Unmanned Aerial Systems services contract at NASA Ames Research Center

NASA's Ames Research Center in California plans to issue a Final Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Aircraft Related Services (ARS) contract.

The purpose of the ARS procurement is to provide services in support of the U.S. Army requirements for aircraft operations and maintenance as well as NASA requirements for Unmanned Aerial Systems at Ames Research Center. This procurement will support research, technical investigations, scientific studies, airworthiness activities, and flight operations.

The ARS requirements support the Army Aeroflightdynamics Directorate, a division of the Research, Development and Engineering Command/NASA Ames Rotorcraft Division and the Ames Aviation Management Office. This procurement will provide services in the following technical areas: mechanical systems, electrical/electronic systems, instrumentation, hardware fabrication, software, and data systems. The work will be performed primarily at Ames in Moffett Field, Calif.

NASA plans to issue the Final RFP Aug. 31 with contract award on Jan. 25, 2016. “This procurement will be for five years with a one year base period, one two year option and two, one year option periods,” NASA said in contract documents released Friday.

NASA is scheduling an Industry Meeting with the Contracting Officer and Technical Representatives to discuss the procurement and technical requirements during Aug. 10 through Aug. 12, before release of the RFP.

USGS Alaska using unmanned aircraft to survey walrus herds

The U.S. Geological Survey located in Anchorage, Alaska, intends to make a non-competitive contract award to the University of Alaska (Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration) located in Fairbanks for flight services to acquire data using an unmanned aircraft system (UAS).

The objectives of the services are related to investigating the potential of using a UAS for photographic surveys of walrus herds on sea ice in the Chukchi Sea and coastal haulouts in northwest Alaska.

"The University of Alaska is the only known source that has the experience with marine mammal surveys in conjunction with the appropriate UAS type (hexacopter or other rotary platform) and imaging technology (real-time video in conjunction with high resolution photography) for the study," USGS officials said in contract documents released Friday.

Realtors flying drones to market property listings

There will be a time when realtors can legally fly an unmanned aerial system (UAS), or drone, around property listings to capture images for marketing purposes, but that time has not yet arrived, at least not completely. That's according to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials who told realtors Friday during the “When, Where and How can I Use My Drone” session at the Realtors Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo.

According to Jim Williams, manager of FAA's UAS Integration Office, the agency's administrator Michael Huerta is committed to quickly finalizing the federal rules for the commercial use of UAS in national airspace, which is currently prohibited. Until that time, realtors can apply for a Section 333 waiver, which provides a limited-use permit to the applicant and comes with many safety restrictions on use of the machine.

Panelist Doug Trudeau of Tierra Antigua Realty in Tuscon, Ariz., the first realtor to apply for and receive a Section 333 exemption from the FAA to create marketing videos for property listings, discussed the waiver application process and offered advice to other realtors who are interested in pursuing a waiver.

After contacting an attorney with the FAA, Trudeau said he did several weeks of research on his own and chose to complete the application without hiring a private attorney. The guidelines are fairly clear, Trudeau said, but he could have saved himself some headaches if he had logged his previous UAS flying times and made sure his quadcopter was built in the U.S., because the FAA will not register a UAS that is registered by any foreign government.

From start to finish, the process took Trudeau 170 days, but he said it should go a lot faster for new applicants.

The FAA has received more than 1,200 waiver applications, approved 311, and is on track to approve 20 to 40 waivers each week.

Some of the earlier waivers restrict operators from flying a UAS within five miles of any airport, while other waivers limit it to two miles. Williams said that safety is the agency's biggest concern, and because UAS are so easy to purchase and fly, it's a growing problem.

"A lot of folks out there don't understand the risk they are getting into when they operate near an airport. It's potentially very dangerous," said Williams, who also encouraged realtors to call the FAA and report any UAS activity near airports.

The FAA is working on ways to approve UAS flights over major metropolitan areas and also flights that go beyond the line of sight of the operator. On May 6, National Association of Realtors President Chris Polychron issued a statement in support of the FAA's intention to study the safety of these flights, which could lead to important benefits in the real estate industry, particularly for agents who wish to market rural and large commercial properties.

During the session, NAR Associate Counsel Lesley Walker advised the audience that until the FAA finalizes its regulations, Realtors should refrain from using UAS technology for commercial marketing purposes.

Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle market worth $1.6 billion

The small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) market will reach $1.61 billion in 2015, according to a new report published by Visiongain, a London-based research firm that produces market research reports giving a 10-year forecast.

The wide variety of applications in which small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be deployed is growing every day. As this growth-platform finds new uses, the demand for small UAVs will be significant, with a wide and varied geographical spread. This growth is forecast to vary country-by-country and by design type. Understanding these dynamics - particularly the variations and intricacies the market produces - will be crucial to those seeking to invest in the small UAV market.

Homeland security and defense applications are set to grow, particularly as payloads grow to enable collection of a wide variety of data (such as CBRN threats, facial recognition, military ISTAR sensors and others), as are data-collecting applications for research purposes.

The use of small UAVs to replace manned tasks which risk life and limb reduces the liabilities associated with traditional inspection and detection techniques (patrolling, etc). The automation of small UAVs will also likely bring great cost and time savings for applications such as agricultural spraying, delivery of goods and many other applications.

FAA partners with CNN to help expand unmanned aircraft operations in US

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is partnering with three leading U.S. companies who have committed extensive resources to perform research that will help the agency determine if and how they can safely expand unmanned aircraft operations in the United States.

