In March 2018 Drone America continued its participation in the NASA/FAA UTM program with TCL3. Building on our partnership with the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems (NIAS) our flight and integration teams embarked on an ambitious mission schedule that challenged both out team and equipment.

Fighting frigid temperatures and high winds our flight team completed 34 missions, 24 with our VTOL Savant and 10 with our NavX aircraft that covered over 135 miles in a three day window.

In our role as a primary TCL3 flight partner, Drone America not only demonstrated the flight capabilities of our VTOL Savant and NavX aircraft, but also tested UAS traffic mapping, sensor and radar technology all of which were connected through a NASA UAS Service Supplier (USS) network to NASA Ames.

• CNS 1 – 12 missions – 3 flights – 53 Ground miles covered
• VTOL Savant
• C2 link failover testing
• Multiple command to alternate waypoints in flight
• Conflict avoidance within congested airspace with both civilian and military manned aircraft

• CNS 2 – 9 missions
• NavX
• Los of NAV / GPS testing
• Controlled flight within 50ft of a three story structure 
• Testing for structure related GPS / Navigation interference

• CNS 3 – 3 BVLOS flights – 4 missions per flight – 82.2 Ground Miles Covered
• VTOL Savant
• RF interference testing
• 3 BVLOS flights avg 27.4 miles covered per flight
• 5 flight plans commanded each flight (4 + hold)
• 2.7 miles furthest point from GCS

• Training event with Reno Fire Department
• NavX
• Simulated victim with sever blood loss
• Completed a blood and plasma delivery to RFD team4
• Successful remote launch and recovery
• High wind operations 

“The State of Nevada will be known for its significant contribution in this journey through its pioneering work with the FAA, NASA and private partners like ourselves, facilitating safe and effective integration into National Airspace.”

Mike Richards, President and CEO of Drone America.