FAA approves BNSF for BVLOS Track Inspections

[Alan Flemming]

Keep your eyes and ears open flying near and over railroad tracks - Cliffside and Bingen come to mind. BNSF Railway Company was given an FAA exemption to fly beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS - some guy locked in a little room) to do track inspections using 12.5-foot wingspan drones that can weigh up to 115 pounds and fly at 50 mph. http://www.uavexpertnews.com/2019/04/bnsf-receives-faa-exemption/

Here's more detail from the exemption letter:

The petitioner intends to operate the HQ-60B that uses four electric motors to produce vertical lift, and a single gasoline powered engine mounted in the aft portion of the fuselage driving a pusher propeller for forward motion. The aircraft is of fixed wing design, with a wingspan of 150 inches and a total length of 96 inches. The HQ-60B empty weight is 53 pounds and it has a Maximum Takeoff Weight (MTOW) of 115 pounds. The UA has a flight endurance of 15 hours at a cruise speed of 38-45 knots.  Additionally, the HQ-60B is currently equipped with a Mode S transponder with ADS-B Out. 

The UA follows a waypoint-based flight plan, over the railroad tracks, and will be  operated +/-100 ft of the railroad track centerline. The UA will only deviate from this corridor if requested by ATC, or if necessary, to maintain safety of flight. The UA will fly the entire length of one or more track subdivisions, which are 70-300 miles in length. Subdivisions interconnect at major rail yards. Operations will be mostly in rural areas, passing through or

near villages, small towns, or the outlying areas of larger communities. 

The UA may not be operated at a speed exceeding 45 knots (52 miles per hour) … the

maximum altitude shall be 400 feet above ground level (AGL).

 

https://www.regulations.gov/contentStreamer?documentId=FAA-2017-0761-0012&attachmentNumber=1&contentType=pdf