Canadian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) company Aeromao Inc. recently demonstrated beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) capabilities by flying an Aeromapper Talon to a target located 30 kilometers (approximately 18.6 miles) away from the operators.
The crew ventured 2,800 meters above sea level in the Andes Mountains of South America. The UAV, using a long-range communication system, cruised at an altitude of 250 meters above ground level and traveled over a body of water during half of the flight.
In total, the drone covered a distance of 60 kilometers in one hour. Though the Aeromapper Talon has a flight endurance of two hours, the operators decided to bring it back sooner because some of the mountain peaks in the path of the aircraft were in excess of 3,500 meters above sea level.
The company says the demonstration shows the potential for BVLOS drone operations for applications such as power line and pipeline monitoring, roadway surveys, surveillance and wildlife control, and long linear missions in general. Aeromao is planning further missions to demonstrate the capability of the UAV to fly 50 kilometers away from the operator.
