In June, the Offshore Drone Challenge will take place at the National Testing Center for Unmanned Aeronautical Systems in Magdeburg-Cochstedt.
The competition focuses on the practical testing of flight manoeuvres that are relevant to the application of operations & maintenance logistics for offshore wind farms. The project includes both software themes and structural modifications to connect the ‘drone’ and ‘wind farm’ systems.
As part of the competition organised by the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DZA) together with the energy supplier EnBW on 19 and 20 June, six drone manufacturers will demonstrate their technological capabilities for transporting heavy loads at Cochstedt Airport. The focus of this competition is the demonstration of flight manoeuvres that are relevant in operations and maintenance logistics for offshore wind farms. During the competition, companies will have to complete a course with different stages, including tasks such as picking up and setting down the load as automatically as possible or flights out of sight.
To this end, a temporary geographical zones has been established by the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport in which the requirement in the open category of maximum take-off mass of 25 kg and operation in direct view are excluded .
The entry into the zone shall respect both the operating arrangements between the airport operator and the UAS operator and the operating conditions.
The Land Aviation Authority of Saxony-Anhalt has also published a general order for entry into the geographical zone pursuant to Section 21h(3)(2) of the Air Regulation in the Official Journal of Saxony-Anhalt from 31th May 2024 (only german) and in the offical publication (Nachrichten für Luftfahrer, NfL).
Detailed information can also be found on the DLR website:
https://dlr.de/de/ft/aktuelles/nachrichten/geozone-cochstedt
Please note the following information: