By John Mather, Staff Reporter, The Lamont Leader
A new program supported by Alberta HUB and funded by grants will lay the groundwork for drones to be used in a variety of commercial operations in the Lamont County, Minburn area, and other areas served by theAlberta HUB.
As part of the program, a drone “night test flight” was lifted off from the Andrew Rural Academy Sept. 24, landing a short time later at the St. Paul Airport.
Alberta HUB obtained a SCOP grant from the province in 2024 to develop the drone-friendly ecosystem to enable advanced air mobility (AAM) activities such as beyond visual line of sight drone operations for drone-based delivery of goods, precision agriculture using drones, and support infrastructure development for electric aviation.
Bob Bezpalko, executive director of the Alberta HUB, said at the Wednesday launch of the drone was the first flight of its kind in Canada.
He said the HUB, an alliance for 48 communities in northeastern Alberta, are all working to attract investment to the region and the drone flight was one way of doing this.
Fort Saskatchewan MLA Jackie Armstrong Homeniuk spoke to the small crowd about the Province’s involvement in the project.
“What we’re celebrating here tonight is more than just a drone flight, but the future of technology in Alberta,” she said.
“The Skyways project launch is also preparing the communities for the exciting new opportunities drone technology can bring.”
She said it could speed up delivery of goods, help farmers with better agriculture practices and to assist in emergency situations.”
She added the work opened up opportunities for small airports across the province.
The flight was being completed through Alberta HUB member, AERIUM Analytics.
AERIUM is a full-service environmental consultant, drone manufacturer and drone service company with a proven track record in the implementation of drones into complex airspace, specifically, the integration of drones into airport environments.
This project will provide investment opportunities for our airports as well as for municipalities, First Nations and Metis Settlements across the region… for drone manufacturing, technology development in Smart Agriculture, Energy, Forestry, Fire prevention, Safety and Emergency Rescue.
For further value Alberta HUB joined the iART Alliance led by AIRmarket.
At the core of iART’s mission lies a bold objective: to achieve routine BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) operations utilizing a proven aircraft within airport environments and RTM Airspace(s) for commercial objectives.
A spokesman said the test was initially begun when a small drone lifted off from beside the school, piloted by emergency services personnel from Strathcona County.
This smaller craft did a visual flight of the surroundings prior to giving the green light for the much larger drone to take off.
During its demonstration it was also used to spot a small fire which was quickly put out demonstrating its capabilities.
Once the okay was given the main flight took off.
The main drone would fly at an altitude of 300 feet.
“The plane follows the terrain, using a database downloaded into the drone’s automatic pilot,” said Dave Kinniburgh, the mechanic with AIRmarket, who fixes all the drones the company flies.
He said when it came to applications for the drone, “the world is your oyster.”
He said they could be used for pipeline inspections as a much more fuel efficient method of doing this.
It could be used for search and rescue with an infrared sensor attached.
T he drones can be used for tracking animal migration or for spotting wildfires.
The Andrew to St. Paul flight made three landings during its flight so its battery pack could be changed out.
Kinniburgh said three people operated the drone during its flight from a station in Edmonton. One was used to fly the drone while a second operated the camera which recorded the test flight and broadcast it to those watching from inside the rural academy.
He added operating the drone from an Edmonton location was to prove the system works, because “then in theory the drone could be operated from anywhere in the world.”
Andrew was chosen for the beginning of the test flight because it could form a corridor for unmanned flight operations.
The drone used on the maiden test flight weighed about 20 pounds.
Test flights for Air Market take place in an area near the Josephburg Airport in Strathcona County.
“What we’re trying to prove here is Beyond Line of Sight flying which would open the industry to numerous opportunities.”
Approximately three hours after taking off from Andrew, the drone made a successful landing in St. Paul.
Read this and more in the October 1, 2025 edition of The Lamont Leader
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