PRESS RELEASE
ATLAS CENTER HOSTS THE FIRST FLIGHT BEYOND VISUAL LINE OF SIGHT WITH AN UNMANNED AIRCRAFT IN SPAIN
-This is the first Beyond Visual Line of Sight flight to be held in Spain after the entry into force of the new regulations about the use of aerial systems and unmanned aircraft (UAS/RPAS), which were approved in early July by the Ministry of Development.
-The flight, authorized and approved by the Spanish Aviation Safety Agency (AESA), has been successfully operated by specialized CATEC pilots. The unmanned aircraft has gone through a distance of 18 Km., at an altitude of 3,300 feet. The operation has been coordinated with the Control Center (ACC) of the AENA’s Regional Bureau for Southern Air Navigation, which manages air traffic across the southern peninsular airspace.
-This event has been possible thanks to the segregated airspace of the ATLAS Center, a requirement established by the new regulation to allow unmanned flights beyond visual line of sight of the pilot or control center.
-The initiative is an important milestone for the Spanish aerospace industry to advance as a leader in the field of unmanned aircrafts and systems. This is also a landmark for the ATLAS Center to continue at the forefront of R&D on new applications with this type of aircrafts, one of the sectors of the global aeronautic industry with higher growth.
-ATLAS is located in the town of Villacarrillo (Jaén) and features an aerodrome with excellent facilities for conducting flight tests with light unmanned aircrafts, including a main runway of 600 meters, a technical building and control tower for planning and monitoring missions, as well as several hangars for housing and maintaining the UAS.
Jaén (Spain), 20th August 2014.- Today, the experimental Flight Center ATLAS for tests and trials with unmanned aircraft systems has hosted the first flight beyond visual line of sight (BLOS) to be held in Spain with this type of aircraft since the entry into force of the new regulation on the use of aerial systems and unmanned aircrafts (UAS / RPAS), approved by the Ministry of Development early last July .
This is the first civil flight of this kind carried out in Spanish territory with an unmanned aircraft beyond visual line of sight of a pilot, previously authorized and approved by the Spanish Aviation Safety Agency (AESA), the entity that is responsible for the supervision, inspection, and air transport and navigation in Spain. The new regulation on the use of unmanned aircrafts limits civilian flights in non-segregated airspaces to VLOS flights (Visual Line of Sight), where the aircraft can only get up to 500 meters away from the pilot or control center and about 400 feet above the ground.
The flight developed today in ATLAS has been possible thanks to the center’s own segregated airspace, a requirement established in the new regulation that allows UAS / RPAS flights beyond the visual line of sight. Specifically, in the flight performed in ATLAS, in Jaen, the unmanned aircraft has flown away more than 8 Km. from the facilities and has gone through a distance of 18 Km. throughout the test, at an altitude of 3,300 feet above sea level. The entire operation has been coordinated with the Control Center (ACC) in Seville, of the Regional Bureau of Southern Air Navigation of AENA, which manages air traffic across the southern peninsular airspace.
This event is a very important step for positioning the Spanish aerospace industry as a leader in the field of unmanned aircrafts and systems, and it is a demonstration that flights can be performed in Spain with this type of aircraft legally beyond 400 feet high, opening new business and market opportunities for companies in this sector. It also allows performing tests with new technologies related to this field, such as advanced mission capabilities, large autonomous aircrafts, range of communications systems, etc.
In addition, this first BLOS flight places the ATLAS Center at the forefront in the area of research and development of new applications with UAS/RPAS, consolidating its infrastructures as internationally strategic, and as one of those destined to play an important role in the future of this emerging sector, one of those with the greatest scope in the European and world aviation, due to its new civilian and or commercial applications. In fact, ATLAS is one of few places in Europe where flights can be performed in a 30x35Km segregated airspace, with a full civil management.
The flight was carried out by specialized pilots of the Advanced Aerospace Technology Center (CATEC) using the Viewer aircraft, which has a wingspan of 4.8 meters, a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 15 Kg., and a cruising speed of 21 m/s (about 70 km./hr or 40 knots). It is an electric airplane with about 90 minutes flight autonomy, and 2.5 kg payload. To perform the test, the Viewer included a transponder to facilitate appropriate monitoring by the Center for air Traffic Control.
About ATLAS
ATLAS (Air Traffic Laboratory for Advanced Systems) is a test center that offers the international aerospace community an airfield equipped with excellent scientific and technological facilities, as well as an airspace ideal for the development of experimental flights with tactical and light unmanned aerial systems and aircrafts (UAS / RPAS). Supported by the Andalusian Foundation for Aerospace Development (FADA), ATLAS hosts the first permanent facilities dedicated exclusively to safely conduct testing, simulation and validation of technology applicable to unmanned systems and air traffic management (ATM ).
