GA-ASI
Conducts First Flight Test from Upgraded
FTTC
On August 30th, General
Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.
(GA-ASI) flew its first test flight out
of its new Flight Test and Training
Center (FTTC) facility in Grand Forks,
North Dakota. The GA-ASI Block 5
Predator® B/MQ-9 Remotely
Piloted Aircraft (RPA) flew a round-trip
of approximately 1,075 nautical miles.
This was the longest transit flown by a
Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) in Class
A civilian airspace under a Certificate
of Waiver or Authorization (COA) granted
by the FAA. The COA authorized the Block
5 MQ-9 to fly in airspace managed by air
traffic controllers without the
requirement of utilizing a “chase”
airplane.
“This flight signified several
‘firsts’ for us and for the industry,”
said David R. Alexander, president,
Aircraft Systems, GA-ASI. “As we
continue to demonstrate our ability to
fly RPA safely alongside passenger
planes, we further our efforts towards
certifying the aircraft and increasing
their mission possibilities in Class A
civilian airspace.”
Additionally, this was the first time
an unmanned aircraft operated through
multiple spot beams of a High-throughput
Satellite (HTS). HTS is a new generation
of satellites providing higher data
throughput and interference mitigation.
As an RPA’s mission distance increases,
it needs to be able to transition
seamlessly from one satellite beam to
another. For this flight, the Block 5
MQ-9 communicated with two HTS beams.
GA-ASI announced the completion of a
new permanent hangar for its FTTC in
Grand Forks on August 21st.
The new hangar replaces the temporary
facility that had been in operation
since June 2016. It houses GA-ASI
operational hardware, including RPA and
ground control stations, as well as
offices and conference rooms. In
addition to conducting flight tests, the
FTTC operation operates an office
building near the University of North
Dakota campus that features classrooms
and a Predator Mission Aircrew Training
System for accomplishing the academic
and simulator segments of training.
