For the eighth time in eight years, I will be making the annual peregrination from Miami to Las Vegas to attend this year’s edition of Commercial UAV Expo. Why the loyalty and regularity of this visit to the Nevadan desert? you might ask. Well, in my experience over 11 years in the uncrewed aviation industry, no other event compares to the level of attendance and relevance of Commercial UAV Expo.

In my humble opinion, no other event in the world provides the range of topics and the depth of experts to help us analyze and understand the beginnings of an industry that will change the way we do business for years to come. So, in the 2024 edition of this prestigious event, I will be paying special attention to the following four issues:

Safety Management Systems (SMS)

This year, I have the distinct honor of moderating a panel on SMS, one of the most important topics in aviation if we ever want to integrate crewed and uncrewed aviation in the National Airspace (NAS).

I will be accompanied on stage by Matthew West, President of Hawk Aerosafety an aviation safety, training, and risk management consultancy based in Castle Rock, CO, and Bruno Boucher, Senior VP of Regulatory-International Markets for Volatus Aerospace.

In early 2016 ,when Argus International, one of the largest crewed aviation SMS integrators in the world, acquired the Unmanned Safety Institute, I felt that the established safety standards of traditional aviation were finally coming to our industry. The next year they had a big booth at Commercial UAV Expo 2017, and their presence was felt by all those who believe that without a widespread adoption of SMS, full integration will be impossible.

In 2019, SGS, a Swiss-based inspection, verification, testing, and certification company, acquired a majority stake in Argus International, and the decision was made to divest USI to be its own commercial entity. This moved allowed USI to become a pioneer in the implementation of SMS in an industry that was beginning to see the rewards of commercial success.

The more companies adopt SMS in the uncrewed aviation industry, the safer their operations will be and the closer we will be to full integration of piloted and remotely piloted aircraft. I look forward to what Matthew and Bruno have to say in this respect.

Drone Deliveries

This year, two of the most consequential drone delivery companies in the world are attending the event. Aerialoop, with operations in several Latin American countries, will have a booth (#827), and they plan to bring two of their most seasoned aircraft to the event to showcase their technology, which already has landed them as the biggest airline in Ecuador by number of flights. This year, Aerialoop will be represented by Pedro Meneses, Santiago Barrera, and a few other officers of the firm, and I look forward to learning more about their technology and business approach.

Another big name in drone deliveries attending the event will be Speedbird, a Brazilian company that has gone beyond the borders of the largest country in Latin America to have regular operations in Singapore, Israel, the United Kingdom, and a few others. I look forward to my conversation with Manoel Coelho and Eloiza Rios, founders and technological and business pillars of Speedbird.

These two companies have found a way to make drone deliveries not only a reality but a daily routine that resembles more an established business than a test run or delivering under a waiver. Even though their business models and various aircraft designs differ greatly, both organizations are embarked on a journey that has a clear goal to be profitable and resilient in the short term.

FAA Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Regulation

The signing of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 by President Joseph Biden on May 16 of this year marks a major milestone for our industry due to the fact that it contains a small clause in which the federal agency is given four months to deliver a preliminary regulation on BVLOS. These four months are due on September 16, just two weeks after Commercial UAV Expo, so we are all anxiously expecting the various FAA officers who always attend the event, to be more open to discuss the details of the release.

I personally expect the announcement of an NPRM (notice of proposed rulemaking) on what we are all calling Part 108, the final regulation covering flights beyond the visual range of the operator, but I must admit that an official pronouncement like that might be too optimistic for such a cautious agency.

Also, Mr. Jeffrey Vincent, Executive Director, FAA UAS Integration Office, will be at the event presenting an official update on Drone Policy on the second day of the conference. Together with Dallas Brooks of Wing, Mr. Vincent has revived the Drone Safety Team, and as CEO of Plaza Aerospace, a voting member of the organization, I am looking forward to an update on the progress of its reemergence.

Detect and Avoid, and the New Member of the Family: uAvionix.

On October 2023, a few weeks after the completion of Commercial UAV Expo 2023, Iris Automation announced it was being acquired by uAvionix, one of the most important avionics’ companies in the crewed aviation space. But the announcement was only the beginning of the story—a few days later it was announced that Jon Damush, the former CEO of Iris Automation, would be the new CEO of the amalgamated company.

After the acquisition, uAvionix embarked on an aggressive policy of new product releases and public pronouncements that cover a range of topics, including new product certifications, strategic acquisitions, and advancements in aviation technology.

This year will be the first Commercial UAV Expo in which Jon and his team will be attending as uAvionix, and I definitely look forward to talking to Jon and experiencing, firsthand, how crewed and uncrewed aviation walks solidly into full integration in the national airspace.

See y’all there!

If you’re interested in learning more about these sessions at Commercial UAV Expo 2024, use this link register or see the entire conference program here.