UK’s first permanent vertiport unveiled at Snowdonia Aerospace Centre
Bristol-based technology company SLiNK-TECH sold its flagship PORTAL vertiport system to Snowdonia Aerospace Centre in January
The vertiport, launched this week, is the first permanent installation of its kind in the UK
The installation will help Snowdonia Aerospace Centre to servethe UK and global drone industry.
The UK’s first permanent vertiport will be officially unveiled tomorrow in Llanbedr, North Wales. SLiNK-TECH designed the first vertiport of its kind in the UK, the launch of which marks a significant milestone for the UK drone industry.
Snowdonia Aerospace Centre (SAC) purchased PORTAL in January and completed installation last week. The advanced landing solution is highly automated and provides integrated flight management at any location.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with SAC to bring this innovative new system to the UK,” said John Goudie, CEO of SLiNK-TECH. “Our PORTAL vertiport system is a game-changer for the future of flight, and we are confident that our installation at SAC will provide significant benefits to testing of future use cases.”
To mark the occasion industry leaders and policymakers will be travelling to Llanbedr for the PORTAL Party, an event featuring state-of-the art demonstrations and expert talks over two days. The addition of a vertiport to its site highlights SAC’s commitment to encouraging innovation and supporting technological advancement in the UK.
CEO of SAC, Lee Paul, said: “Snowdonia Aerospace is excited to be supporting SLiNK-TECH with the testing of the PORTAL vertiport concept and we look forward to working together to create a legacy capability at the Snowdonia Aerospace Centre for the drone and air mobility communities to test and train in an archetype of future UK lower airspace management”
PORTAL was installed at SAC at the end of June and will be used for testing and trials at the site.
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About SLiNK-TECH SLiNK-TECH Ltd (SLiNK) is a Bristol, UK-based technology company, pioneering drone and vertiport automation solutions built to scale the future of flight economy, enabling safe, low cost, automated drone launch and landing with minimal infrastructure in any environment.
The company, founded in 2018, has been developing their advanced landing solution, which is safe, low cost and highly automated. Their vision is to make the benefits of drone logistics available across all industries and applications.
About Snowdonia Aerospace Centre Snowdonia Aerospace LLP operates the Snowdonia Aerospace Centre, Llanbedr, Gwynedd, the premier commercial UK test centre for next-generation aerospace including “drones-for-good”. They have also established Snowdonia Aerospace Drone Services Ltd. to further develop and commercially exploit the output of their research.
Both SLiNK-TECH and Snowdonia Aerospace Centre are ARPAS-UK members.
16 July 2024
SAM IS ....
Skyfarer Obtains BVLOS Approval
Skyfarer Ltd has secured its first Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) approval. This BVLOS approval commenced a week of flight operations at the Snowdonia Aerospace Centre, Llanbedr Airfield earlier this year.
Georgia Hanrahan, Project Manager:
This is a significant step forward for operators in our industry. This approval allows us to access the untapped potential that commercial drones have to benefit society safely, for those that secure this approval.
What BVLOS means for Skyfarer
Achieving BVLOS approval has been an important milestone for Skyfarer, allowing for a wide range of data capture, the chance to react to unexpected challenges, and an opportunity for the operations team to familiarise themselves with flight procedures and processes in preparation for their upcoming trial this year.
“Just two weeks after we were awarded BVLOS, we were out there flying. It was a big step for us,” says Remote Pilot and Flight Ops Engineer, Yahya Abulfaraj.
Beyond Visual Line of Sight approval is a very important requirement to enable drone operators to fly and plan longer, more ambitious flights, which will widen the scope of how drones can be used for good across the UK and globally.
However, Beyond Visual Line of Sight flight wouldn’t be possible without partners Altitude Angel, who provide the key detection and avoid technology enabling Skyfarer to deconflict and avoid obstacles whilst not having an eye on the drone in flight.
Yahya Abulfaraj says that “this type of approval doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, this regulation journey started over 2 years ago.”
“We started applying for BVLOS in late 2020 and it involved many amendments before we finally received the approval” he adds.
