Architecture, engineering and geospatial (AEG) specialist Woolpert has run a series of night-time test flights of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) at Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport in support of airfield operations.
The Dayton, Ohio-based firm has also been tasked with using drones to conduct perimeter surveillance research at McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville, Tennessee.
The Knoxville flight required a Federal Aviation Administration Part 107 Waiver 107.29, while Woolpert earned a special FAA Class C airspace authorisation to operate UAS anywhere on an airfield for the Savannah/Hilton Head flight, by means of the FAA Safety Risk Management process. These clearances are the most recent received by the company to deploy UAS to support and advance airport operations.
According to Woolpert UAS technology manager and team leader Aaron Lawrence, these waivers and authorisations have enabled the firm to test strategies for providing perimeter surveillance in Knoxville and address wildlife management at Savannah, respectively.
Woolpert has been working with Savannah/Hilton Head for some time on exploring ways to integrate UAS into airport operations. Lawrence said that, to the best of his knowledge, the Class C authorisation is the first approval of its kind to have been granted by the FAA.
