Stories from 400 Feet

Jacob Taylor - CEO Indigenous Aerospace; Darian Edwards,  Indigenous Air Mobility Specialist, Canadian Advanced Air Mobility; Kimble McComb, Drone Advisor, Moose Cree First Nation; and Jo-Anne Tabobandung Dean of Aviation, First Nation Technical Institute join us this week to discuss how the usage of drones is an important tool in the process of empowering indigenous communities.

Richard Podolski, VP of Flight Operations, talks in-depth about the recent SFOC granted to Volatus Aerospace by Transport Canada to remotely pilot a drone using Remote Flight Control System (RFCS) software and optical Detect and Avoid (DAA) within an active aerodrome traffic zone. This is the first step toward commercializing their nesting station AeriePort.

While at CanSec, we sat down with Nigel Waterhouse, Delegate for Transport Canada, to discuss the challenges and nuances between autonomous passenger flight, remotely piloted passenger flight, and uncrewed cargo delivery when it comes to integrating them into the National Airspace safely. 

Colonel (ret'd) Michel Latouche, leader of the Veteran Training Program, Task Force Drone, speaks about the challenges veterans face when retiring from the military and how becoming a drone pilot can be a fulfilling second career that leverages their military skills. 

We speak with Lieutenant Colonel Melanie Lake about what it has been like witnessing the Russian invasion of Ukraine after serving with Ukrainian soldiers as a commander during Operation UNIFIER from March to October of 2021 and how that experience led her and many others to establish Mriya Aid, a Not-for-Profit designed to provide non-lethal military aid to Ukraine.  

What does it take to evacuate a family from Ukraine? What are the dangers involved? We spoke with a gentleman, who in order to keep his family safe has asked to remain anonymous, about what it took to not only get his family out of Ukraine but to provide six weeks of humanitarian aid throughout Ukraine. 

Latin America is an important emerging market for drone applications, but to understand its needs, culture, and regulations across many different countries requires a combination of demonstrated experience and local knowledge. We spoke with Bruno Leoni, CEO of EOLO Drones about his joint venture with Volatus Aerospace and how they will bring sophisticated drone solutions to Latin America. 

By embedding a position sensor inside their propulsion system, IQ Motion Control is enabling better position control  and safety protocols and advanced health monitoring that eliminates the need for a swashplate.  We spoke with Co-Founders Jon Broome and Matthew Piccoli to learn more about their technology and what benefits this can provide OEMs looking to build next generation drone platforms. 

We spoke with Dan O'Toole about drone delivery infrastructure and how reimagining secure mailboxes is an essential element to scaling autonomous package delivery.

We asked Troy Hittle, Managing Director of North America for Elistair, what can you do with a tethered drone? More than you think. Tethered drone solutions are starting to get more traction as industries look for 24/7 overwatch solutions, but, as Troy points out in this episode, there are more ways to leverage the power of a tethered drone. 

In this episode, Adam Bilmes, Director of Sales at Inspired Flight, talks about Blue sUAS and their American-made drone, being prepared to handle supply chain disruptions, the growing maturity and savvy of end users, and what this all means for the industry.