This was Skyfarer’s second time at the Snowdonia Aerospace Centre but the first of it’s kind for BVLOS operations. The Snowdonia Aerospace Centre was the perfect place to enable the team to practice their processes and procedures, implement new standards of operations and conduct important data captures.
Snowdonia Aerospace was approved by the Civil Aviation Authority in September 2021, following 2 years of intensive review and investment, to become the first commercial (non-military) controlled and managed “Permanent Danger Area” in the UK, in support of the regular research, development, testing and evaluation of drones and other novel aerospace systems. This is an area that can be used for operators like Skyfarer to test the technology in a safe and secure environment, without the need for constant regulatory applications. The Snowdonia Aerospace Centre in sense is a home for all aircraft, UAV or otherwise to develop and innovate.
Lee Paul, CEO of the Centre:
We were delighted to host and support Skyfarer on their exciting journey in securing their BVLOS approvals. This is a significant step forward for their business development and we look forward to working with them as they continue to look to undertake regular and routine BVLOS operations.
We have invested substantially in the facilities and services available at the airfield and continue to provide companies like Skyfarer the opportunity to test and evaluate their operations in an ideal environment in the UK. Too many UK businesses have been previously unable to test their novel aerospace system in the UK due to the lack of dedicated restricted commercial airspace and have had to therefore look to overseas facilities. The ability for UK business to now undertake their R & D and testing in the UK in a unique environment is not only commercially advantageous but also retains the investment and economic activity in the UK.
What did Skyfarer achieve?
There were 2 main routes that Skyfarer used throughout the trial, whilst they racked up an impressive amount of BVLOS flight hours.
The start of the week saw the team running operations and conducting procedure checks to ensure that they were ready for a week of intensive flights, including a short test flight to a nearby location 500m away, before commencing a 14km flight.
On Tuesday the Skyfarer team were focused on capturing data whilst operating in difficult and unexpected weather conditions that showed no signs of giving up in the days ahead.
The later part of the week was a highlight for Skyfarer, as the team secured 11 BVLOS flights in a 6 hour window, with a total distance of 160kms flown.
“This was one of the most successful days in Skyfarer history to date” says Yahya.
Whilst this was a successful trial and enabled Skyfarer to test their operational capability in preparation for their upcoming trial this year, the team encountered some unexpected challenges during the BVLOS test flights to a local beach in the area.
During the later part of the week, the team had planned to land in a specially cordoned-off area along a beach. However, when the drone arrived near the landing, the Skyfarer operations team realized something was wrong. A man from one of the nearby families watching from behind the cordoning, decided to jump the fence and approach the landing drone whilst pointing at it.
“From our assessment, it seems like it was unintentional and on accident” adds Yahya.
“However, we were prepared for this type of situation. It is exactly the kind of unplanned event that proves the importance of having these procedures in place, of which we were there to test.”
The Skyfarer team rapidly risk assessed the situation and decided to change their plan landing.
“We followed procedure and had the drone abort its landing, before changing its landing location to our pre-planned emergency landing location” says Yahya.
In result, it was a successful outcome for all involved.
With thanks
This Skyfarer Project was made possible by both the support of the Aerospace Unlocking Potential (Aerospace UP) programme, which supports the aerospace supply chain in the Midlands by helping to unlock its innovation potential and the Snowdonia Aerospace Centre.
Aerospace UP is being delivered by the University of Nottingham and the Midlands Aerospace Alliance. Aerospace UP is supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
The Snowdonia Aerospace Centre offers a unique facility in the UK and have invested substantially in creating the ideal infrastructure, services and facilities to support the testing and evaluation of BVLOS operations.
Whilst this operation was a great first step, there is a lot to be done to enable operators like Skyfarer to conduct more routine flights in the years to come without such a long approval process and change of airspace. Skyfarer are pioneering this change in policy through Mayor of the West Midlands Trailblazer Devolution Deal.
Both Skyfarer and Snowdonia Aerospace Centre are ARPAS-UK Members.
SAM IS ....
Snowdonia Aerospace Centre to Deploy Altitude Angel’s GuardianUTM Enterprise Platform
London, UK: Altitude Angel, the world’s leading UTM (Unified Traffic Management) technology provider, today announced the s (SAC) has become the second UK airport to deploy its GuardianUTM Enterprise platform.
