Smart Fleet Systems

07/12/2026

This photogrammetry mission north of Edmonton shows the impact of the record breaking rainfall on the crops in the area.

The SiYi A8 mini gimbal on the Canada Niska 1 does an amazing job.

07/01/2026

Happy Canada Day!

04/19/2026

Buy the CubeOrange+ from SmartFleet in Canadian dollars and we can ship to you anywhere in Canada.

We also sell other CubePilot products. Contact us if you are looking for something.

3 likes. "Buy Cube products in Canada"

02/10/2026

Commercial drone traffic is coming to our skies, so how do we manage that? Just like we have ATC (Air Traffic Control) for crude aircraft, we will have RTM (RPAS/Drone Traffic Management) for drones.

I'm working with AIRmarket Inc. on integrating drone platforms with their FlySafe RTM system, starting with ArduPilot of course.

This was our first live test flight, ArduPilot sending realtime, live position updates to the RTM system via LTE from a Raspberry PI companion computer running on the drone.

Concept proved!

Commercial drone traffic is coming to our skies, so how do we manage that? Just like we have ATC (Air Traffic Control) for crude aircraft, we will have RTM (...

01/31/2026

Next test of the Canada Niska 1 - how well can it fly in the frigid temperatures of the frozen Canadian north? Of course it does great!

The Canada Niska 1 is an ArduPilot based 2.5m wingspan VTOL hybrid drone designed for long distance ISR, survellancance and inspections. The standard package comes with the awesome SiYI A8 Mini gimbal camera which is great for video and also capable of some fairly good photogrammetry.

Upgraded payloads can include thermal and lidar cameras.

Canada Niska 1-
* 2.4 m wingspan
* MTOW: 7kg
* Payload: 1.2kg
* Min/Max operating temperature -12C / +35C

Build from the best:
CubePilot Cube Orange+ autopilot - because it matters!
CubePilot Here 4 RTK GNSS/GPS
SIYI Technology UniRC7 C2 + FPV radio system
SiYi A8 Mini 4K Gimbal Camera
XingTo / XT Battery solid state lithium batteries

It was a brisk winter morning, north of Edmonton on the Canadian Prairies. I braved the cold to test my Canada Niska VTOL. This is my story.

01/15/2026

I'm stunned by the performance of the "semi-Solid State" lithium batteries in the Niska. Better at -11C than when I flew at +5C.

To be fair there was less wind, but I was really expecting something like Li-Po cold weather performance from these batteries and I am so happy to be wrong.

Canada Niska 1 - Proudly Canadian.

01/07/2026

How far can you fly a drone BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) legally in Canada? New rules!

The Canada Niska 1 relies on Transport Canada Standard 923 for BVLOS, so what does that mean?

I break it down in this short video.

With a Safety Assurance Declaration that doesn't included 922.10, how far can I fly the Canada Niska 1 Drone BVLOS? This video answers the question.Note: all...

01/01/2026

When I show people the Canada Niska 1 VTOL drone, the first question I get is "how far can it fly".

The Smart Fleet Canada Niska 1 now has a Safety Assurance Declaration under Transport Canada Standard 922 part 08, 09 and 11 and when flown under standard 923, with a Level 1 Complex Pilot certificate you can fly:
* 7.8 km from the pilot/control station
* 3.7 km from an visual observer
(conditions apply)

This means a circle 14.8km (8 nm) across which is:
* 172 square km
* 42,600 acres
* 66 sections
* 266 quarter sections

Whether this means agricultural inspections and livestock monitoring, safety monitoring, corridor monitoring, mapping and visual data collection, infrastructure inspections, surveillance, or just flying for the pure joy of it, Canada Niska 1 has it covered.

The Canada Niska 1 can now be flown BVLOS in Canada with a SAD for Transport Canada Standard 922.08, 09 and 11. DAA is covered by Standard 923 or when flying...

12/24/2025

Merry Christmas from SmartFleet Drones and Canada!

12/10/2025

We achieved a major milestone for our Canada Niska 1 BVLOS VTOL drone. Long range, long duration, long distance flight - tested in the field. A huge success!

We flew for 66 minutes, 52 kilometers at 12.5km range from the controller at the AIRmarket Inc. Field Operations Center north of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Thanks to Lindsay Mohr and the team for allowing us to fly at the field and providing visual observers for a safe and fully compliant test flights.

The Canada Niska 1 is now a proven system for BVLOS missions. Proudly Canadian!

Featuring:
- CubePilot Cube Orange+ and Here4 GPS
- SIYI Technology UniRC7 and A8 Mini gimbal camera
- XingTo Solid State Lithium batteries
- ArduPilot flight control software

A long video about a long range, long duration, long distance test flight of the Canada Niska 1 VTOL/fixed wing drone. Turnkey BVLOS solution from SmartFleet...