Australian Aviation - July 2018

JULY 2018 87

Drones in NZ

“At present when trees are cut
the contractor gets paid after a
certain period of time based on an
estimate, but owners want a clear
understanding of where the cut was.
“UAVs can see deterministically where
trees are cleared and what is still
standing.”
Partnering with Lincoln Agritech, a
research and development subsidiary
of Christchurch’s Lincoln University,
the university has also used drones to
determine the health of crops, using
three or four drones that automatically
start recharging after returning from
their mission.
Also with Lincoln, it has developed
special antennae for UAV fixed-wing
and quad and opti helicopters to
withstand the harsh environment of
Antarctica. The drones fly over the sea
where piloted helicopters can’t go to
measure ice shelves.
“They need just enough protection
but enough time to fly before the
propellers start freezing,” Samandari
said.
“You want to make sure payload is
as little as possible down there, but if
something unexpected happens you
need features that will always bring
the UAV’s back because nothing can
be left behind. You can’t tether as
that is limiting so we have a separate
operator with another UAV taking
measurements from different angles
and monitoring the other.”
They university has also worked
with meteorological companies such
as New Zealand’s National Institute
of Water and Atmospheric Research
(NIWA) on UAVs that can rise more
than 10,000 metres above the ground
for weather monitoring.
They’re attached with “intelligent”
balloons to bring craft back safely.
Other projects include work with
Airbus at its Blenheim base and with
Zephyr Airworks, the New Zealand
arm of Californian-based Kittyhawk,
presently trialling Cora, a self-piloting
electric air taxi for a global launch
from New Zealand in a few years’
time. Confidentiality agreements
preclude Samandari revealing details,
but he said it is “exciting”.
Nearly all students are post-
graduates ranging in numbers each
year from 12 to 40 plus two to three
overseas interns. As a research centre
it doesn’t do qualifying courses such as
drone pilots.

Skybase.aero
Christchurch-based Skybase.aero
is not yet a year old but its business
delivering commercial drone solutions

with real-time awareness is growing

exponentially. Its new testing range

will also take its technology beyond

the line-of-sight.

Co-founder, Michael Read, a

former Royal Australian Air Force

pilot, moved to New Zealand three

years ago to work at jetpack start-

up Martin Aircraft Company before

setting up Skybase. The other

co-founder, San Francisco-based

Alex Flemming, an aviation, defence

and security stalwart, procures the

technology for Skybase’s platforms.

Read is not long back from signing

a surveillance contract in South-East

Asia. Details are still under wraps, but

he said it would require rapid scaling

of the business. He’s prepared, thanks

to a partnership as well as investment

money from US-based MAG Aero, an

established company largely in the

defence arena. MAG has more than

900 experts across five continents

doing intelligence, surveillance

and reconnaissance (ISR) real time

operations, training and technical

services for manned and unmanned

fixed and rotary-wing operations.

Skybase is focused on commercial

opportunities, but Read said the

relationship has enabled it to deliver

military-level services at a fraction of

the cost of the big military providers.

The data links and long-endurance/

long-range ability assembled on

drones raised the overall capability of

a client’s businesses, he said.

“We can access these capabilities

by virtue of the team’s background

in military, manned aviation and

unmanned technology and the

integration of world-leading assets to

meet and exceed technical and market

challenges.”

Flying beyond the line-of-sight is

the next area of significant growth

in the commercial drone market and

Read said Skybase is ready.

Test zone

Like Canterbury it has created a CAA-

restricted drone test zone for BLOS

trials near Alexandra in Central Otago,

chosen because of its high number of

sunny days and low winds.

Read said it required a large

amount of work with the CAA, but

said it would have been impossible to

get it up as quickly as it did elsewhere

in the world.

“We’re starting to attract a lot

of international attention from

companies wanting BLOS applications

A Skybase UAV being used for

flying beyond line-of-sight.

SKYBASE.AERO

‘Beyond

the line-of-

sight is the

next area

of growth

in the drone

market.’