Up and soaring

Tekever, ViaSat to expand civil use of UAS

Manufacturer the Tekever Group and communication technologies services provider ViaSat have entered an alliance to bring ViaSat’s technologies onto Tekever’s unmanned aerial systems (UAS) platforms to increase UAS range in civilian, beyond-line-of-sight applications. Research and development activities will develop communication systems for current and next-generation civilian UAS applications.

ViaSat technologies include satellite communication products that can be integrated with civilian air traffic management systems and enable smaller UAS platforms to perform longer missions. www.tekever.com; www.viasat.com

NASA, partners test unmanned aircraft systems

NASA, working with government and industry partners, is testing a system that would enable unmanned aircraft to fly routine operations in United States airspace.

Through the agency’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the National Airspace System (UAS-NAS) project, NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI), and Honeywell International Inc., flew a series of tests recently at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California.

Building upon the success of experiments in 2014 that demonstrated a proof-of-concept sense-and-avoid system, recent tests engaged the core air traffic infrastructure and supporting software components through live and virtual environments to demonstrate how an autonomous aircraft interacts with air traffic controllers and other air traffic. It’s the first time that all of the technology developments from the project underwent flight testing at the same time.

Some of the tests were flown with an Ikhana aircraft, based at Armstrong, equipped with an updated sense-and-avoid system. The system includes a new traffic collision avoidance program and other software from Honeywell.

Tests using other aircraft followed scripted flight paths that intruded on the flight paths the autonomous crafts were flying, prompting them to either issue an alert or maneuver out of the other aircraft’s path. The flights also conducted the first full test of an automatic collision avoidance capability on autonomous aircraft. www.nasa.gov/aeronautics; http://go.nasa.gov/1dOi6Qz; www.ga-asi.com; http://honeywell.com

Aero Kinetics, SLM Solutions bring 3D printing to commercial UAS

Fort Worth, Texas-based Aero Kinetics has partnered with SLM Solutions NA to bring advanced 3D metal powder printing technology to Aero Kinetics’ multi-rotor vertical takeoff and land (VTOL) unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

Aero Kinetics’ CEO W. Hulsey Smith says, “The safety, speed, and quality of SLM’s machines are well suited to produce ultra-lightweight structural components for unmanned aircraft. When coupled with Aero Kinetics’ subject matter expertise in design for additive metal manufacturing, we will reduce weight in our critical structural components.”

SLM Solutions Group AG focuses on the development of selective laser melting machines and system solutions. www.aerokinetics.com; http://slm-solutions.us

Chapman Aerospace launches UAS pilot training

Hawthorne, California-based Chapman Aerospace has been authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to operate unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) at or under altitudes of 200ft.

As an FAA-approved UAS company, Chapman Aerospace now offers a UAS pilot training school at its California base where FAA-certified pilots will teach students.

In addition to providing pilots, camera operators, and crews for movies and other projects that require aerial photography, the school will also train pilots and provide UAS for inspecting wind turbines, solar farms, gas and oil sites, and agriculture.

A recent project was providing aerial coverage of the 115th US Open at the Chambers Bay Golf Course in University Place, Washington, June 15-21, 2015. www.chapmanaero.com