First drone beyond-line-of-sight flying approval soughtFriday 20 Nov 2015
Scion has been conducting publicly and privately funded trials of UAVs for the past three months, including flying along the edge of forests to evaluate tree harvesting and using a UAV with interchangeable remote sensing technology to transmit information on tree health and pests in North and South Island forests. A Callaghan Innovation-commissioned report last year estimated flying drones out of the operator’s line of sight could provide economic gains of up to NZ$190 million annually to New Zealand’s farming, forestry and energy sectors. More than 440 commercial UAV users are registered on New Zealand's Airshare website while the consumer drone market is booming. Scion project leader Bryan Graham said smaller forest owners struggle to afford getting vital information in other ways. In one example, using drones halved the cost of building roads through private forests, he said. Scion was proceeding cautiously because it didn’t “want to be the first to have an accident” but Graham said he hopes to gain approval for commercial beyond-line-of-sight operations by February. Greg Dudek, a professor at Canada’s McGill Research Centre for Intelligent Machines, told an Auckland conference last week that New Zealand could become a hotbed for testing UAV technology because of its more progressive regulatory approach. The University of Canterbury got CAA approval last year for a 100 square kilometre test zone south of Christchurch for flying drones out of the pilot’s line of sight. University spokesman Kelvin Barnsdale said the test zone was being used to attract international researchers to New Zealand to test their UAV technology, with the university likely to benefit from research collaborations and new students. He said a couple of companies, including Australian-based UAV company Flirtey which trialled a drone parcel delivery in Auckland in June with Fastway Couriers, are interested in using the test site along with two UK universities. He said many outside of New Zealand think it would be a good place for testing because no-one lives here, but “we do still have aviation laws”. Callaghan aviation programme manager Chris Thomson is another who thinks the CAA rule changes will attract international organisations to test UAV technology in New Zealand, and points to Yamaha New Zealand, which set up an office last year. Yamaha is planning to apply in the next six months for beyond line of sight flights for its RMAX UAV, which sprays noxious weeds or drops fertiliser on farms that are hard to access on foot or by fixed-wing aircraft. Source: Scoop | ||
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