Comments on Various Consequences: Airframer for Dayton Aerospace Cluster

UAV Provision To Benefit Cinematography Industr...

2012-02-21T19:13:53.789-05:00
UAV Provision To Benefit Cinematography Industry.
The New York Times (2/19, Wingfield) "Bits" blog reported on a provision contained in FAA reauthorization that requires the FAA to draft rules governing the widespread use of commercial UAVs, a welcome move for cinematographers. Aerial cinematographer Russell Freeman "said he was contacted by the FAA last year and told to stop flying his drone. He's still using unmanned helicopters to shoot commercials and television shows outside the United States, but he says many of his competitors are ignoring the ban." Cinematographer Tabb Firchau said he moved his business abroad after FAA restrictions prevented him from working in the US. He said, "There's an entire industry sitting on the fringes, just waiting."

DDN reports (Nolan, 2 Feb 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.

WDTN reports (Edwards, 23 Jan 2012): Congressman Steve Austria, 7th District/Ohio (R) believes our region's best bet for lasting job creation lies inside the gates at our states largest single site employer, Wright Patterson Air Force Base.
More specifically UAV research underway at AFRL. But before that can really take-off, Austria says Ohio must have cleared air space from the FAA to test the aircraft.. Austria is currently drafting legislation that will allow that to happen.

"I have language included in the FAA authorization bill that would set-up pilot programs to compete for and hopefully get that air space that will bring those businesses to Ohio and in turn that would mean hundreds and possibly thousands of new jobs in our area, " Austria said.

MAE reports (Keller, 22 Jan 2012): Lockheed Martin won a $1.1 million contract Friday for development and ground demonstration of the integrated power system and payload into a SURGE-V hybrid UAV aircraft. Lockheed Martin and Elbit Systems of America LLC in Fort Worth, Texas, were selected last May to develop a green hybrid propulsion system for the SURGE-V green UAV program.

The latest contract, awarded by the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, represents the next phase of SURGE-V engine development and demonstration.

Lockheed Martin may do work on the SURGE-V program at a location other than Eagan, Minn., because the company plans to close the Eagan facility by 2013.

DDN reports (Nolan, 10 Jan 2012): Maj. Gen. Deborah Ashenhurst, who oversees the Ohio Army and Air National Guard, is the state’s new gatekeeper on requests for space to fly unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs.

Ashenhurst said Tuesday that Gov. John Kasich has asked her office to be the clearinghouse for Ohio requests to the Federal Aviation Administration for approval of airspace requests for research and training flights of UAVs. Her office has already forwarded two such requests that could affect the Dayton area.

DDN reports (Nolan, 25 Dec 2011): UA Vision LLC, a manufacturer of unmanned aerial vehicles, is teaming with other companies to showcase its UAVs, equipped with cameras and radio-frequency identification tags, for potential government and commercial customers around the country.
[...]
UA Vision and its sister company, Co-Operative Engineering Services Inc., are involved with other companies, the Air Force and Dayton-area colleges in efforts to build UAV industry expertise and obtain federal approval for UAV test-flying airspace in the region.

Under provisions in the 2012 National Defense A...

2011-12-23T12:44:47.161-05:00
Under provisions in the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, six new pilot test sites for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) will be established by the Federal Aviation Administration. The Defense Department and FAA will use the test sites to integrate UAS into national airspace use for a variety of different applications, rather than the current functions essentially limited to military use overseas or in restricted U.S. airspace.
Defense bill calls for domestic UAS test sites

Reported in DBJ and DDN: the Dayton Development Coalition (which was recently hired by the State of Ohio to spend $10M) has hired SAIC to do a study on how to attract UAV development and production companies.

DDTC Publishes New Proposed Aircraft Rules
First, for certain aircraft, such as the F-22, parts and components will still be controlled if they were “specially designed” for those aircraft. And DDTC concedes it hasn’t figured out a good way to define “specially designed,” conceding that the definition used in the December notice was being revised and would be the subject of a future notice.

Second, not all the covered aircraft are positively defined. Under the proposed revision of Category VIII, “armed unmanned aerial vehicles” are covered, which makes eminent sense, but so are “unarmed military unmanned aerial vehicles.” I can hear you asking now what makes an unarmed UAV a military UAV? DDTC concedes it has no earthly idea itself of the answer to this question, and asks for comments on this matter, sort of like the stumped contestant in “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” using the audience lifeline.

Military Adding Robotic Helicopters To Fleet.
2011-11-10T11:57:30.681-05:00
Military Adding Robotic Helicopters To Fleet.
AFP (11/9) reports, "The US military plans to add a lethal new drone to its fleet -- a robotic helicopter for the US Navy equipped with laser-guided rockets, defense giant Northrop Grumman said Wednesday." The new armed helicopters, known as "the Fire Scouts...mark a new era in naval warfare, offering an alternative to pilots flying attack helicopters or fighter jets off warships and" reflect "a broader shift to robotic technology across the US military in recent years." A Northrop Grumman spokesman said that "the operational system" for the Fire Scouts "will be delivered by 2013." One model, the MQ-8B Fire Scout is already being used in US Navy reconnaissance missions.

The DDN story linked in the post mentions that air...

2011-09-07T13:39:14.222-04:00
The DDN story linked in the post mentions that airspace is a critical aspect of this deal.

Here's some more background on the UAV airspace saga in Dayton: Rift between 2 vying for drone airspace could hinder progress

Dayton's Cluster Competition Oklahoma Being...

2011-09-06T10:42:08.266-04:00
Dayton's Cluster Competition
Oklahoma Being Promoted As UAS Home.
The Tulsa (OK) World (9/5, Greene) reported, "Gov. Mary Fallin is promoting Oklahoma as the best possible location for companies to build unmanned aerial systems - please, don't call them drones - for military, civil and commercial use." The article noted Fallin was the only state governor at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International conference. Furthermore, Stephen McKeever was recently appointed "to lead the state's Unmanned Aerial Systems Council, a panel of public and private experts charged with formulating a plan for state UAS development." The article noted that over the next decade, "the state will be able to gauge the success of the effort in the number of jobs created, the number of companies locating in the state, the number of companies starting here, and the total economic impact, [McKeever] said."

Comments on Various Consequences: Airframer for Dayton Aerospace Cluster

UAV Provision To Benefit Cinematography Industr...

Under provisions in the 2012 National Defense A...

Reported in DBJ and DDN: the Dayton Development Coalition (which was recently hired by the State of Ohio to spend $10M) has hired SAIC to do a study on how to attract UAV development and production companies.

The DDN story linked in the post mentions that air...

Dayton's Cluster Competition Oklahoma Being...