DCS Completes EVLOS / BVLOS Drone Operations At NASA-UTM Trials

Drone Co-Habitation Services, LLC (DCS), supported by teammate Frequentis-USA (who provided our Ground UTM Software Client, Location Information Service (LIS), and provided technical support), just completed successful demonstration flights as part of NASA’s Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) Research. These UAS-Drone Trials accomplished under Extended Visual Line of Sight (EVLOS) rules…which for our Pilot-in-Command (PIC)…achieved Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS). We conducted 5 of these EVLOS / BVLOS Missions during several weeks of NASA-UTM Trials. As a NASA Partner, we are proud and thankful that we supported UTM’s program in developing a civilian traffic control system for autonomous low altitude Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) operations. This will create a safer flight environment.

DCS already has FAA Section-333 Exemption to fly all 1342-types of FAA-approved Commercial Drones, at-or-below 400-Feet AGL, in nationwide COA, during Daytime AND Nighttime Operations.  We are now designing for build our own regional Commercial UAV-Drone C2 Command Center, and aspire to be one of the nation’s Drone Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs).  Our company’s ability to fly EVLOS and BVLOS is critical towards integrating our Commercial UAV-Drones into all parts of the National Airspace System-NAS, and into all industries. We are pleased to have flown our unmanned aircraft systems as part of these Trials, and successful completion of this phase of the NASA UTM project.

It is important that small & large businesses entering this field of Commercial UAV-Drones, have professional experts as mentors. During the NASA TCL-2 Drone Trials, our Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) leveraged our FAA-certified ATC & Airport Management expertise, to demonstrate:

•    Procurement of COTS Unmanned Aerial Vehicle-UAV Drones
•    Extending the C2 Communications Link of the Drones
•    Registering the UAV-Drone with FAA-MMAC and achieve Aircraft N-Number (just like manned aircraft);
•    Installed Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) equipment onto the Drone to transmit Position, Heading, and Altitude info;
•    How to draft a comprehensive Aviation Safety & Risk Management Plan (Risk ‘Heat Chart’) that can satisfy NASA & FAA-approved Airworthiness & Flight Safety Review Board-AFSRB;
•    Layman Drone Pilot with or without prior FAA Certifications can prepare & pass a course of FAA-approved Aeronautical Knowledge Test-AKT Drone Pilot Exam
•    Layman Visual Observer-VO can prepare for and pass a course of FAA-approved AKT VO-Exam
•    Create & integrate a UAV Traffic Management-UTM software Client into their operations for connection to outside ATM facilities (as we did in connecting to the NASA Research UTM Platform) for transmission of Operational Plans and Drone Telemetry;
•    Integrate Synthetic Radar into their Ground Station to depict Graphical Images of overflying Manned Aircraft, which helps to maintain situational awareness of conflicting Traffic;
•    Position their Visual Observers-VOs along the planned Flight Path for handing aircraft off from one Visual Observation to another VO (if/when allowed by FAA)
•    Providing the Customer with end-to-end Aviation Safety Management System (SMS) and Aviation Safety Quality Assurance Planning-QASP;

Which will allow our Customers to fly their Commercial Drones in Extended Visual Line of Sight (EVLOS) and Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Operations…if they have FAA Exemption to do so.