Helicus conducts cargo drone validation flights in Port of Antwerp-Bruges

Medical transport specialist Helicus has been carrying out cargo drone validation flights in the Port of Antwerp-Bruges (POAB) geozone, designated to become U-space airspace. The flights, taking place in March, are part of the European Union’s BURDI.eu project. 

The Helicus flights take place inside and outside of the POAB geozone, flying from one into the other. All flights are performed under Helicus’ own operator certification as a drone airliner (LUC). The LUC certification enables Helicus to speed up the process for a series of mission types that otherwise would be waiting for external authorisation. 

In addition, over the course of the U-space validation flights so far, four pilots have been successfully trained on the FC30, a 95 kg drone with a 30 kg cargo capacity. The training programme included drone technical review/walkaround, basic handling and airmanship, navigation and flight path execution, and emergency procedures with exercises.