Farming With Drones Beyond Visual Line of Sight

[xAaron]

Farming With Drones Beyond Visual Line of Sight

Recent advances are inching BVLOS operations on farms closer to reality.

insideunmannedsystems.com

 

[maohmc]

Thank you for sharing. I have a brother that has a large farm and has been looking into this.

 

[Hollywud]

Farming With Drones Beyond Visual Line of Sight

Recent advances are inching BVLOS operations on farms closer to reality.

insideunmannedsystems.com

The farmers would be over their own property so that wouldn't be a problem. But the altitude I suppose would be the question.

 

[sar104]

There are two rather glaring errors in that article that make much of it wrong - the assertion that manned aircraft are required to remain above 500 ft AGL and the conclusion that the ADS-B requirement for manned aircraft will mean that sUAS will be able to detect them. Unfortunately manned aircraft are not required to remain above 500 ft in exactly the kind of rural areas that this article is discussing, and also ADB-S is only going to be mandatory inside controlled airspace, while most farmland is likely outside controlled airspace.

 

[ChrisOutdoors]

All this requires is a little common sense engineering. Slap on 360° high intensity lights on the UAS and let her fly. The off chance an aircraft is nearby they'll see it and stay away. PIC of the uas can also take evasive action by lowering altitude. Rural america is a dead quiet place with almost near zero activity, we really make mountains out of ant hills on this forum.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I would have thought the use of the NOTAM system would be a good part of a solution, and aid other tools like strobes etc.
Surely a crop duster using plane or heli could / does already register flights, and also look these up before taking on a flight ?

Do drones using special photography, sensors etc, need to get above 400' to get some good coverage also ?
If so, they can use a NOTAM system to get permissions and let pilots of manned aircraft know they are operating.

Maybe remote ID can be used in manned aircraft too, and the whole thing automated ?
At least where it can be received, and this would be a problem in some rural areas.

 

[sar104]

I would have thought the use of the NOTAM system would be a good part of a solution, and aid other tools like strobes etc.
Surely a crop duster using plane or heli could / does already register flights, and also look these up before taking on a flight ?

Do drones using special photography, sensors etc, need to get above 400' to get some good coverage also ?
If so, they can use a NOTAM system to get permissions and let pilots of manned aircraft know they are operating.

Maybe remote ID can be used in manned aircraft too, and the whole thing automated ?
At least where it can be received, and this would be a problem in some rural areas.

VFR flights are not filed.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

VFR flights are not filed.

Maybe manned flight safety needs to see something like NOTAMs for such flights, especially at low altitude, where it would be far more dangerous for taking evasive action if needed.
I'm guessing most VFR flights would see those pilots look up NOTAMs before flight ?

We all may have different rules for this, I'm not sure what Australian rules are with NOTAMs, but one very experienced drone and manned aircraft pilot (who tried explaining our ASA NAIPS system for flights to me) said he often flies near a major airforce base here legally, using our NOTAMs.