The North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) has announced that it has received a four-year waiver from the FAA to operate UAS over people.
According to NDDOT, this is the first time that a North Dakota state agency has received a waiver to routinely conduct UAS operations over people. The approval was for a DJI Mavic 2 series equipped with a ParaZero SafeAir parachute recovery system.
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UAVOS develops advanced leaf spring leg for heavy UAS
UAVOS has developed an advanced leaf spring leg for the main landing gear of UAS that weigh up to 2,400 pounds.
According to UAVOS, the spring leaf is stronger, thinner and lighter by 38 percent in comparison with fiberglass, thanks to being made of “aircraft carbon prepreg by the high-temperature molding procedure.”
A duct for the brake hose and the landing sensor wire is inside the spring leaf. Its modern material and chassis design allows it to save seven kilograms of the spring weight (in comparison with fiberglass), which reduces aerodynamic resistance, ensuring the protection of the brake hydraulic system and electrical wiring leading to the chassis.
UAS facility to be established at Houma-Terrebonne Airport through U.S. Department of Commerce grant
The Houma-Terrebonne Airport Commission of Houma, Louisiana has been awarded a $1.3 million grant to make the necessary infrastructure improvements needed to establish a UAS facility at the Houma-Terrebonne Airport. The project is expected to help create 150 jobs, retain 70 jobs and generate $50 million in private investment.
The investment was made by the Economic Development Administration (EDA), an agency under the U.S. Department of Commerce.
“The Trump Administration is working diligently to empower innovators who fuel job creation in communities across the nation,” says Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross.
MILTON selects FlightWave Edge UAS as its light tactical drone of choice
MILTON, which is a firm that focuses on technological innovations to strengthen the capabilities of warfighters at home and in the field, has selected FlightWave Aerospace’s Edge UAS as its light tactical drone of ch
Raytheon, AirMap collaborating to safely integrate UAS into national airspace system
Raytheon and AirMap have announced that they will collaborate on future projects to safely integrate UAS into the national airspace system, and “unlock the positive economic and social benefits of expanded commercial drone operations.”
The agreement combines the expertise of each company. Air traffic controllers across the U.S. use Raytheon's Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) to provide safe and efficient aircraft spacing and sequencing guidance for more than 40,000 departing and arriving aircraft daily at both civilian and military airports.
Black Swift Technologies to develop UAS that can autonomously track eyewall of tropical cyclones and hurricanes
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded Black Swift Technologies (BST) a contract to develop an air-deployed UAS to perform lower boundary layer observations in difficult atmospheric conditions that are commonly encountered in convective storms such as hurricanes and tropical cyclones.
Known as the S0 Air-Deployed UAS, the proposed vehicle would be tube-launched from an aircraft such as NOAA’s Lockheed P3 Orion.
From Unmanned Systems Magazine: The concept of one operator, many unmanned systems takes shape
Technology has advanced so far, so quickly that unmanned systems —in the air, on land, on or under the sea —will soon have the capability to undertake missions that we have yet to fully define or understand.
By late 2020 for example, the U.S. Air Force could have fighter aircraft-sized UAS that could fly in formation with manned F-35s or F-15s, break off to reconnoiter 100 miles away, and launch their own smaller drones to strike targets on the ground.
XQ-58A Valkyrie demonstrator completes all test objectives during June flight
After completing its inaugural flight in March, the XQ-58A Valkyrie demonstrator successfully completed all of its test objectives during a June 11 flight at Yuma Proving Grounds, Arizona.
The flight lasted 71 minutes.
“The XQ-58A is the first Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Technology flight demonstrator with (unmanned aircraft systems) technology to change the way we fly and fight, and build and buy,” says Doug Szczublewski, program manager.
Wounded Eagle UAS uses UAS to map VA West Los Angeles Medical Center campus
Wounded Eagle (WE) UAS Inc., a veteran run non-profit organization that trains disabled veterans to become experienced and skilled FAA Part 107 UAS operators, has announced that with help from its student UAS operators, it completed aerial mapping of VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System's (VAGLAHS) 388-acre VA West Los Angeles Medical Center (WLA) campus.
WE used a UAS and UAS mapping software to capture thousands of images of WLA. The images were stitched together to make a three zone orthomosaic map. WE also created 3D renderings of several historical buildings including the Wadsworth Chapel and Brentwood Theater.
“A truly great opportunity was given to Wounded Eagle UAS by the VA,” says Joseph Dorando, the team lead and remote pilot in charge of UAS operations.
