Avionics News February 2020 - 43

said that in Alaska nobody flies above
500 feet. IFR stands for "I follow
rivers." Scud running is one reason
why there are accidents, and just
because a plane has a transponder or
ADS-B doesn't mean it will be turned
on because that would give away the
location of a great place to fish or hunt
for Caribou.
But drones could be a boon for
Alaska's economy for everything from
delivering medicine in an emergency in
remote regions to hauling cargo routinely
to remote villages. Alaska depends on
aviation for transportation, but it is often
hazardous for manned aviation. Cahill
says pilots and biologists are sometimes
lost on missions to count wild animals, a
job a drone could just as easily do.
"We have proven in testing detect-andavoid technology in drones that a human
observer is not as good as an electronic
system," Cahill said. "My hope is that
this will go into general aviation, too.
Situational awareness is important for
anyone in the airspace. There is not great
visibility out of a general aviation aircraft
such as a Cessna."
On July 30 and 31, 2019, the Alaska
test site conducted the first (BVLOS)
flight tests without human observers
on the ground approved under a
waiver from the UAS Integration Pilot
Program. The IPP is being used by the
FAA to facilitate drone integration into
the national airspace system. The test
included eight EchoGuard radars on
the ground and an EchoFlight radar
on the small drone along with an
onboard Iris Automation camera. The
FAA has allowed earlier BVLOS tests
in the Arctic in 2014 and for non-IPP
organizations since 2016.
"More work needs to be done,"
she said. What is needed now is
performance standards, requirements
definition and regulation. "The whole
UAS world is being held up by some of
these BVLOS limitations. We are still
very much at the beginning of this." q

DRONE FOCUS
AEA CONVENTION TO OFFER
WORKSHOPS BY ROBOTIC SKIES
With the AEA International Convention & Trade Show just around
the corner, attendees will be able to join unmanned aircraft
system industry leaders to learn about the evolving landscape
regarding commercial programs, gain insights into real-world
drone operations and use cases, and find out more about the
vision of urban air mobility and its potential impact on the aviation
maintenance industry. Moderated by Brad Hayden, CEO of Robotic
Skies, this UAS industry leader panel will take place Wednesday,
March 25, in Nashville with the time to be announced.
Robotic Skies has also partnered with the unmanned industry's
leading airframe and component manufacturers. On Thursday,
March 26, at a UAS maintenance overview, attendees can learn
about some of the general maintenance procedures Robotic Skies
has developed for its key OEM partners, as well as applicable
airworthiness practices and developing regulatory requirements.
For a complete list of training sessions offered at the AEA
Convention in Nashville, refer to page 67 for updated convention
information, or go to aea.net/convention to register for the
biggest training week in the avionics industry. q

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Avionics News February 2020

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