Four top drone aviation firms sought waivers or exemptions from the FAA this summer to support Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations.  So far, only one of those companies has received the coveted FAA go-ahead.

Who are the four companies?

One is South San Francisco-based Zipline, which is well-known for its successful medical supply delivery flights in Rwanda and other African countries since 2016. The company wants to upgrade its previous FAA exemption in order to replace the need for visual observers to monitor its US medical delivery flights, already underway in North Carolina, as well as its planned store delivery operations for Walmart in Arkansas.

Zipline has developed a patented acoustic detect-and-avoid system (DAA) that reduces the risk of collisions with other aircraft as well as physical infrastructure during its delivery operations.  A new FAA exemption would give the firm wide latitude to expand its flights for various suppliers across the US.

UPS Flight Forward has a somewhat similar exemption request.  The company, a wholly owned subsidiary of UPS, was the first drone entity to receive Part 135 certification to fly remote package deliveries back in 2019.  It’s been making those deliveries for UPS in selected locales ever since.  But now the company wants to incorporate remote operations centers, or ROCs within its current delivery network to enable longer-distance flights, without the need to return to its main delivery hubs, which costs time and money, and limits the firm’s operational efficiency.

In a similar vein, Flight Forward also wants authorization to fly its M2 drone (developed with Matternet) without the need for visual observation of its flights.  The company has developed an array of “situational awareness” tools that can allow its drones to avoid potential airspace obstacles that might compromise flight safety.  While Zipline’s DAA system is incorporated onboard its aircraft – adding to their weight and reducing their payload – Flight Forward’s detection system is ground-based, using sophisticated sensors strung out along designated supply routes.

A third company seeking fresh FAA authorization is Phoenix Unmanned, which already has the distinction of having received a previous FAA exemption to conduct autonomous grid and pipeline inspections nationwide – the first of its kind.  However, that exemption only applied to Phoenix aerial surveillance drones weighing less than 55 pounds.  Now the company wants an exemption for its more advanced inspection drone – the SVO 50 V2 produced by SwissDrones, weighing 191 pounds –  which can conduct photography, surveying, patrols, and inspections of any powerline infrastructure owned or operated by a Department of Energy-recognized electric utility.

The SVO 50 V2 can fly for 2 hours and has a payload of 30 pounds – the largest and most versatile inspection drone of its kind.

Rounding out the group of four petitioning companies is uAvionix, an avionics technology company that often designs and installs systems for others.  The company wants an exemption to test an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft as part of the Vantis unmanned aerial systems (UAS) project at the FAA’s North Dakota UAS test site.

“Our application is unique in that we are not seeking this exemption as a means to further our own BVLOS flight objectives….instead we are trying to unlock that capability for the rest of industry, and this is one way to achieve those goals,” Christian Ramsey, managing director at uAvionix, said last May.

The company’s eVTOL aircraft, known as Rapace, which previously received an FAA special airworthiness certificate, is custom built, with uAvionix-designed internal avionics, command and control radios, autopilot, and positioning sensors. As part of Vantis, uAvionix is working with partners such as Thales and the state of North Dakota to provide additional infrastructure for that program.

All four companies applied for their exemptions back in May, and their applications were subject to a public comment period before the FAA issued a final ruling.  So far, only Phoenix Unmanned has received the FAA’s go-ahead but requests from Zipline, UPS Flight Forward and uAvionix will also likely be approved, subject to revision, later this year, industry sources say.

The four requests are indicative of growing pressure on the FAA – from Congress as well as from industry – to expedite BVLOS operations to allow US companies to achieve scale and become more competitive globally.  The FAA is still considering the adoption of new rules on BVLOS flights that would make separate waiver and exemption requests unnecessary.  In the interim, expect more companies operating in more commercial niches to apply for them, observers say.

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