ATLAS is the first center in Europe with facilities that have been specifically designed for research and development of these technologies, one of the sub-sectors with the greatest worldwide scope in the aerospace industry. The center is located in the town of Villacarrillo (Jaén), and it is noted for having ideal weather, topography and location for the development of experimental unmanned aircraft flights, with more than 300 operations per year.
The center aims to play an important role in the validation of new technologies and applications for use in civil fields, such as the management of natural disasters, fires, environmental accidents, monitoring land or sea traffic, communications, meteorology, protection of environment, support for agriculture and forestry applications, aerial photography, cinematography, cartography, and applications in defence, security and civil protection.
ATLAS facilities include a main runway of 600 meters long and an auxiliary of 400 meters, a technical building and control tower for planning and monitoring missions and other services, two separate hangars with maintenance and repair workshops of the UAS, as well as a pool of segregated airspace with an approximate area of over 1,000 km2.
ATLAS already has partnerships with major companies and organizations in the international aerospace industry such as Boeing Research & Technology-Europe (BR & T-Europe), the European center for R & D of Boeing, to provide the use of facilities and assist in testing technologies related to unmanned aerial vehicles. It is also working to close further agreements with other companies and organizations in the sector that have shown special interest in using the center for testing and UAS flights.
About CATEC
CATEC is an advanced technology center that contributes to improving the competitiveness of aerospace companies through scientific research, technology transfer and advanced services. It is supported by the Andalusian Foundation for Aerospace Development (FADA), chaired by the Ministry of Economy, Innovation, Science and Employment through the Agency for Innovation and Development of Andalusia (IDEA), it is a unique private center in Spain for its wide technological capabilities and highly skilled workforce of more than 65 specialists and technicians, most of them with University degrees.
In six years of existence, it has become one of the most active technology centers and with the widest scope in R&D projects both in Spain and Europe, especially in the fields of Avionics and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). CATEC currently works in more than 40 R&D projects, both with public research organizations and with private companies, leading several initiatives under the VII Framework Programme of the European Commission. As well as unmanned systems, CATEC focuses its research lines in other areas such as Materials and Processes, Robotics, and Simulation, and Software.
Further information
Press office: Daniel Ruiz / Jesús Herrera
(+34) 954 62 27 27 / (+34) 618 95 82 51 / (+34) 625 87 27 80
ATLAS CENTER HOSTS THE FIRST FLIGHT BEYOND VISUAL LINE OF SIGHT WITH AN UNMANNED AIRCRAFT IN SPAIN
-This is the first Beyond Visual Line of Sight flight to be held in Spain after the entry into force of the new regulations about the use of aerial systems and unmanned aircraft (UAS/RPAS), which were approved in early July by the Ministry of Development.
-The flight, authorized and approved by the Spanish Aviation Safety Agency (AESA), has been successfully operated by specialized CATEC pilots. The unmanned aircraft has gone through a distance of 18 Km., at an altitude of 3,300 feet. The operation has been coordinated with the Control Center (ACC) of the AENA’s Regional Bureau for Southern Air Navigation, which manages air traffic across the southern peninsular airspace.
-This event has been possible thanks to the segregated airspace of the ATLAS Center, a requirement established by the new regulation to allow unmanned flights beyond visual line of sight of the pilot or control center.
-The initiative is an important milestone for the Spanish aerospace industry to advance as a leader in the field of unmanned aircrafts and systems. This is also a landmark for the ATLAS Center to continue at the forefront of R&D on new applications with this type of aircrafts, one of the sectors of the global aeronautic industry with higher growth.
-ATLAS is located in the town of Villacarrillo (Jaén) and features an aerodrome with excellent facilities for conducting flight tests with light unmanned aircrafts, including a main runway of 600 meters, a technical building and control tower for planning and monitoring missions, as well as several hangars for housing and maintaining the UAS.
Jaén (Spain), 20th August 2014.- Today, the experimental Flight Center ATLAS for tests and trials with unmanned aircraft systems has hosted the first flight beyond visual line of sight (BLOS) to be held in Spain with this type of aircraft since the entry into force of the new regulation on the use of aerial systems and unmanned aircrafts (UAS / RPAS), approved by the Ministry of Development early last July .
This is the first civil flight of this kind carried out in Spanish territory with an unmanned aircraft beyond visual line of sight of a pilot, previously authorized and approved by the Spanish Aviation Safety Agency (AESA), the entity that is responsible for the supervision, inspection, and air transport and navigation in Spain. The new regulation on the use of unmanned aircrafts limits civilian flights in non-segregated airspaces to VLOS flights (Visual Line of Sight), where the aircraft can only get up to 500 meters away from the pilot or control center and about 400 feet above the ground.
