We’re thrilled to announce that the BCN Drone Center will resume posting regular blogs. Going forward, you’ll be able to enjoy new entries every two months, starting with this first post of our latest series. Keep an eye out for exciting content and stay up-to-date with the latest news and trends in the world of drone technology.

The Priority Drone project is reaching its final stage. After passing the design and development phase, the UAS is now ready for flight testing. This drone has been conceived as a VTOL, a mixed multirotor and fixed wing configuration with a competitive cargo hold, which will be able to transport essential goods -from private purchases to medical devices- with a great range performance, thanks to the diverse, complementary, and redundant technologies integrated besides a very efficient design.

During the month of July, our team has been in Oman carrying out the first official drone pilot course ever held in the country. With the collaboration of IBN FIRNAS, a pioneering and emerging company in the country, dedicated to the operation and training with drones, we have been able to accomplish an introductory course dealing with the main topics related to drone operations. The training has been implemented entirely in the facilities of the GUtech (German University of Technology in Oman). The various applications that drones can achieve, apart from image acquisition, have been explained: precision agriculture, photogrammetry, freight transport, carriage of passengers, etc. On the technical side, the differences in a drone performance depending on whether its configuration is multirotor, fixed wing or hybrid VTOL system have been explained and finally flight trainings have been carried out with the three systems mentioned.

Dates: 20th to 23th June 2022

The Priority Drone project began its development on 2021 Autumn at the BCN Drone Center. The Innovation Center for Logistics and Transport of Goods (Citet), leads the consortium to develop a platform that allows delivery in rural areas with autonomous drones.

With the aim of facilitating the operation of long-range fixed-wing systems, the BCN Drone Center has begun work on the extension of runway 02/20. The new runway will be longer, wider and completely flat, which will significantly increase the size and performance of aircraft-type systems operated by CATUAV or by other center users. The works are being carried out with a motor grader equipped with a laser sensor and a robotic blade that allows sub-centimeter precision. The new runway is scheduled to enter service soon.