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UAV builders set sights on civilian market

Business partners see numerous applications for their planes beyond defense contracts.

Co-Operative Engineering Services, Inc. engineer John McNees flies an aerobatic, remote-controlled airplane in their new Tech Town home. CESI builds UAS airplanes of their own design that carry sensor packages like color and infrared video.

Ty Greenlees/Staff Photographer Co-Operative Engineering Services, Inc. engineer John McNees flies an aerobatic, remote-controlled airplane in their new Tech Town home. CESI builds UAS airplanes of their own design that carry sensor packages like color and infrared video.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Co-Operative Engineering Services, Inc. engineer John McNees, right, talks with University of Dayton engineering seniors about the construction of unmanned aerial systems that CESI builds in their new Tech Town home.

Ty Greenlees/Staff Photographer Co-Operative Engineering Services, Inc. engineer John McNees, right, talks with University of Dayton engineering seniors about the construction of unmanned aerial systems that CESI builds in their new Tech Town home.

ENLARGE PHOTO

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By John Nolan, Staff Writer Updated 10:18 AM Friday, January 29, 2010

DAYTON — Business partners Donald Smith and John McNees are producing small, unmanned aerial vehicles on a custom-order basis, in what looks something like a model airplane shop.

That’s no coincidence. Making UAVs of 100 pounds or less — some as light as 3 to 4 pounds and launchable by hand — borrows from the technology used by hobbyists for radio-controlled airplanes, Smith said.

Their customers include the Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Force Institute of Technology and the University of Dayton Research Institute’s Center for UAV Exploitation, which works with the Air Force and defense contractors. The goal is to support organizations interested in flying UAVs for demonstration purposes and testing how sensors and other electronic payloads can be combined aboard UAVs and work with ground stations from which operators can command and control the aircraft, Smith said.

Smith and McNees are hoping that new business will develop over time for their UAVision venture, nestled with its sister company Co-Operative Engineering Services Inc. in Dayton’s Tech Town development. The men specialize in flying the unmanned aircraft, as well as building them with features that customers request, such as larger compartments for payloads, auto-pilot equipment, bigger fuel tanks for extended flight time and global positioning system receivers for precision navigation.

“At this point, these airplanes are one-at-a-time, hand-built,” Smith said.

Beyond the existing markets for military intelligence-gathering and surveillance for the unmanned planes, Smith and McNees said they look forward to serving civilian customers that could use video feeds and other services from hovering UAVs, including police and fire departments to support responses to emergencies; companies desiring fly-over inspections of ground-based equipment, and broadcast stations wanting aerial views of sporting events.

Joe Zeis, a Dayton Development Coalition executive helping lead the region’s effort to develop UAV research and development expertise, said small businesses like UAVision or CESI could help by bridging the gap for integrated technology needed for small and large unmanned aircraft. They can provide the expertise needed to fit payloads into small craft, Zeis said.

The Center for UAV Exploitation, which is being established in Dayton with support from Ohio’s Third Frontier technology-supporting program, has ordered two planes from Smith and McNees — and values their expertise at piloting the UAVs for demonstration flights, said Rick Scudder, director of the Dayton-based center.

“We leave the flying to them,” Scudder said. “That’s as important as the UAVs.”

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

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