ARPAS-UK Member, the Snowdonia Aerospace Centre, in Gwynedd, Wales, is one of Europe’s foremost commercial test centres for next-generation aerospace and future flight systems such as drones, electric aircraft, urban and regional air mobility vehicles, balloons, airships and near-space testing vehicles.
Launched in March this year, GuardianUTM Enterprise is an intuitive, cost-effective platform which has been developed to support regional and local airports and airfields to manage on and off-site drone operations.
GuardianUTM Enterprise will provide SAC with a combined view of the airspace in the vicinity of its FRZ (flight restriction zone), enabling the airport to start designing and providing UTM services for drone companies and drone operators, using Altitude Angel’s proven digital authorisation and flight management technology.
Karim Cosslett, Altitude Angel, Regional Sales & Partner Manager, said: “The Snowdonia Aerospace Centre plays a critical role in providing a safe testing and development environment for the next-generation of aerospace and future flight systems. The deployment of GuardianUTM Enterprise allows Snowdonia Aerospace to comprehensively manage all aircraft in its airspace, whether manned or unmanned, and provide a safe, coordinated and efficient place to operate and test.”
Jeremy Howitt, Snowdonia Aerospace Centre, Future Flight Programme Lead, added: “We are pleased to add GuardianUTM Enterprise to the extensive Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) test capabilities at the Snowdonia Aerospace Centre.
“Combined with the airspace change to create a permanent Danger Area, we have an unrivalled operational test environment for customers looking to accelerate the development of their drones, urban air mobility vehicles and other novel aerospace systems. The UTM capability will also form a key element of the layered detect-and-avoid solution that we’re developing under the UK Research & Innovation Future Flight Challenge, allowing us to provide a BVLOS drone service in support of Emergency Services across Wales.”
About Altitude Angel:
Altitude Angel is an award-winning provider of UTM (Unified Traffic Management) software, enabling those planning to operate, or develop UTM/U-Space solutions, to quickly integrate robust data and services with minimum effort.
From a consistent, well-documented and standards-based platform, drone manufacturers such as DJI and cutting-edge software developers around the world use our Developer Platform to obtain rich, relevant and local geofencing data, exchange and share flight plans, de-conflict their own flights in real-time and interface with national flight authorisation systems. A growing portfolio of enhanced capabilities help our customers to comply with current and future regulations and interface with changing national systems with only minimal effort.
Altitude Angel’s first party solutions also power some of the world’s leading ANSPs, aviation authorities and Enterprises, including LVNL (Netherlands) and Avinor (Norway), empowering them with new capabilities to safely manage and integrate drone traffic into national operations.
Today, Altitude Angel’s market-defining technology is providing a critical, enabling service on which the future of UTM, especially in controlled airspace, will be built across the globe.
By unlocking the potential of drones and helping national aviation authorities, ANSPs, developers and enterprise organisations, Altitude Angel is establishing new services to support the growth in the drone industry.
Altitude Angel was founded by Richard Parker in 2014 and is headquartered in Reading, UK.
GuardianUTM enables drone manufacturers and software developers to connect into a rich, dynamic source of accurate, authoritative and relevant information to support geofencing, while offering enhanced UTM capabilities such as a single interface to multi-country flight authorisation.
Its companion product, GuardianUTM O/S, supports all the functionality required to deliver national-grade drone traffic management capabilities to any country that wishes to safely unlock the potential of drones.
11 May 2021
SAM IS ....
Snowdonia Aerospace Airspace Change Proposal –
Snowdonia Aerospace has today launched a public consultation, open to everyone, on a proposed change to the airspace designation around Llanbedr Airfield. The consultation begins on Monday 7th December 2020 and will run for 7 weeks before closing on Friday 22nd January 2021.
The Snowdonia Aerospace Centre (SAC) is a UK centre of excellence for testing of next-generation aircraft, such as “drones-for-good”, electric aircraft, urban and regional air mobility vehicles, high altitude balloons, airships and near-space testing vehicles. The proposed airspace change is to create a permanent Danger Area that will enable SAC to further develop the site and support increased innovation in the UK aerospace sector particularly within these emerging technology markets. It is not associated with military training.
