UAS Test Flight Flops

0

It was a big enough day for Nevada that the governor and a couple of congressmen were there to mark the occasion of the first flight of an unmanned aerial system at the state’s new test range and of course the digital cameras were rolling. Unfortunately the technology wasn’t quite up to the auspiciousness of the occasion and within about two seconds of being hand launched the Magpie fixed-wing aircraft was digging a trench in the desert. There was a collective groan (sprinkled with some giggles) from the small group of safety-vested spectators as the four-foot-long aircraft failed to gain altitude and slumped to the dusty desert floor near Boulder, Nevada. The device wasn’t damaged but its demonstrators thought better of trying to fly it again. Fortunately, it had already flown a 15-minute test flight that day and had already been awarded the first Special Airworthiness Certificate and registration N106MP handed out by the Nevada test facility. The flight that ended with the belly flop was just for show.

Despite the made-for-TV faux pas, the politicians did their best to put a positive spin on the incident. 13 Action News, a local television station news program, quoted Governor Brian Sandoval as saying the botched demo was a “perfect example” of why test sites like the Boulder facility are needed. The test site is one of six in the U.S. and is run by the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems, a state-sponsored non-profit agency. In addition to offering test facilities for UAS companies, it will offer certification and personnel training programs. It’s also able to issue the SACs on behalf of the FAA for operations within the test center.

LEAVE A REPLY