By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Travel Radar - Aviation NewsTravel Radar - Aviation News
  • Breaking News
  • Aviation
    • Aircraft
    • Airlines
    • Airshow & Events
    • Careers
    • Manufacturing
  • Travel
    • Airports
    • Points & Loyalty
    • Technology
    • Trip Reviews
  • Newsletters
Reading: Exclusive: Drone Technology and Urban Airspace Trial
Share
Sign In
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Font ResizerAa
Travel Radar - Aviation NewsTravel Radar - Aviation News
  • Breaking News
  • Aviation
    • Aircraft
    • Airlines
    • Airshow & Events
    • Careers
    • Manufacturing
  • Travel
    • Airports
    • Points & Loyalty
    • Technology
    • Trip Reviews
  • Newsletters
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
Copyright © Travel Radar Media Ltd. 2024 | All Rights Reserved
Travel Radar - Aviation News > News > Exclusive: Drone Technology and Urban Airspace Trial

Exclusive: Drone Technology and Urban Airspace Trial

Mikael Faa
Last updated: 2 October 2021 00:41
By Mikael Faa 6 Min Read
Share
Flying drone
© Travel Radar - Mikael Faa
SHARE

Yesterday (Tuesday, 20 September 2021) Travel Radar was in Helsinki (Finland), to attend a drone trial of the Gulf of Finland 2.0 project, an international collaboration working on the integrating Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and drone technology in the airspace for commercial purposes.

Summary
What is exactly GoF2.0?The first trialHelsinki-Tallinn by dronePowerful tools

While earlier this year, Seaplane Hong Kong announced their UAV air taxi operations, with no development announced so far, in Europe the practical assessments have started. The future of aviation looks closer!

One of the drones
The star of the trial, a little cargo drone | © Mikael Faa, Travel Radar

 

What is exactly GoF2.0?

Gulf of Finland 2.0 (GoF2.0) is a consortium of 15 partners, mainly from Finland and Estonia, working on a 2-year project about integrated urban airspace, supported and partly funded by the European Commission.
The final goal of the project is to secure a safe integration of UAV and air taxi operations in urban airspaces, also in densely busy areas.
The project is extremely relevant for the future of aviation and airspace; as the development of UAVs and air taxis is rapidly growing, and the drone technology is in constant evolution, a safe coexistence with manned aircraft needs to be integrated.
After some months of preparation, trials are being conducted between September and October, with a first evaluation of the results before the end of 2021. During next year, the trials will intensify and the project will be further integrated.

For more information about the project, you can visit the project’s official website.

The team at work before the test flights
The GoF team at work before the test flights | © Mikael Faa, Travel Radar

The first trial

Yesterday, the consortium performed one of its very first trials, the first in Finland, in the surroundings of Helsinki Airport. The objective of the trial was to test and demonstrate communication and flight planning between drone operators and Air Navigation Services, for further integration of drone technology in urban airspaces.

For the trial, a part of the airspace around the testing premises had been reserved to safely operate the test flights. During the flights, a continuous monitoring and communication was happening between the testing location and the Air Traffic Control in Helsinki Airport, who previously approved the flight plans of the different flight exercises. A goal for the future is to configure the airspace automatically, according to the flight plans. The workers at the testing premises commented, “this would be a big step forward. However, today, we are already pushing boundaries with this trial”.

drone trial team
Monitoring and following the flight paths | © Mikael Faa, Travel Radar

Helsinki-Tallinn by drone

Integrating drone technology in urban mobility means that there needs to be cooperation with other transportation infrastructure, such as airports, harbours and warehouses. One practical example of integration would be the transportation of goods and cargo between an airport terminal and a logistics centre.

