Real Time Drone Awareness

Problem
Commercial delivery drones (Amazon, Walmart, Wing and others) now operate daily in the same low altitude airspace as helicopters flying utility and pipeline patrol. These drones generally fly at or below 400 ft AGL, often transiting outbound around 225 ft and returning at 350 to 400 ft, within about 5 to 6 miles of their charging hubs, throughout daylight hours. Some weigh 55 lb or more.

Drones take ADS‑B In, but do not put out ADS-B signals. Drones can see helicopters, but helicopter crews cannot see drones. The burden of avoidance sits with the drone operators, but helicopter pilots have no way to know where drones are. CBH has had about five drone sightings this year during operations, and one delivery operator contacted CBH directly after seeing its helicopter in their operating area.

Request

1. Primary Request: show live drone positions on the Fleet Manager map (web and app) for situational awareness, if a reliable real time source can be ingested.

2. Interim (if primary isn’t possible): display published drone operating areas and hours (UAS NOTAMs / DROTAMs, plus known delivery hub locations, charging stations as a map layer pilots/ground can check preflight and in flight.

3. Alerting: notify ops and crew when an aircraft is operating in or approaching an active drone area, building on geofences and Ops Assist.

Why it matters
Low altitude patrol, EMS, and utility operators are the most exposed as drone delivery scales. As drone fleet continue to grow the chances of near misses and collision will continue to grow. Get ahead of the risk rather than react to it. No known tracking providers offer this today.

Supporting interest
Aerial patrol and operators who are required to be low flying