Drones operating in New York’s Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance (NUAIR) development and research flight corridor are set to increase in girth under a new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) waiver that will allow routine testing of larger, heavier UAVs.
Oneida County officials announced that the FAA delivered their waiver request for regular flights by drones of up to 300 pounds within the 50-mile swath of NUAIR’s dedicated airspace between Syracuse and Rome, New York. Oneida County is home to Griffiss International Airport, the key facility in the state’s effort to develop UAV applications and uses, and establish an ecosystem positioning New York as a leader in the sector.
Read: NUAIR unveils NY-Quebec AAM corridor development project
Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr. said the FAA authorization will save drone operators using the NUAIR corridor – as well as federal employees – a great deal of time by avoiding the case-by-case request and approval process that was previously required for flights of large, heavy craft.
“This new FAA designation removes some previous restrictions making it easier to test larger drones,” said Picente of what is known as a Charlie waiver. “Our test site is already the global leader for UAS research and development, and now, we will be able to test more advanced operations and be financially compensated for it.”
The Oneida County UAS Test Site is one of seven specialized US drone development projects recognized by the FAA, and is operated with partners NUAIR and AX Enterprize. It has hosted over 5,000 test flights thus far, and has continually expanded its range of trial capabilities through a growing list of regulatory waivers.
Read: FAA OKs BVLOS drone flights across entire NUAIR UAV corridor
According to Pincente, the new FAA green light for larger drones will accelerate the county and state’s work with NUAIR in pursuing:
- Research, development testing and evaluation
- Operational suitability demonstrations
- Familiarization flights
- Crew training flights
- Likely failure and specific demonstration testing
- Noise testing
- Flights to substantiate major design changes
- Flights to show compliance with the function and reliability requirements of the regulations
- Market survey
- Flights that are part of the durability and reliability-based means of compliance type certificate
An FAA official quoted in Pincente’s announcement said the objective in issuing the waiver was to speed the process of testing larger and heavier drones in the NUAIR corridor, and enhance the effectiveness of trials by allowing operators to focus on testing, rather than administrative approval processes.
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