The Danger Area will be permanent in terms of its designation but will be “active” only as and when required, otherwise it will remain open to all air traffic. Ninety per cent of the operations using the Danger Area will be over the airfield or out over the sea. The proposal is part of a sustainable longterm Masterplan for Llanbedr Airfield that could contribute up to 515 jobs and £19.5m per year to the local economy once full developed.
SAC has produced a ConsultationDocument that explains the proposed changes, including detailed maps and environmental analysis, plus a three-page “easy-read” guide in English and Welsh. These documents and the Consultation Questionnaire can be accessed via the Civil Aviation Authority online portal.
SAC will also be hosting drop-in sessions where members of the public will be able to ask questions and find out more about the proposal. These sessions will be held in the Main Hangar at Llanbedr Airfield, with appropriate Covid-19 measures in place: • Thursday 10th December 2020, 10am to 4pm • Friday 11th December 2020, 10am to 4pm (Welsh speaking available) • Saturday 12th December 2020, 10am to 2pm
Postal responses can be submitted to: Airspace Change Snowdonia Aerospace Centre Llanbedr, LA45 2PX
SAC will be happy to answer any further questions via email: da.acp@snowdoniaaerospace.com or phone: 01341 360038.
Lee Paul, CEO of Snowdonia Aerospace said: “We are continuing to develop complementary business opportunities at Llanbedr Aerodrome relating to aerospace Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E).To support these operations it has now become necessary for us to seek to upgrade and formalise the current airspace around the Aerodrome as the present provision is insufficient to meet the identified future need and risks restricting opportunities that are in the strategic economic interest of the UK and Welsh governments.
Llanbedr has long been a UK national asset for aerospace RDT&E and there has been increased demand in recent years given its ideal location for Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight (BVLOS) drone testing. These activities have been satisfied to date by the use of a Temporary Danger Area, but both customer demand and the need for confidence and reliance are now such that an application for a Permanent Airspace Change is warranted.
Moving to a permanent Danger Area will allow an increase in throughput to satisfy the market need and provide UK businesses in these sectors with a surety of being able to operate in the UK on a reactive basis. Many UK businesses have chosen to undertake their testing abroad due to the uncertainties around availability of adequate and appropriate commercial trials environments.
Particularly during these unprecedented times it is imperative that we encourage UK innovation and support UK businesses to operate within the UK. All Dangar Areas in the UK are presently managed and controlled on behalf of the MOD with limited opportunities for commercial use and exploitation.
The establishment of a Permanent Danger Area, the first civilian managed airspace of this type and dedicated to support UK businesses in the emerging aviation sectors, will act as a catalyst to aid economic recovery and support long term sustainable jobs.
John Idris Jones, Chair of the Snowdonia Enterprise Zone Advisory Board, said: The Snowdonia Enterprise Zone Board welcomes this consultation by the SAC and encourages local stakeholders to get involved.. This airspace designation change is a key enabler in the longer term development of the site as a location for quality job opportunities in space related research and development and the evaluation of aircraft being developed to use low carbon fuels to meet the Government’s 2050 carbon emissions reduction target.
Cllr Gareth Thomas, Cabinet Member (Economy and Community), Gwynedd Council, said: We have long supported the development of Snowdonia Aerospace Centre for the development of civil novel aircraft and space technologies, in order to create sustainable high-value jobs in Meirionnydd and across the wider region. We are pleased to see that steps are being taken to allow for the safe piloting of these technologies, and would encourage anybody in the community with an interest in the site to respond to the consultation.
John Whalley, CEO of Aerospace Wales, said: Aerospace Wales is the industry association for the sector working in close co-operation with Welsh Government on future strategy. This proposal by Snowdonia Aerospace Centre is hugely important in ensuring that Llanbedr will play a lead role in the development of future flight concepts for the benefit of both the local community, the people of Wales and the wider UK aviation community. The technologies developed will help support a more sustainable future and the creation of high value added jobs. I would encourage everyone to get involved and help shape the future.
