Up and Soaring - UAS

UAS checks pipelines, infrastructure on the Alaska North slope

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has authorized the first commercial unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operation over land.

Energy giant BP and UAS manufacturer AeroVironment are approved to conduct aerial surveys in the North Slope, Alaska, using an AeroVironment Puma AE.

The companies will scout BP pipelines, roads, and equipment at at Prudhoe Bay, the largest oilfield in the United States.

The Puma AE is a small, hand-launched UAS that is about 4-1/2ft long and has a wingspan of 9ft. BP plans to use the system’s sensors to target maintenance activities on specific roads and infrastructure. The aerial survey will save time, support safety and operational reliability goals, and help to protect the sensitive North Slope environment. http://1.usa.gov/1uc7vpb

UAS test sites now operational

Four of the six congressionally mandated test sites for UAS research are now operational.

FAA officials in June gave two-year approvals to the third and fourth sites in Nevada – at the Desert Rock Airport in Mercury – and in Texas at the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Locations in New York and Virginia are still awaiting authorization.

The Nevada team will use an Insitu ScanEagle for two years at the private, Department of Energy-owned Desert Rock. The ScanEagle will fly at or below 3,000ft, monitored by a visual observer and mission commander. Researchers there will concentrate on standards and operations, including how air traffic control procedures will handle UASs in the civil environment.

In addition to studying UAS technologies and standards, researchers in Texas will use an AAI-RS – weighing 85 lb and spanning 13ft – to collect data on wetland preservation and tropical depressions along the Padre Island National Seashore.

“The UAS test sites will help us identify operational goals as well as safety issues we must consider when expanding the use of unmanned aircraft into our airspace,” says FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. “This industry is growing exponentially, and we are working hard to make sure it does so safely.” www.faa.gov

Uncrewed challenge winners announced

NASA has selected three winning designs to address the technological limitations of the uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) currently used to track and collect data on hurricanes.

Engineering teams at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Va.; Purdue University in W. Lafayette, Ind.; and the University of Virginia (UVA) in Charlottesville were named first- through third-place winners, respectively, of the agency’s 2013-2014 University Aeronautics Engineering Design Challenge.

This year’s challenge called on university students, with faculty advisors, to design a new UAS that can exceed the flight limitations of systems currently used to track and gather data on hurricanes throughout the Atlantic Ocean storm season, which runs June 1 to Nov. 30.

“The decision process and supporting detail, including cost optimization, were strengths of the top papers,” said aerospace engineer Jason Welstead, a contest reviewer for NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate in Washington.

Virginia Tech’s team of nine seniors won first place with its Gobble Hawk, a liquid hydrogen-fueled aerial system consisting of two aircraft, each with a flight endurance of 7.8 days. The team estimated the total cost of the system at $199.5 million for production plus 10 years of operation and maintenance. http://1.usa.gov/1sLWtVP

Testing UAS-based utility monitoring

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently granted San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) a Special Airworthiness Certificate for a small Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), allowing the utility to research, test, and train flight crews on the UAS in a sparsely populated airspace in Eastern San Diego County. SDG&E is the first utility in the nation to be granted FAA approval for this technology.

The approved program aims to investigate how SDG&E can integrate small UASs into day-to-day operations to improve inspections of electric and gas lines, particularly in areas that are off-limits to helicopters or difficult to access by road or other means. Measuring 16" in diameter and weighing less than a pound, these small devices use a camera to inspect utility equipment and relay live images back to the controller. The UAS can access infrastructure that is difficult to reach for utility crews and alert them if repairs are needed.

The first step of the pilot program is to validate this new technology through rigorous testing, strictly within the select airspace. The FAA and SDG&E have developed a testing protocol with the public’s privacy and safety in mind. The four approved test areas in Eastern San Diego County are approximately 2-1/2 miles long and half-mile wide containing no residences or businesses. SDG&E also received approval for a 100-yard airspace for training at a utility training facility in San Diego.

Once the technology is tested, and if it proves effective, SDG&E may seek FAA approval to use the UASs more broadly for field inspections. www.sdge.com