New rule changes published today (October 15) by the UK’s aviation regulator will enable drones to be deployed for long distance inspection of infrastructure such as power lines, wind turbines as well as site security.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will now enable drones to fly beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) of remote pilots in so-called ‘atypical’ operations through its new policy for atypical air environments (AAE).
CAA defines AAE 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”.
While some drones have been flying beyond visual line of sight in the UK for several years, these flights are primarily trials under strict restrictions. The regulator’s new rules will enable activities where drones can remain at low heights close to infrastructure or near buildings where there is little or no potential for any other aircraft to be operating. Applications include inspecting power lines for damage, maintenance checks of wind turbines, and ‘flying guard dogs’ with drones used for site security.
The rule change follows CAA’s recent publication of its roadmap that sets out its plans for routine BVLOS flights.
The regulator will initially work with several operators to test and evaluate the policy in a safe and scalable way. Boeing-backed sees.ai is one such company, which is working with National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) to help maintain, upgrade, and expand its network in England and Wales, which includes around 21,000 pylons and 7000km of overhead cable.
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