Four organizations are interested in cooperation with the Municipality of Burgas in the field of unmanned aerial systems (drones). “Unmanned Systems Bulgaria” Ltd, the Cluster of Aerospace Technologies, Research and Applications (CASTRA), the Bulgarian-Italian Center “Da Vinci” and the Bulgarian Aviation Industry Association (BAIA) appreciate the potential of our municipality, as well as the opportunities related to the preparation and implementation of test flights and scenarios with drones in a specific category and first U-space trials.
When we talk about a specific category, we should keep in mind that these will be the missions with the most added value – deliveries, spraying areas, flying beyond line of sight, etc.
“Unmanned aerial systems (drones) are an integral part of the aviation business and the development of this segment will find increasing application in various areas of our lives,” commented Stefan Hristozov, Unmanned Systems Bulgaria Ltd.
“We see the potential for Burgas to become an aviation hub for the development and testing of innovative drone flight operations. This will put Burgas on the map with the cities in the European Union that are successfully working in this field,” added Dr. Ivo Barzov, Bulgarian-Italian Da Vinci Centre. At the invitation of the association, Cesare Bai, pilot and consultant from Como Aero Club (Italy), came to Burgas in 2019 and appreciated the excellent opportunities for seaplane flight operations on Lake Mandra. Given this situation, why not also carry out flight operations with drones.
Some time ago Stefan Hristozov, in an interview for “Chernomorski far”, asked the question: is the idea of a water playground for drones feasible, as well as the Mandra lake to be used as a training ground for the development of the traffic management system for drones in Burgas? What is needed for this? – Answer:
– Of course. One major deficiency we have in Bulgaria is that we have not defined a testing ground not only for a traffic management system, but also for aerial systems, anti-drone systems, etc.
Such water spaces as the lake, fields, abandoned industrial areas and airports would be perfect for this kind of trials.
Before we start with that, however, there needs to be an understanding (and statesmanship) of the importance of how business and the state/municipality and all other stakeholders will interact and help each other. I.e. a very large round table with many opinions and hypotheses on it.
Burgas is also a port city and this multiplies the usefulness of such trials. We would be involved in such a discussion and project.”
This summer he is even more motivated to lobby the local government for the development of the city in this direction. “The water spaces around Burgas would become a wonderful testing ground because the risk to people is minimal,” he is adamant.
The representatives of the four organizations support the thesis that the penetration of drones into people’s lives and their effective use in far more serious areas such as saving lives, avoiding car traffic, delivering goods, etc. is inevitable. They urge Bulgaria as a whole, and individual cities that have embraced the idea of introducing advanced technologies to facilitate their citizens, to declare their readiness and get on the map of cities that are already working to create urban air mobility.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) conducted a survey in early 2021 on public acceptance of UAM (Urban Air Mobility) operations by EU citizens.
The stated aim was to assess and understand public attitudes in different regions of the European Union, including perceived benefits and concerns. This study is the first of its kind. Unfortunately, Bulgaria did not participate in it.
The results show that, overall, the perception of UAM is positive: the majority – 83 percent – of respondents are in favour of introducing UAM in general. In the cities surveyed, only 3 percent of respondents had a negative opinion of Urban Air Mobility.
The results show that a large proportion of the population would use UAM services. 64 percent would take a drone delivery and 49 percent would ride on an air taxi. And 43 percent would use both. Only 29 percent would use neither of these services.
This comprehensive survey is the first of its kind and scope to measure public acceptance of UAM in the EU. But modes of transport are rare, a recent example being autonomous vehicles, and their widespread public acceptance is usually linked to a series of factors. These include the maturity of certain technologies and how they are perceived conditions of threats or benefits by the public. The case of autonomous cars has shown how difficult it is to predict exactly how a technical innovation will be perceived by consumers and society at large.
It should therefore be borne in mind that this study measures the EU public’s attitude towards UAM at a given point in time, well in advance of the future deployment in EU cities envisaged around 2024-2025.
At this stage, information about UAM is mostly reserved for the specialized press and media. Consequently, citizens still largely perceive urban air mobility as “science fiction” or an “exciting new concept”, but when exposed to real operations, will be able to appreciate first-hand the benefits of the technology.
Every beginning is difficult, but in Burgas there are all prerequisites for the preparation and execution of test flights and scenarios with drones in a specific category.
Source: faragency.bg