26 November 2024
A six-month trial for a Wankel-engined 200kg police drone is proposed for an area spanning the Severn Estuary close to Bristol.
The trial will operate Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) meaning the operator will be completely remote.
A Temporary Reserved Area (TRA) and identical Transponder Mandatory Zone (TMZ) will be established for the period of the trial, expected to start in May 2025. Dates, time and segments of TRA activation and deactivation will be NOTAMed at least 24 hours in advance, says the airspace proposal currently working its way through the airspace change system.
The National Police Air Service is sponsoring the trial, working with an unnamed commercial supplier. The idea is to replicate current day operations using a drone instead of crewed helicopters.
The drone has not been identified as yet. The proposal describes it as an uncrewed aircraft with a rotary wing, weighing 200kg (maximum take-off mass) and powered by a single-disc Wankel rotary engine (Jet A-1) enabling it to remain airborne for up to 6 hours with a payload of up to 34kg. A similar drone, a Scheibel Camcopter S-100, is already in service with the Royal Navy.
Avonmouth Helipad will be used as the launch and landing site, located on the edge of the Severn Estuary, providing easy access to both overwater and overland flying.
The proposed TRA is in Class G airspace, up to 4,000ft above mean sea level (amsl). The vertical limits of the TRA are from the surface to 1,700ft amsl.
All operations will occur between c 900ft and 1,200ft amsl and the drone will typically transit at c 1,000ft amsl. Routes to be flown will be pre-planned and Bristol ATC will be notified ahead of launch.
The majority of activities will occur during the night, 22:00 tp 04:00 local time, with daytime operations in the fifth and final stage.
The proposal says daytime flying activities will be “limited to no more than two weeks Monday to Friday (ten flying days) between 10:00 – 15:00. Access to the TRA may be granted to cooperative aircraft not participating in the trial, if agreed with NPAS. These aircraft will then need to contact Bristol ATC.”
Flights operating above 1,700ft amsl will be above all segments of the TRA and not impacted.
The proposal, ACP-2024-035, is currently in the ‘Engagement’ stage with feedback being sent direct to NPAS via email: [email protected] The engagement period will end on Sunday 22 December 2024.