The Consultation runs from 7th December 2020 to 22nd January 2021.
Snowdonia Aerospace have a great opportunity for ARPAS Members, Supporters, Followers and others who are affected to influence the size, shape and height of new dedicated drone flying testing space at and around Llanbedr Airfield. Snowdonia Aerospace need to hear from you as a matter of urgency to help secure this airspace for future BVLOS development.
The Company, which owns Llanbedr
Airfield in North Wales, has commenced an airspace change proposal with the CAA
and are working on design options for this airspace. So, what do you need to
test your platforms and sensors and comms links and detect and avoid etc? What size
of BVLOS airspace? To what altitude? What distances would you envisage flying
BVLOS over the next five to ten years if you had the freedom to do this in
dedicated airspace ahead of flying in non-segregated airspace? Over what
environments (land, water etc.) and any specific features? Even when drones are
able to fly in non-segregated airspace operational safety cases will have to be
developed and equipment tested, before platforms can fly freely and Llanbedr is
becoming increasingly recognised as the leading centre in the UK for testing
and development of novel aircraft – military drones were tested there for some
50 years up until 2004.
Snowdonia Aerospace are seeking
to establish airspace that will accommodate your needs now and in the future
ten years and which should be appropriate in size and only turned on when
required.
Snowdonia Aerospace envisage an
area of airspace large enough to trial larger drones and give access to the
unlimited altitude D201 Cardigan Bay Danger Area 14nm south west of Llanbedr
Airfield, for HALE, but also small enough to adequately accommodate BVLOS
trials for smaller drones. To comply with the requirement of flexible use of
airspace policy the airspace would be turned on an off as and when it is
needed. Crucially this needs to be in an area of permanent airspace so drone
operators, have certainty a trial can be booked and accommodated without a need
to apply for a Temporary Airspace 90 days in advance. You will have a
flexibility and freedom to get flying and get testing in civilian managed
dedicated airspace at a sensible cost.
Help Snowdonia Aerospace help
you! They need to understand what your ideal airspace would be and for what
sort of platform including a weight and wing span. The size and altitude should
include what you would deem necessary as a buffer and that should be stated.
Secondly, in order to secure this airspace Snowdonia Aerospace need to have a
business case, so, without commitment can you tell them when you may like to
trial at Llanbedr Airfield and for what period. It could be for a few days several
times a year perhaps, or a month block – exactly whatever you might need. The
earliest the new permanent airspace will gain approval is August 2021 but the CAA
have assured Snowdonia Aerospace they will continue to allow BVLOS from
Llanbedr until then through TDA permissions.
All responses will be held in strictest confidence. You can see the airspace proposal on line at:airspacechange.caa.co.ukand type in the postcode LL45 2PX. Snowdonia Aerospace have to upload evidence to the portal but all names and company names are redacted in line with Data Protection.
Finally, and you will see this on
the CAA portal, Snowdonia Aerospace also have another airspace application in
process for an ATZ and the main justification for this is for RAF flying
training. This is for circuit training weekdays and is on an opportunity
basis. So, when the new airspace for
drone flying is activated there will be no conflicting fast jet activity taking
place at the same time.
Snowdonia Aerospace are
developing the airfield for mixed use with a primary focus on research and
development and testing and evaluation of future flight technology and aircraft
in support of the UK and Welsh Government commitments to this increasingly
important emerging sector of the aerospace industry.
ARPAS Members, Followers, Supporters and others who are affected are urged to contact Snowdonia Aerospace asap to help create a unique permanent airspace for BVLOS flight.
Replies / Details are required
by the close of play on the 10th June 2020
SAM IS ....
Snowdonia Aerospace conduct successful medical BVLOS trials
Immediately before lockdown, a team from Snowdonia Aerospace, with partners SwiftFlight Avionics, University of Manchester and the Welsh Ambulance Service, completed a successful flight demo that showed proof-of-concept for beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) delivery of a defibrillator by drone to a remote, rural location that would be difficult to reach with an ambulance in a timely fashion.
