Shibley outlines UAS push to council
Both the city council and public received a streamlined presentation of the work the Cal Unmanned Aircraft Systems Portal team was out at Inyokern during Wednesday's council meeting.
Both the city council and public received a streamlined presentation of the work the Cal Unmanned Aircraft Systems Portal team was out at Inyokern during Wednesday's council meeting.Eileen Shibley, director of China Lake Alliance and the Cal UAS project leader, brought up some of the background and benefits the project could pose for the Indian Wells Valley and Ridgecrest.Among the background events was the Federal Aviation Administration's mandate to establish six test and research sites for its UAS initiative in its goal to integrate unmanned vehicles into the national airspace system by 2015.Shibley said when the UAS determines those test sites - which Cal UAS is vying to be part of - the federal agency would consider geographic and climatic diversity, consult with the Defense Department and NASA and consider the location of ground infrastructure and research needs.Shibley said there was initially little information available from the FAA to move forward 18 months ago, and despite the delay in the FAA releasing the requirements, Inyokern had already begun to get the ball rolling."Knowing the push for this came from the private sector, we started down the path of how to see our valley would play in this, with a hub in Inyokern but with a larger area of interest or opportunity to become a viable competitor for one of these six sites," Shibley said.Shibley displayed a map with commercial airline traffic sectors lit up in yellow, with a large square marking the Cal UAS proposed boundaries squared off."There's what some people refer to as a black hole and basically what you see is a dearth of commercial airline traffic," she said. That activity was the single largest selling point to the FAA, she said."Our airspace is probably our single biggest asset," she said. "We are remote and are basically in a military operating area."Other assets include a wide diversity of terrain the FAA is looking for, including mountains, desert, and maritime environment through its team members in San Diego."One of the things that is pushing unmanned systems efforts and is behind the legislation is the fact that the commercial sector is coming up with all kinds of applications for unmanned systems but have no place to test them," she said.By providing a test and research site, commercial aspects could be easier to pursue than the normal FAA route for applying for a test permit, a process that takes three to six months.The other area that would benefit would be the spur of growth in research applications. Shibley touted the area's brainpower as pioneers in unmanned systems., including China Lake NAWS and NASA Dryden Flight Research Center.Shibley also highlighted some of the aspects for unmanned systems in the private industry, including hazardous surveys and first-responder type aspects."Disaster relief is huge and search-and-rescue is something that could really benefit from the use of this technology," Shibley said.Shibley pointed out how beneficial UAS might have been after the oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico.The community also seemed to rally around the Cal UAS Portal initiative, she said."Most people believe that we are on the cusp of what is going to be a game-changer," Shibley said. "So what we did was scrambled and pulled together a team of people that had been together 14 months ago."However, an aggressive schedule awaits the Cal UAS team.Shibley said they had already submitted five of the initial seven volumes required for the FAA selection process. Those include team members and test areas on March 13, in addition to certification as a public entity and volumes on safety, team experience and teaming agreements on March 28.The team is currently working on Volume III, to be submitted April 11, which details airspace, the team research plan and ground infrastructure. Shibley described it as "the technical heart of the proposal." Other aspects the team was working on was the economic impact due May 6 analysis and privacy concerns due June 11.Shibley said however, that privacy was something the FAA was asking input from various project teams. After a June 11 deadline, the FAA would visit viable test site candidates and would name six sites by Dec. 31.The benefits, Shibley said, would be an infusion of jobs and boon for restaurants and hotels.However, she said that the team needed support, especially when other project teams were receiving the full backing of their respective states.She said already a team was in place to fundraiser for the project and had already received a letter of support from the city of Ridgecrest.Following the presentation, the council thanked Shibley for her efforts."Everybody has told me that you have been a real champion on this effort and I really appreciate it," said Councilman Jim Sanders. "I think it will be something that will benefit our whole valley."Vice Mayor Chip Holloway echoed Sanders and added the state should jump in to support the Cal UAS."If there is a bogie in this whole thing, my whole frustration lies with the state of California," Holloway said. "For the life of me I cannot see why they are not engaged in this."Following the meeting, Shibley commented on the value of the council's letter of support."It's another sign of support from a community that is entirely behind what we are trying to do," Shibley said. "It's heartening and it makes this tough, tough job easier knowing we enjoy this support."