The flight developed today in ATLAS has been possible thanks to the center’s own segregated airspace, a requirement established in the new regulation that allows UAS / RPAS flights beyond the visual line of sight. Specifically, in the flight performed in ATLAS, in Jaen, the unmanned aircraft has flown away more than 8 Km. from the facilities and has gone through a distance of 18 Km. throughout the test, at an altitude of 3,300 feet above sea level. The entire operation has been coordinated with the Control Center (ACC) in Seville, of the Regional Bureau of Southern Air Navigation of AENA, which manages air traffic across the southern peninsular airspace.
This event is a very important step for positioning the Spanish aerospace industry as a leader in the field of unmanned aircrafts and systems, and it is a demonstration that flights can be performed in Spain with this type of aircraft legally beyond 400 feet high, opening new business and market opportunities for companies in this sector. It also allows performing tests with new technologies related to this field, such as advanced mission capabilities, large autonomous aircrafts, range of communications systems, etc.
In addition, this first BLOS flight places the ATLAS Center at the forefront in the area of research and development of new applications with UAS/RPAS, consolidating its infrastructures as internationally strategic, and as one of those destined to play an important role in the future of this emerging sector, one of those with the greatest scope in the European and world aviation, due to its new civilian and or commercial applications. In fact, ATLAS is one of few places in Europe where flights can be performed in a 30x35Km segregated airspace, with a full civil management.
The flight was carried out by specialized pilots of the Advanced Aerospace Technology Center (CATEC) using the Viewer aircraft, which has a wingspan of 4.8 meters, a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 15 Kg., and a cruising speed of 21 m/s (about 70 km./hr or 40 knots). It is an electric airplane with about 90 minutes flight autonomy, and 2.5 kg payload. To perform the test, the Viewer included a transponder to facilitate appropriate monitoring by the Center for air Traffic Control.
About ATLAS
ATLAS (Air Traffic Laboratory for Advanced Systems) is a test center that offers the international aerospace community an airfield equipped with excellent scientific and technological facilities, as well as an airspace ideal for the development of experimental flights with tactical and light unmanned aerial systems and aircrafts (UAS / RPAS). Supported by the Andalusian Foundation for Aerospace Development (FADA), ATLAS hosts the first permanent facilities dedicated exclusively to safely conduct testing, simulation and validation of technology applicable to unmanned systems and air traffic management (ATM ).
ATLAS is the first center in Europe with facilities that have been specifically designed for research and development of these technologies, one of the sub-sectors with the greatest worldwide scope in the aerospace industry. The center is located in the town of Villacarrillo (Jaén), and it is noted for having ideal weather, topography and location for the development of experimental unmanned aircraft flights, with more than 300 operations per year.
The center aims to play an important role in the validation of new technologies and applications for use in civil fields, such as the management of natural disasters, fires, environmental accidents, monitoring land or sea traffic, communications, meteorology, protection of environment, support for agriculture and forestry applications, aerial photography, cinematography, cartography, and applications in defence, security and civil protection.
ATLAS facilities include a main runway of 600 meters long and an auxiliary of 400 meters, a technical building and control tower for planning and monitoring missions and other services, two separate hangars with maintenance and repair workshops of the UAS, as well as a pool of segregated airspace with an approximate area of over 1,000 km2.
ATLAS already has partnerships with major companies and organizations in the international aerospace industry such as Boeing Research & Technology-Europe (BR & T-Europe), the European center for R & D of Boeing, to provide the use of facilities and assist in testing technologies related to unmanned aerial vehicles. It is also working to close further agreements with other companies and organizations in the sector that have shown special interest in using the center for testing and UAS flights.
About CATEC
CATEC is an advanced technology center that contributes to improving the competitiveness of aerospace companies through scientific research, technology transfer and advanced services. It is supported by the Andalusian Foundation for Aerospace Development (FADA), chaired by the Ministry of Economy, Innovation, Science and Employment through the Agency for Innovation and Development of Andalusia (IDEA), it is a unique private center in Spain for its wide technological capabilities and highly skilled workforce of more than 65 specialists and technicians, most of them with University degrees.
In six years of existence, it has become one of the most active technology centers and with the widest scope in R&D projects both in Spain and Europe, especially in the fields of Avionics and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). CATEC currently works in more than 40 R&D projects, both with public research organizations and with private companies, leading several initiatives under the VII Framework Programme of the European Commission. As well as unmanned systems, CATEC focuses its research lines in other areas such as Materials and Processes, Robotics, and Simulation, and Software.
Further information
Press office: Daniel Ruiz / Jesús Herrera
(+34) 954 62 27 27 / (+34) 618 95 82 51 / (+34) 625 87 27 80