The Estonian company, Threod, is testing during the trials, its own UAV. With a wingspan of 5 meters, Threod’s UAV is currently able to fly for two hours at 36 knots (about 80 km/h), thanks to two rotors powered by electricity. During the first trial, the aircraft has flown around Helsinki Airport, while today (Wednesday, 22 September 2021) it will conduct its first test flight between Helsinki and Tallinn.

trial drone flying
Threod’s UAV flying high above Helsinki | © Mikael Faa, Travel Radar

Powerful tools

One of the main technology collaborators of this project is the Finnish company Vaisala, which hosted the trial in the premises of its headquarters in Vantaa (Finland), quite close to Helsinki Airport. The company is one of the global leading players for environmental, meteorological and industrial measurements.
In the GoF2.0 project, Vaisala is providing its expertise and products for weather analysis and measurement. “Weather is one of the key factors in air operations – said Tapio Haarlaa, head of Aviation and Business Development in Vaisala – and our company is contributing in the project with tools and products which will provide important data for safe operations in any weather conditions”.

Vaisala has shown, during the trial, two products: Beacon Station BWS500 and Windcube.
Beacon Station BWS is a compact weather station, powered by solar panels, able to analyse and monitor weather and pollutant gases in the air.
Windcube is used to measure wind directions and airflow up to 300 meters high, providing real-time data and information.

These innovative products will provide very beneficial insights to the project, especially in the urban context of the Baltic Sea, where the weather is quite inconsistent and tends to change quickly.

Vaisala's Beacon and Windcube
Vaisala’s Beacon and Windcube | © Mikael Faa, Travel Radar

Are you excited to see these new technologies developing and becoming reality? When do you think we will see drones in urban airspaces? Let us know in the comments!

You Might Also Like

easyJet Soars with Eurovision Enthusiasts on Special Flight to Basel

U.S Embassy Resumes Flights After Bomb Threat Aboard Ryanair Plane at Brussels South Charleroi Airport

Qantas Announces Flights From Perth to Johannesburg and Auckland

Finnair Introduces World’s First ‘Native Order’ Booking System

ANA Updates Sign Language Badge for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Passengers

Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Email Copy Link
What’s your thoughts?
Love0
Sad0
Happy0
Angry0
Mikael Faa
By Mikael Faa
Follow:
Jr. Aviation Reporter/Intern - Mikael is a young man from Italy, currently based in Helsinki, Finland. He is an aviation enthusiast (or better, obsessed), Aviation Management student, and soon also Cabin Crew. His main interest is routes, networks and operations.
Previous Article Decoration Vietjet Air Shows Positive Numbers in Financial Report
Next Article Alitalia A319 taking off at sunset. Photo by Fabio Sorce. A Very Expensive “A”
Leave a comment
Subscribe
Login
Notify of
guest
guest
0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Upvoted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Stay Connected

FacebookLike
TwitterFollow
InstagramFollow
YoutubeSubscribe

Trending News

A SpiceJet Boeing 737-8GJ in flight
32 Airports Reopened in India After Restrictions Were Imposed
Airlines Airports Aviation Travel
Airport Radar tower
Newark International Airport Faces Flight Cuts
Airports Aviation Incidents & Accidents
Boeing 747-8. Similar to that rumoured to be gifted to Donald Trump
Qatar Rumoured to Gift 747-8 to Donald Trump
Aircraft Manufacturing
An image of Hunnu Air's new E195-E2 aircraft at Beijing Daxing Airport, China.
Hunnu Air Launches Embraer E2 Services from Mongolia to Mainland China
Aviation
Event gathering
Turkish Technic: Istanbul to become global Rolls-Royce maintenance hub
Airline Economics Aviation Manufacturing
//

Travel Radar is the leading digital hub for all things aviation and air-travel. Discover our latest aviation news, aviation data, insight and analysis.

Discover

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Careers
  • Press & PR
  • Privacy & Legal

Our Content

  • News
  • Data
  • Images
  • Jobs
  • Subscribe

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

Click here to Signup!

© Travel Radar Media Ltd. 2015-2025 | ISSN #2635-0696 | Trademark #UK00003579704
wpDiscuz
adbanner
AdBlock Detected
Ads help us bring you high-quality, independent journalism for free. Support us by whitelisting us from your ad blocker.
Okay, I'll Whitelist
Welcome to the TR Community!

Sign in to your account

Register Lost your password?