SAFIR-Med and EULE project partners successfully demonstrated a beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flight from the Zuyderland medical centre in Heerlen, the Netherlands, to Uniklinik RWTH Aachen in Germany on 22 April 2023. The FlyXdrive TW-Neo uncrewed aerial system (UAS) covered the distance between the two hospitals, about 14.5 km, in about 15 mintues.
The flight was prepared within the research project SAFIR-Med project, to demonstrate how safe and flexible integration of advanced u-space services can be used, especially to enable fast and reliable transport services for urgently needed medical goods. Beside technical preparations, the main challenge was to overcome differences in legislation in Germany and the Netherlands for BVLOS flights. Additional support was provided by Luftfaht-Bundesamt, and ILenT Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport.
The research in this area will be continued as part of the project EULE project, where the next flights to transport eye corneas for a medical study are in preparation.
For more information visit:
