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UAF to help test drones; craft have appeal for AK oil industry
The University of Alaska is among six public entities the Federal Aviation Administration has chosen nationally to develop and operate test sites for unmanned aircraft systems, or drones.
The congressionally mandated test sites will conduct research for safely integrating drones into the national airspace over the next several years, the FAA said Dec. 30.
Remote controlled aircraft, including miniature planes and helicopters, present significant safety questions, including the risk of collisions with regular air traffic. Privacy is another concern with drones, the use of which generally has been restricted to government agencies and the military.
In recent years, momentum has built for broader use of drones for commercial or other purposes.
Alaska has been on the forefront of commercial efforts. In September, oil company ConocoPhillips flew a drone known as the ScanEagle in remote airspace over the Chukchi Sea about 120 miles offshore the village of Wainwright. It was the first approved commercial use of an unmanned aircraft system, or UAS, in the United States.
A safer alternative? The oil industry is interested in the potential of drones as a safer and more cost-effective alternative to manned flights for jobs such as monitoring sea ice or spotting protected marine mammals.
In addition to the University of Alaska, the FAA named five other test site operators: Griffiss International Airport in upstate New York, the state of Nevada, the North Dakota Department of Commerce, Texas A&M University and Virginia Tech.
“These test sites will give us valuable information about how best to ensure the safe introduction of this advanced technology into our nation’s skies,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.
Alaska Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell hailed the FAA’s selection of Alaska as a testing ground for unmanned aerial vehicles.
Such vehicles can help save lives and promote scientific research and resource development in Alaska, said Treadwell, who chairs the Aerospace States Association.
“An unmanned vehicle can fly through volcanic ash clouds and into forest fires where it is not safe to send humans,” he said. “They can provide observational warnings about marine mammals approaching offshore oil and gas fields. In a state as vast as Alaska, (drones) can give us information on what’s happening with weather, climate and other conditions in remote parts of our state.”
University’s experience The University of Alaska Fairbanks will manage what’s known as the Pan-Pacific UAS Test Range Complex.
The complex offers 13 test ranges in Alaska, Hawaii and Oregon, UAF said in a Dec. 30 press release.
“The complex, with its geographic diversity in landscapes spanning seven climatic zones, will allow UAS manufacturers and potential users the ability to test their equipment in the Arctic, the tropics and arid environments,” UAF said.
The test range complex is slated to begin operations mid-year.
The Pan-Pacific UAS Test Range Complex was conceived by the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration, part of the UAF Geophysical Institute.
The center for years has operated drones for science and civil support.
“The UAF-based team supported Interior wildfire mapping projects, marine mammal population studies in the Aleutians, scanned the trans-Alaska pipeline and much more since the mid-2000s,” UAF said.
UAF’s track record with unmanned aircraft helped its proposal win FAA selection, said Ro Bailey, the center’s deputy director.
“Alaska, Oregon and Hawaii offer exceptional climatic and geographic diversity, lightly populated airspace and overwater test opportunities that can support the majority of FAA needs,” Bailey said.
—Wesley Loy
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