With Cal UAS, connections continue to be vital anchor in FAA test site bid

Once more the Cal UAS Portal team has secured another pivotal key in its bid for one of six test and research sites for unmanned systems.

We congratulate the UAS Portal on this recent acquirement, especially as it will allow team members to better integrate safety features that are so vital for the integration of unmanned aerial vehicles into the national airspace.The technology, sense-and-avoid, is a keystone to how UAVs will fly in airspace and we want to thank R3 Engineering for providing it to the Inyokern-led effort.

Not only did R3 Engineering provide the hardware, it provided crash-course training to Cal UAS volunteers.
We are investing in the Cal UAS Portal team in its bid to bring a test site to California.

While monetary assistance continues to be a must, the connections and support, whether from the community, businesses or the political grapevine, are just as essential.

They open doors otherwise left unopened for the team and in this day of tight finances, networking continues to be an absolute must for initiatives like the UAS test site.

On the home front, we continue to be amazed by the sheer brain power working behind the scenes, especially under the leadership of Eileen Shibley.

The intellectual capital available in the aerospace and engineering population from Inyokern to Mojave to NASA Dryden is astounding.

It continues to show that the Cal UAS Portal team is more than capable of leading a California effort in developing a safe approach to integrating UAVs into the national airspace.

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