Aerial Inspection Resources Conducts Transmission Tower Inspections at Warm Springs UAS Range
Warm Springs, Oregon — Aerial Inspection Resources (AIR) conducted a series of successful flights on Thursday, June 9th, at Oregon’s Warm Springs UAS Test Range.
Portland, Oregon-based AIR (www.
AIR was able to drive their equipment van directly to the launch and recovery site, which allowed for easy deployment of the S900 UAS. AIR launched the S900 and performed a series of inspections of the de-energized transmission towers. AIR has conducted hundreds of such inspections; and as expected, the flight was routine and successful. AIR took advantage of the scenic surroundings by capturing video and photographs of their platform in action for marketing purposes.
No other FAA-designated Test Range in the country can match the over twenty miles of de-energized transmission lines available at Simnasho. The site is remote and private; yet convenient to the Warm Springs road network as well as hospitality facilities at Warm Springs and Kah-Nee-Ta. The linear corridor also allows for daisy-chaining of visual observers for proof-of-concept of beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations when flights are conducted under the National Test Site COA.
Chris McMurtry, President, Aerial Inspection Resources, commented “For a company such as ours, having access to the Warm Springs Test Range’s de-energized steel lattice transmission towers is a fantastic opportunity. It enables us to continually improve our inspection technique and service offerings. We look forward to returning to Simnasho in the next few weeks to begin field tests of some products we’ve designed specifically for the powerline inspection market.”
Aurolyn Stwyer, Business Development and Marketing Manager for Warm Springs UAS Range, noted “It’s exciting to be able to help customers like AIR who have identified the value that the Simashno site offers. There’s simply nothing like it anywhere else in the Northwest. Combine that with the ease of flight approvals through the Test Ranges and we’ve got a great combination.”
For more information about the Warm Springs UAS Test Range, please visit www.wsuas.com or contact Aurolyn Stwyer, Warm Springs Ventures, at aurolyn.stwyer@wstribes.org
For information about SOAR Oregon, please visit soaroregon.com or contact Aileen Lennon, ablennon@soaroregon.
You can also follow SOAR on Twitter at @SOAROregon and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/