Courtesy of Snowdonia Aerospace
This is the first demo of this type in the UK and one of only a handful that have been conducted worldwide. The project was conducted at the Snowdonia Aerospace Centre, Llanbedr, North Wales, and funded by the UK Space Agency and Welsh Government under a National Space Technology Programme/Space for Smarter Government Programme to show how satellite-enabled drones could be used as part of a broader satellite-enabled network to support remote healthcare services in rural Welsh communities.
Snowdonia Aerospace are also very grateful to Schiller UK for the loan of a FRED easyport mini defibrillator. The defibrillator was delivered by parachute drop to a “first aider” and “casualty” on a remote beach. The drop point was 4.5 kilometres from the launch location and took 2 minutes 50 seconds to complete, whereas an ambulance would have taken an estimated 20+ minutes to reach the same location.
Chris Maltby in his blog says “A defibrillator is its most effective when administered within the first minute of a victim collapsing and if a defibrillator is used within the first 3 to 5 minutes, the likelihood of survival increases from 6% to 74% therefore, having a defibrillator close by really makes all the difference.”
Snowdonia Aerospace and partners are looking forward to continuing the BVLOS capability development as part of the upcoming UK Research & Innovation Future Flight Challenge and engaging with other emergency response stakeholders.
Snowdonia Aerospace are ARPAS-UK members, and also great supporters of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers’ UAS Challenge.
15th April 2020
SAM IS ....
Satellite Applications Catapult to grow presence in Wales
The Satellite Applications Catapult is today announcing that it will open a new regional office at the Snowdonia Aerospace Centre in Llanbedr, Gwynedd.
The office, which will open this month, will promote the development of satellite applications and services that benefit the rural economy, with an initial focus on healthcare.
The site at Llanbedr offers a number of advantages in this area, including a remote location in which to test rural service solutions, and access to controlled airspace for testing new applications using unmanned aerial vehicles for delivery and situational awareness. The Snowdonia Aerospace Centre is a member of ARPAS-UK, the UK Drone Association.
Llanbedr is also one of the UK sites identified as a possible spaceport for horizontal launch, and the Satellite Applications Catapult would be well placed to support the development of a local and national technological base that can fully exploit the synergies between any such future development and existing programmes.
Alan Cox, Chief Commercial Officer at the Satellite Applications Catapult said, “Rural communities are increasingly challenged in terms of healthcare provision as resources become focused on a small number of specialist centres, often at significant distance from patients. The Snowdonia Aerospace Centre will provide a capability that complements and grows on our activities promoting business growth using UAVs and advanced communications at the Westcott Venture Park Space Cluster in Buckinghamshire, and will build on successful telemedicine solutions trialled in the Scottish Highlands”.
Welsh Government Economy Minister, Ken Skates said: “Today’s announcement is excellent news for the Snowdonia Enterprise Zone and the wider rural economy in North West Wales. The Satellite Applications Catapult has a long track record of driving economic growth and their decision to open an office in Llanbedr is a real boost for the site and the region.
“I am pleased the focus of the new office will be directed toward innovative research and the development of new technologies and services for telemedicine and healthcare related connectivity, designed to support rural communities and improve life experiences. Long term it will work toward exporting expertise developed at Llanbedr to countries across the world.
“The Satellite Applications Catapult’s presence in Llanbedr, combined with the extensive plans for the Snowdonia Aerospace Centre, will create a new focus and drive for this growing element of the Welsh economy.”
Lee Paul, Chief Executive Officer at Snowdonia Aerospace LLP, added “We are delighted to welcome Satellite Applications Catapult and look forward to working with them on these exciting and transformational projects.
“Satellite Applications Catapult is one of an increasing number of companies and organisations who are establishing a facility at Snowdonia Aerospace Centre, taking advantage of the site’s growing development and recognition as the leading location in Europe for the research, testing and development of UAS and emerging future technology flight programmes. The growth of these markets along with that of the space sector are Snowdonia Aerospace Centre’s core focus moving forward and Satellite Applications Catapult’s excellent track record, support network and linkages with Westcott and Harwell will offer invaluable support as we progress these opportunities.
“Snowdonia Aerospace Centre’s spaceport plans are presently being developed in parallel with our current UAS work and we look forward to sharing these in due course.”
