What’s all the buzz about: Noise testing our latest drone

By Ariel Katorza , VP Regulation

In early May, the Flytrex team trekked out to a remote airfield in North Carolina to begin a very important but little-talked-about step in the approval of package delivery operations conducted under Part 135: noise exposure assessment.?

Noise exposure assessment is done to ensure that a drone isn’t too loud to operate in the areas it services. Essentially, we want to make sure that our drones can seamlessly integrate into the community without creating any noise pollution and without disturbing wildlife nearby.?

How do we determine this? Through noise testing (field measurements) and acoustic modeling. Noise testing takes an array of powerful microphones that capture the sound level of the drone at different altitudes, which we can then use to create a model that maps expected noise levels across our delivery radius. This lets us know the right height to fly at to minimize noise pollution for everyone along the route, and assures the FAA that our drone design is sound (get it?) and can fly without creating a negative environmental impact.?

So… why are we noise testing now? That’s the most exciting part: we’re thrilled to announce the coming of our new drone model, the Sky II. We can’t say too much about the Sky II just yet, but stay tuned for more updates coming soon.