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Government OKs Air Force UAV flights at Wilmington

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By John Nolan, Staff Writer 7:36 PM Monday, February 6, 2012

The Federal Aviation Administration has given the Air Force Research Laboratory approval to fly small, remote-controlled aircraft at Wilmington Air Park in Clinton County, the Air Force said Monday.

The research laboratory, headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, will use the FAA-issued certificate of authorization to fly small planes of 55 pounds or less to test their ability to carry instrument and sensor packages and to learn how to track aircraft of that size, base spokesman Daryl Mayer said. The flights must be within five miles of the air park and must remain within sight of the operator, he said.

The FAA’s approval comes as Congress has enacted two separate pieces of legislation that direct the government to take steps to boost growth of the unmanned aircraft industry, which could serve civilian customers including agriculture, public safety and utility companies as well as the military.

Dayton is competing with locations in other states for designation of an area nearby that would be designated for flying unmanned aerial vehicles. It is a key to the region’s effort to build itself as a center of UAV manufacturing expertise, pilot training, and research and development of tracking and monitoring sensors that the remotely piloted planes carry.

The Air Force Research Laboratory has a separate, pending request asking the FAA to approve a larger UAV flying area in the Buckeye-Brush Creek airspace over southern Ohio. The Ohio Air National Guard has used that airspace for training flights of F-16 planes.

The Senate on Monday passed legislation that the House had approved on Friday which authorizes funding for the FAA. The bill now goes to President Obama for his signature.

The legislation directs the agency to authorize six test sites nationally within six months for the flying of UAVs and sensor packages.

The Dayton region’s congressional delegation drafted this language and pushed for its approval. It is similar to language in the national defense authorization bill that Obama signed on Dec. 31.

Congress’ FAA legislation also imposes a Sept. 30, 2015, deadline for the agency to allow the flying of UAVs in airspace now reserved for planes carrying people. The FAA wants to ensure that this can be done safely. It would rely on “sense-and-avoid” technology that could automatically redirect a UAV if it sensed an approaching aircraft in the area.

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

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