Remotely Piloted Aircraft Testing Field Planned for Hyde County

The North Carolina Department of Transportation issued the following news release:

The N.C. Department of Transportation, North Carolina State University and other partners are working collaboratively to establish a remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) field at Hyde County Airport.

RPA technology is expanding into a variety of fields, including agriculture, disaster planning and response, wildfire detection and weather data collection. RPAs also are used in developing products for use on traditional aircraft.

“The Hyde County site will provide a central East Coast location for private companies and university researchers to test new technology,” said NCDOT Division of Aviation Director Richard Walls. “This is a great opportunity to provide an economic boost to northeastern North Carolina.”

Other agencies collaborating on the project include the N.C. Department of Commerce, the aviation science department at Elizabeth City State University, Hyde County government and the N.C. Northeast Economic Development Commission. The RPA airspace is planned to open in 2013.

“Aerospace is an important sector for us,” said Vann Rogerson, director of the Northeast EDC. “More and more suppliers and contractors are locating nearby.”

The U.S. Coast Guard has its East Coast base in Pasquotank County, while the North Carolina Global TransPark near Kinston was recently recognized by Southern Business & Development magazine as one of the top 10 aviation and aerospace clusters in the South.

Hyde County Airport is well situated to serve the needs of RPA developers. Surrounded by agricultural fields and adjacent to restricted military airspace, the area is commonly excluded from commercial flight paths. Unmanned flights would be coordinated around general aviation at the airport.

Another plus for the Eastern North Carolina site is the region’s role in agriculture. Remotely piloted planes can be used to assess crop development, apply treatments and monitor results.

“Having an unmanned aerial launch site here fits in nicely with the economic opportunities that North Carolina has to offer,” Rogerson said.

A typical remotely piloted aircraft weighs less than 40 pounds and has a wingspan of less than 10 feet, creating a minimum of noise. RPA pilots must hold Federal Aviation Administration licenses and a certificate of authorization to use the field.

The RPA operation will be affiliated with the NextGen Air Transportation Center in Raleigh, established in 2008 to support application-oriented research and field trials in aviation technology. The center is located at the Institute for Transportation Research and Education at NC State.

Aviation field research and testing is aligned with Gov. Bev Perdue’s proposed budget that supports job creation opportunities throughout the state.