A 45 Mile, Airport-to-Airport Drone Delivery in Alaska

ACUASI Demonstrates Airport to Airport Drone Delivery in Alaska

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian J. McNabb

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The Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration recently completed an important milestone in the development of a local drone industry when their SeaHunter drone completed an uncrewed flight from Nenana Airport all the way to the Fairbanks International Airport, a 45-mile journey. Conducted by a University of Alaska Fairbanks research center, the test flight, (the first airport-to-airport UAV trip in the state), was designed to show new ways to integrate UAVs into commercial air operations. ACUASI, a division of the UAF Geophysical Institute, had previously run loop routes out of Fairbanks International to practice departures, arrivals, and runway approach practice. 

The Airport to Airport Drone Delivery Demonstration

“These are some of the first steps for drone deliveries across Alaska,” ACUASI Deputy Director Nick Adkins said of Friday’s flight. “With the control tower at FAI and a route along the Tanana River, the drone and support team encountered almost all of what is needed to fly from Fairbanks to Galena, for example. A flight like this allows testing and proving of command and control links, aircraft capability, detect and avoid technologies, controlled and uncontrolled airport operations, and integration of the drones and crew into the National Airspace System.”

The SeaHunter is a twin-engine, 299-lb UAV with a 16-foot wingspan. It carries enough fuel to run for over 10 hours. Due to FAA regulations, the test flight required the use of a chase vehicle, in this case a Robinson-44 helicopter. At Fairbanks Airport, the drone was required to integrate with local air-traffic control systems, but at Nenena, which is a smaller airport, it used common radio frequencies to signal to other local pilots in the area. 

 

“What we are doing is demonstrating that drones can and will be able to integrate into normal operations at airports,” Adkins said.

UAF is one of seven FAA-designated unmanned aircraft systems test sites established to develop and test drone technology. ACUASI also sponsored the first Global Autonomous Systems Conference last month in Anchorage. The 2024 conference is scheduled for Aug. 13-15 and will again be held at Anchorage’s Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center.

Read more:

• Drone Cargo Delivery: University of Alaska to Build New Hangar for Base of Operations
• Launching Alaska’s First Large Drone Operation from an International Airport: University of Alaska
• Inside the First Truly BVLOS Quadcopter Drone Flight Without Ground Observers; A 4 Mile Linear Inspection Along the Trans-Alaska Pipeline

Ian McNabb is a staff writer based in Boston, MA. His interests include geopolitics, emerging technologies, environmental sustainability, and Boston College sports.