Canadian UAV manufacturer Aeromao successfully completed a mission that brought its fixed-wing Aeromapper Talon 30km away from its operators, way beyond the limits of human line of sight. The Talon maintained communications and control link over the entire flight which measured 60km back and forth.
Beyond visual line of sight operations are currently limited only to specific test sites within the United States, but in the Andes Mountains of South America where flight took place, the mission was unhindered by regulation. The mission was conducted at 2,800m above sea level at a cruise altitude of 250m agl. with 50% of the flight occurring over water.
With this flight, Aeromao Inc. joins Ventus Geospatial among the Canadian firms at the forefront of BVLOS innovation. Establishing the reliability of equipment in BVLOS operations will be integral for the future of automated drone flights with a particular benefit to industries like agriculture, oil and gas line inspection, and rail.
