One More Unmanned Aerial Vehicle In NAS

Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation told ANN this week the company recently received an Experimental Airworthiness Certificate (EAC) from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), allowing its GoldenEye 50 Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) to fly in the National Airspace System (NAS).

To date, the US aviation agency has issued only 11 EACs for UAS operations in civil airspace, with Aurora receiving the latest. Aurora won the right to fly in the NAS after successfully completing a GoldenEye 50 demonstration flight for FAA officials at the Aurora Flight Sciences of Mississippi (AMS) manufacturing facility located at the Golden Triangle Regional Airport in Columbus, MS.

The man-portable UAS is unique among current ducted fan UAS because it is able to take off vertically, autonomously transition to high-speed wingborne flight and then return to hover flight in the target 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 an FAA EAC an "outstanding company milestone," noting that this significant achievement was scored "through a lot of hard work on the part of Aurora employees and great support from the FAA."

An EAC permits UAS flight operations in specified sections of the NAS. It also authorizes unmanned aircraft manufacturers to conduct research and development, crew training and marketing demonstrations.

FMI: www.aurora.aero