The new BVLOS flight route runs from the former Valkenburg Air Base (South Holland) to the North Sea and has just been put into operation.

Bart Remes, project manager and researcher at The Micro Air Vehicle Laboratory (MAVlab), part of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at TU Delft, is thrilled with the new testing opportunities. “With our AED drone, we were able to make the first test flight through the new corridor. We can now safely experiment with unmanned aerial systems. In addition, we can fly not only over the sea but also from Valkenburg towards the sea.”

Why is this corridor so necessary?

“The sea is playing an increasingly important role in making the energy sector more sustainable. More wind farms are being built at sea, and hydrogen production will also take place there. Periodic inspections are needed for these massive installations. Drones can perform this labor-intensive and sometimes dangerous work. The corridor from Valkenburg to the sea makes it possible to test these types of drone flights. It’s great that we, as a research institute (MAVlab) of TU Delft, can do this and test new ideas in practice.”

What are you working on now?

“We are researching various aspects of drones: flight, aerodynamics, production, and also making them intelligent. For example, we have developed an avoidance algorithm that allows drones to detect and avoid other air traffic. This is an important step because it enables systems to operate fully autonomously and be deployed on a larger scale in the future.”

Read the full article from TU Delft Here.

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The BVLOS Corridor to the sea is made possible by the EU’s Covid-19 response.