uAvionix Wins FAA Approval for BVLOS Flight

In a first for North Dakota’s Vantis network, the FAA has granted uAvionix approval to operate drone flights beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) in North Dakota.  The approval leads the way for commercial drone companies to utilize the Vantis network to test and execute advanced drone operations.  It’s a validation of North Dakota’s investment in the drone industry, and could lead the way for other states.  From the press release:

Leveraging Vantis, the state’s first-of-its-kind UAS network, uAvionix, a drone company, received approval by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) drone flights in North Dakota. uAvionix demonstrated to the FAA that it established adequate risk mitigations to satisfy required safety standards for the specified BVLOS operation within the national airspace system.

North Dakota has invested in the drone industry for almost a decade, funding the Northern Plains UAS Test Site in…