Texas drone research center conducting tests
Source: Associated Press
Texas drone research center conducting tests
MICHAEL GRACZYK
— Jan. 15, 2014 3:09 PM EST
SARITA, Texas (AP) — The next big thing in American aviation sounds and looks like an oversized leaf blower with wings and a tail, has duct tape keeping some of its pieces in place and must be carried to a catapult that sends it into flight.
About two weeks after winning approval as one of only a handful of federal test sites, researchers from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi are putting their unmanned remote-controlled aircraft, commonly known as drones, in the air this week for another round of test flights.
An unmanned aerial vehicle known as an RS-16 took off Wednesday on the first of several flights from a gas-propelled catapult at the gigantic Kenedy Foundation Ranch in far South Texas and headed up to nearly 3,000 feet over the Gulf Coast.
About 90 minutes later, it returned safely, skidding to a stop on its belly — it doesn't have landing wheels — on a sandy dry lake bed about 8 miles inland.
Texas is among six states designated by the Federal Aviation Administration to develop test sites for drones, and the university is supervising 11 sites throughout the state. The testing is seen as a critical step in a blossoming industry that could be worth billions of dollars and result in thousands of unmanned working in commercial and research applications.
Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/texas-drone-research-center-conducting-tests
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