The partnering effort, known as Pathfinder Program, was announced by FAA Administrator Michael Hureta on Wednesday at the Unmanned Systems 2015 conference in Atlanta, Ga.

“The unmanned aircraft industry is changing faster than any segment of the aviation industry,” Hureta said. “People are finding new ways to use these devices on almost a daily basis.” Three companies reached out to the FAA to work with the agency and explore three key types of unmanned operations.

CNN will be researching how visual line-of-sight operations might be used for newsgathering in urban areas.

PrecisionHawk, a manufacturer, will be surveying crops in rural areas using unmanned aircraft flying outside of the pilot’s direct vision.

BNSF Railroad will explore the challenges of using these vehicles to inspect their rail infrastructure beyond visual line-of-sight in isolated areas.

“We anticipate receiving valuable data from each of these trials that could result in FAA-approved operations in the next few years,” Hureta said. “They will also give insight into how unmanned aircraft can be used to transform the way certain industries do business – whether that means making sure trains run on time, checking on the health of crops, or reporting on a natural disaster.

“Integrating unmanned aircraft into our airspace is a big job, and it’s one the FAA is determined to get right. Earlier this year, we took an important step forward by releasing a proposed rule that laid out a flexible framework for allowing the routine use of small unmanned aircraft. It included a number of common sense provisions, like not flying near airports, at night, or more than 500 feet off the ground. It also recommended requiring the operator to be able to see the unmanned vehicle at all times.

“The FAA received more than 4,000 public comments on the proposal, and we’re working to address them before finalizing the rule.

“This, however, takes time – so we’re actively looking for other ways to expand the use of unmanned aircraft in the meantime. We’re receiving valuable information from our six national test sites. We’re also accommodating requests for some commercial operations. The Pathfinder program is our latest step in the right direction – and I’m eager to see the results.”

The future of Naval Aviation Unmanned Air Systems

The U.S. Navy's Program Executive Office for Unmanned Aviation and Weapons, PEO(U&W), is planning to conduct an Industry Day meeting and follow-on Idea Days to provide opportunities for industry to learn about the technology needs of PEO(U&W) with the potential for follow-on briefings regarding technologies that industry has developed.

“This opportunity is open to all companies that have new and innovative ideas to support the future of Naval Aviation Unmanned Air System (UAS) and Weapon programs,” the Navy said in a Special Notice released Tuesday.

The Industry Day meeting will be held April 16 at the Bay District Volunteer Fire Department Social Hall in Lexington Park, Md. The Idea Days meeting will be an opportunity for industry to brief the Navy on developed technologies that may benefit PEO(U&W) UAS programs.

Interior Department request additional unmanned helicopter demos

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), Office of Aviation Services, seeks companies interested in demonstrating their optionally-piloted heavy lift helicopter, according to a Special Notice document released Wednesday.

The demonstration is tentatively planned for May 2015 in Boise, Ida. The exact date, time, and location will be formalized in the coming weeks and a follow-up announcement will be made at that time. In Novermber 2014, Kaman Aerospace and Lockheed Martin doused controlled burns with an optionally piloted K-MAX helicopter during flight demonstrations in upstate New York.

“This event will be open to companies capable of providing and operating an optionally piloted heavy lift helicopter in the manned and unmanned configuration,” the Interior Department said in the Special Notice. “The purpose of this demonstration is to assess the feasibility of utilizing these types of aircraft for a variety of missions, including, but not limited to fire suppression at night and during low visibility conditions as well as cargo delivery. At this time we are asking for an initial response of capable companies interested in demonstrating this type of aircraft. As part of this demonstration, the company owned and operated, optionally piloted aircraft will be asked to perform the following scenario based missions over a one to three day period:

• External load cargo pickup in the unmanned configuration.
• External Load cargo delivery in the unmanned configuration.
• Single target water dropping.
• Progressive line building with bucket.
• Water pickup from a variety of different dip sites.
• In-flight re-tasking of the aircraft.
• Multiple load delivery (carousel hook).
• Communicate with crews on the ground to identify, locate and drop water or deliver cargo to a specific site.
• Provide Real-time optical and thermal infrared imagery to the ground control station.”

The demonstration will take place in high desert and mountainous terrain similar to wildland fire conditions and environment.

“This announcement is for information planning purposes only and it is not to be construed as a commitment by the government for any actual procurement of supplies or services,” DOI officials said.

Companies interested in participating in the flight demonstrations are invited to contact the DOI by Feb.17.

Video: New drone hangar coming to Fort Drum

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District intends to issue an Invitation For Bid solicitation package seeking to award a contract for the construction of a standard design unmanned aerial vehicle hangar. The new hangar will be located at Fort Drum, N.Y., the Army said in contract documents released Wednesday.

The work includes an operations and maintenance hangar with shops, company administration, supply space, tool and parts storage, oil/water separator, petroleum, oil and lubricant storage, hazardous waste storage, access apron, runway overrun, taxiway, enclosed aircraft container storage, fire protection and alarm systems, Intrusion Detection System installation, Energy Monitoring Control Systems connection, and building information systems.

The performance period for the contract will be approximately 545 calendar days from the issuance of the Notice to Proceed. The project magnitude is between $10 million and $25 million. The Army anticipates the hangar plans and specifications will be available on Jan. 30 with a bid opening on March 3.