heliguy™ Obtains Permission For BVLOS Drone-in-a-box Operations – sUAS News

James Willoughby

heliguy™ has an Operational Authorisation to perform BVLOS drone-in-a-box missions with DJI Dock ecosystem and will work with enterprise organisations to conduct remote operations.

• heliguy™ obtains permission to operate drones BVLOS in atypical air environments;
• heliguy™ will use the Operational Authorisation as a blueprint to perform automated and remote drone-in-a-box deployments for enterprise organisations;
• Approval is for operations with the DJI Dock and DJI Dock 2 ecosystem, and missions will be conducted by heliguy™’s pilot team from the Remote Operations Control Centre (ROCC) at heliguy™ HQ, or from the heliguy™ Drone Command Unit.

heliguy™ has obtained an Operational Authorisation to operate drones BVLOS in an atypical air environment (AAE).

Permission from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) enables heliguy™ pilots to conduct remote drone-in-a-box operations with DJI Dock 2 and the original DJI Dock in non-segregated airspace.

The approval is based upon BVLOS flights at Komatsu’s Smart Construction facility in the north of England.

heliguy™ will use this as a blueprint to work with enterprise organisations to perform automated and remote Dock operations on their behalf at site-specific locations within AAE environments across the UK.

Utilising this service model enables enterprises to accelerate their adoption of drone-in-a-box operations and unlock the benefits of BVLOS data capture.

Each additional location will require CAA permission and will be subject to a thorough BVLOS implementation process conducted by heliguy™ – including site visit, risk assessment, drone-in-a-box installation, and using flight plans based on 3D models collected via VLOS flights.

Missions will be conducted by heliguy™’s experienced pilot team using DJI FlightHub 2, from either the Remote Operations Control Centre (ROCC) at heliguy™ HQ, or from the heliguy™ Drone Command Unit – a fully-equipped mobile control room that can be positioned anywhere that has LTE/Data and a valid Starlink signal.

The waiver facilitates aerial photography, videography, mapping, and autonomous flight management, provided for the purposes of security, surveying, infrastructure inspections, search and rescue, and product demonstrations/evaluations.

The Operational Authorisation has been a year in the making and has involved heliguy™’s regulatory specialists, training department, surveying team, and drone-in-a-box technicians.

It comes just two months after the regulator announced its new policy for beyond visual line of sight flights in an AAE.

Graham Hegarty, Regulatory Specialist at heliguy™, prepared the BVLOS OSC submission to the UK CAA. He said: “We are delighted to receive permission to operate DJI Dock drone-in-a-box technology BVLOS in an atypical air environment.

“This enables us to submit applications to the UK CAA to conduct BVLOS operations on behalf of enterprise clients on designated sites, within an AAE.

“This means that organisations can maximise the benefits of drone-in-a-box operations without having to adopt the technology – helping to accelerate the benefits of remote operations, reduce client risk, and enable the collection of repeatable data.

“Organisations can also utilise heliguy™’s OSC consultancy to obtain their own BVLOS permissions.

“heliguy™ aims to move towards full autonomy after a successful period of monitored operations, but this initial approval paves the way for future BVLOS operations.”

DJI Dock 2 can be deployed with the DJI Matrice 3D surveying drone, or the Matrice 3TD aircraft with visual and thermal capabilities. The original DJI Dock utilises the DJI M30 Series drones: The M30T with visual and thermal cameras, and the M30 with a visual payload.

To find out more and to learn about how heliguy™ can help conduct BVLOS operations on behalf of your organisation, contact us.

What Is An Atypical Airspace Environment

The UK CAA has defined an atypical air environment as a volume of airspace where operators can reasonably anticipate there to be a reduced number of conventionally-piloted aircraft due to the proximity of ground infrastructure or buildings.

It is based on drones flying at low heights – therefore reducing the risk of a mid-air collision.

This includes operations that are:

• Within 100ft of any building or structure;
• Within 50ft of a permanent, above ground level, linear structure. For example, a railway, road, or powerline;
• Within the confines of private property at a height not exceeding 50ft. For example, an industrial site where security personnel use a UA for perimeter inspection.

The CAA has described the AAE policy as a significant milestone for the future of drone operations and is designed to unlock BVLOS opportunities – especially for routine operations such as inspecting powerlines, maintaining wind turbines, or utilising drones for site security.

heliguy™ OSC Application

To achieve the BVLOS permission, the heliguy™ OSC submission included operational, strategic and technical mitigations appropriate to AAEs, designed to minimise the risk to ‘as low as reasonably practicable’.

Graham said: “We have taken a very thorough approach to this and it has involved knowledge from manned aviation, robust procedural mitigation, experienced drone pilots, in-house Dock engineers, and surveying specialists. The reliability and safety mechanisms of the DJI hardware and software has also played an important role.”

This framework will be replicated when working with enterprise organisations to prepare an OSC application for site-specific BVLOS operations.

This includes managing air and ground risk, utilising technology to support airspace integration, limiting the drone to stay within its operational envelope, and stakeholder consultation. A condition has also been attached to utilise a 1090 ADS-B receiver whilst on site.

Mitigations include geofenced routes and buffer zones; utilising the drone’s ADS-B receiver, plus the addition of further ADS-B technology; operating to a specified maximum height above the highest obstacle; and informing other users of BVLOS operations through a NOTAM.

BVLOS missions for enterprise clients will be performed at secure sites, within a benign and controlled atypical operating environment. There will be no uninvolved people and the take-off/landing site will be pre-cleared and cordoned-off areas.

Operations will be conducted in a highly-automated manner, but under the constant supervision of a remote pilot in command.

To help monitor ground risk, the presence of an on-site team member from each enterprise organisation – in a non-flight role – will be mandatory during operations to ensure the site is ready. heliguy™ will run specialist training to help prepare on-site team members.

To find out more and to discuss how heliguy™ can conduct BVLOS operations on behalf of your organisation, contact us.

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