If you were on the fence about moving to a new home, new town, or new state altogether, perhaps the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) can make that decision a bit easier for you and your family: the Agency has just announced the locations of six new testing sites for unmanned aircraft systems, or drones.
The winning locations, if you will, are based off a 10-month selection process that included the reviewing of 25 proposals from 24 different states.
Among the key considerations regarding what would make a good testing site for this new form of aerial technology: geography, climate, location of ground infrastructure, research needs, airspace use, safety, aviation experience, and risk.
The following is a list of the test sites as well as a brief description of the operators and research that will be conducted at each location, as provided by the FAA website:
• University of Alaska . The University of Alaska proposal contained a diverse set of test site range locations in seven climatic zones as well as geographic diversity with test site range locations in Hawaii and Oregon. The research plan includes the development of a set of standards for unmanned aircraft categories, state monitoring and navigation. Alaska also plans to work on safety standards for UAS operations.
• State of Nevada . Nevada’s project objectives concentrate on UAS standards and operations as well as operator standards and certification requirements. The applicant’s research will also include a concentrated look at how air traffic control procedures will evolve with the introduction of UAS into the civil environment and how these aircraft will be integrated with NextGen. Nevada’s selection contributes to geographic and climatic diversity.
• New York’s Griffiss International Airport . Griffiss International plans to work on developing test and evaluation as well as verification and validation processes under FAA safety oversight. The applicant also plans to focus its research on sense and avoid capabilities for UAS and its sites will aide in researching the complexities of integrating UAS into the congested, northeast airspace.
• North Dakota Department of Commerce . North Dakota plans to develop UAS airworthiness essential data and validate high reliability link technology. This applicant will also conduct human factors research. North Dakota’s application was the only one to offer a test range in the Temperate (continental) climate zone and included a variety of different airspace which will benefit multiple users.
• Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi . Texas A&M plans to develop system safety requirements for UAS vehicles and operations with a goal of protocols and procedures for airworthiness testing. The selection of Texas A&M contributes to geographic and climactic diversity.
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) . Virginia Tech plans to conduct UAS failure mode testing and identify and evaluate operational and technical risks areas. This proposal includes test site range locations in both Virginia and New Jersey.
The sites are all part of a program meant to develop a formal list of safety and operational rules for drones by the end of 2015. That’s because although drones are largely used by the military now, commercial use of the technology is expect to see significant growth in the coming years, especially in areas like agriculture and law enforcement, with the former group using the technology to spray crops and survey livestock, while the latter could use the aircraft for crowd control, capture crime scene photos, or assist in search and rescue operations.
Additionally, there’s been a notable uptick in in interest from the DIY / hobbyist community when it comes to developing and flying personal unmanned aircraft. Right now, individuals that fall into this category are testing their technology out under some fairly lax laws.
These test sites are expected to remain in operation until at least February 13, 2017.
Story via faa.gov
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