UAV advocates want test-flying airspace closer

Jan 18, 2010 — Dayton Daily News

John Nolan

Jan. 17, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- DAYTON -- Supporters of efforts to establish the Dayton region as a national center of training, education and product development for unmanned aircraft say that persuading the government to approve airspace for flying the unmanned craft near this area is critical.

Being able to test-fly unmanned aerial vehicles and their systems near where research, development and integration of those systems takes place is a key as the Miami Valley tries to sharpen its capabilities to support Air Force acquisition of UAVs that are managed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, business leaders said. Advocates are hoping that the industry could lead to new jobs for the region.

"Having compatible space -- that's the holy grail that's the key to breaking into having a significant chunk of the UAV industry," said Joe Zeis, chief strategist and a vice president of the Dayton Development Coalition.

Zeis, a retired Air Force officer, has spent months meeting with Dayton-area business leaders to assess the region's interest and ability to support developments of UAVs and affiliated sensors, propulsion and other systems.

The Dayton Development Coalition is working with the Air Force Research Laboratory and has had discussions with the Federal Aviation Administration and members of Congress about the possibility of federal approval of new airspace where unmanned aircraft would be allowed to fly, Zeis said.

The FAA has publicly been cool to the idea, worrying that technology aboard UAVs to keep them from colliding with manned aircraft isn't advanced enough to assure a safe airspace.

"As of today, unmanned aircraft systems are not ready for seamless or routine use yet in civilian airspace," FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said during a Nov. 18 speech to an aviation industry group in Scottsdale, Ariz. "Without a pilot who can look and scan to the left and the right -- just the way you and I do when we're backing out of a parking space -- there's a perceived level of risk that the American public isn't ready for," Babbitt said.

UAV industry advocates say they believe that UAV sense-and-avoid technology, to see and avoid other aircraft, and "autonomous" systems that can independently fly the UAVs and land them if on-board problems crop up, have advanced to the point that the FAA's concerns about airspace safety can be addressed. Industry talks with the FAA are continuing.

An airspace of 20 to 30 square miles would be adequate for flying the UAVs and testing how sensors and other devices aboard would work together, said Donald Smith, president of Co-Operative Engineering Services Inc., a Beavercreek-based company that develops and builds UAVs of 100 pounds or less at the Tech Town development in Dayton. Ideally, a UAV-dedicated facility would have a radar tower and other support infrastructure for flight-testing the aircraft and on-board equipment, he said.

UAV-flying airspace can be available at Camp Atterbury, Ind., home to Indiana National Guard and Indiana Air National Guard operations, or in southwest Ohio airspace over Highland County that is used by the Springfield Air National Guard Base for training flights, officials said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2242 or jnolan@DaytonDailyNews.com.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0056-41283251