Eric Wiley @EWileySJ

Students will now be able to experience night flying of unmanned aircraft, thanks to a three-year waiver granted by the FAA to the Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus Applied Aviation Research Center.

The Federal Aviation Administration granted the waiver because flying an unmanned aircraft after sunset is not permitted under the FAAs Part 107 rule, the regulatory framework for civil and commercial small UAS operations.

David Burchfield, teaching assistant professor, said it will allow the school to expose students to different flight scenarios they might encounter after graduation.

There are an increasing number of night applications for UAS, such as search and rescue and ag mapping, that are becoming important. Exposing them to as many scenarios as possible will help them be better prepared for what they could face," he said.

Burchfield said the waiver can be used at both the Salina and Manhattan campuses and for any research being conducted by the university.

A first look

On Friday, K-State Polytechnic instructor Travis Balthazor conducted a commercial remote pilot training course for professionals seeking to fly UAS at night.

The course included one hour of classroom instruction covering night flight basics, necessary waivers and exemptions as well as how to set up a night-flight operation.

The FAA requires that everyone be trained on how to conduct site surveys such as identifying obstacles and hazards, Balthazor said. We go over that as well as possible night illusions, hardware requirements and human physiology and how our eyes adapt to night and the differences in day and night vision.

Additionally, students practiced night flight using an S-1000 multi-rotor aircraft.

Cones with lights were set up and students went over basic skills before attempting more difficult maneuvers.

I wanted to get them uncomfortable with the situation and where they are at in space, Balthazor said. We push them out far. We then use potential situations such as failure of motor, grand control station, primary control failure and an encroaching aircraft to see how they responded to them.

Applying knowledge

Jackson County sheriffs deputy Jeffery Roberts, who participated in Fridays course, said night search and rescue flights can be the difference in whether we find someone dead or alive.

Just a few weeks ago we had to do a search-and-rescue, but luckily we found that person during the day. If it had gotten to night and we didnt find them, we would have had to wait until the morning to continue the search.

If Im able to get trained and my department can get a waiver, then we can do search and rescues at night and better serve our people.

Read more from the original source:
KSU Polytechnic now offering UAS night flying in curriculum - Salina Journal