Fri, Aug 10, 2007
Second EAC In Just Ten Weeks
Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation has received its second
Experimental Airworthiness Certificate (EAC) in ten weeks from the
FAA, allowing the GoldenEye 50 Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) to fly
in the National Airspace System (NAS). An Experimental
Airworthiness Certificate permits Unmanned Aircraft Systems flight
operations in specified sections of the National Airspace System.
It also authorizes unmanned aircraft manufacturers to conduct
research and development, crew training and marketing
demonstrations.
To date, the FAA has issued only 14 EACs for UAS operations in
civil airspace. Aurora won the right to fly in the NAS after
successfully completing a GoldenEye 50 demonstration flight for FAA
officials in Northern Virginia. The Aurora flight operations team
provided an excellent flight for the FAA under the watchful eye of
Doug Davis, Manager of the FAA's Unmanned Aircraft Program Office.
The flight demonstrated the aircraft's vertical takeoff, hover and
maneuver capabilities.
The GoldenEye 50 is unique among current ducted fan unmanned
aerial systems because it is able to take off vertically,
autonomously transition to high-speed wingborne flight and then
return to hover flight in the destination area to collect imagery
and sensor readings. The GoldenEye 50 was designed as a technology
development platform for Aurora's larger ducted fan aircraft, the
GoldenEye 80.
Dr. John S. Langford, president and chief executive officer of
Aurora Flight Sciences, called receipt of the second FAA EAC "a
testament to the continued hard work of the FAA and the Aurora
GoldenEye team."
Aurora Flight Sciences develops and provides robotic aircraft
and other advanced aerospace vehicles for scientific and military
applications. Aurora is headquartered in Manassas, VA and operates
production plants in Clarksburg, WV and Columbus, MS and a Research
and Development Center in Cambridge, MA.
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