.

HexCam’s journey towards carrying out drone survey flights Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) received a major boost and reached a significant milestone today with the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) full approval of their latest ‘Phase 3’ Operating Safety Case (OSC).

Their new CAA ‘Operational Authorisation’ allows them to fly their DJI M300 series survey drones further than ever before – up to 9km (5.6 miles) away from a Remote Pilot (RP). This marks a significant increase from their previous 2.5km limit and has required them to thoroughly demonstrate and prove their methods of conducting and managing longer-range flights.

They’ve been able to safely achieve this extended flight range using a combination of:

  • Establishing reliable drone Command and Control (C2) over the mobile phone network using drone-specific SIMs from “Etc. At BT Group“.
  • Use of fully qualified Visual Observers (VOs), positioned within 2.5km of the drone, maintaining Visual Line Of Sight (VLOS) at all times.
  • Addition of high output strobes to enhance visibility of the drone at longer ranges.
  • Use of PilotAware ‘FX’ Electronic Conspicuity on the drone combined with live ‘Virtual RADAR’ data from the network of PilotAware ATOM stations to support and enhance the situational awareness of the Remote Pilot and Visual Observers during flight missions.

By combining this increased range with their existing 2 pilot ‘handover’ method of operation, they can now safely cover an 18km segment of a linear construction project, such as a cable or pipeline corridor, end to end, in just one single flight, using 2 Remote Pilots and 3 Visual Observers.

Reducing their presence on the ground and minimising the need to seek permission to enter land can be a great help when surveying long linear infrastructure projects. By extending the distance between crew members on the ground from 2.5km out to 4.5km intervals, disturbance to landowners, their livestock and to sensitive ecosystems can be significantly reduced.

Achieving reliable Command and Control over the mobile phone network is a huge step towards their goal of fully BVLOS survey and inspection flights. Their new permissions now pave the way for even longer flights using larger drones with longer battery endurance.

Hexcam is an ARPAS-UK member.