New ACUASI hangar to be built in Nenana, Alaska
DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby
Alaska’s Nenana Municipal Airport will be the site of the new 4,800-square-foot hangar. Alaska Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Center (ACUASI).
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The University of Alaska Board of Trustees has approved $3.3 million for the hangar to serve as the base for drone cargo delivery test flights between Fairbanks and Nenana. The hangar provides full-time space for drone storage and equipment maintenance and testing.
ACUASI, part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Laboratory, uses the airport for test flights and wants the city to become part of its Interior Drone Test Hub. There are currently no hangars available at the airport. Construction of the new hangar will begin by June 30 and is expected to be completed by early fall. The UAF leases land from the city.
“Having a hangar at Nenana will greatly expand our testing capacity and improve efficiency,” said ACUASI Deputy Director Nick Adkins. “We thank the board for the prompt approval of this project and the governor and legislature for funding.”
This project will be paid for by the federal COVID Relief Fund. The Alaska Legislature approved Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s request and designated his ACUASI a $10 million state share of these funds.
“We look forward to a long-term relationship with the Nenana community,” said Adkins. “The city’s airport is easily accessible and well-located for testing out-of-region cargo deliveries.”
One of seven UAS test sites designated by the FAA, the UAF has flight test areas throughout the country. ACUASI is a national leader in innovation and research in unmanned aerial systems and a leader in integrating unmanned aerial systems into the domestic airspace.
Last February, the FAA granted a regulatory exemption to the UAF’s unmanned aerial system test site. This waiver assigns ACUASI the responsibility of evaluating the airworthiness of the test site user’s drones and procedures.
ACUASI has ground control stations, antennas, generators and accessories, as well as a wide range of unmanned aerial vehicles. In addition, it possesses unmanned aerial system payloads, including detection and avoidance systems (ground and air), anti-GPS jamming systems, electro-optical/infrared cameras, lidar systems, methane detectors, aerosol samplers, and more. The center has a hangar on the East Ramp of Fairbanks International Airport. Its largest aircraft includes the 280-pound Sentry, which has a wingspan of about 13 feet and can accommodate enough fouls for a six-hour flight, and two engines and a wingspan of 16 feet, enough fuel for the flight. Includes a 299-pound Sea Hunter that carries a 10 hours.
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Ian attended Dominican University in California and graduated with a BA in English in 2019. With his lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and keen interest in technology, he now contributes to his DroneLife as a staff writer.
Miriam McNabb is editor-in-chief of DRONELIFE, CEO of professional drone services marketplace JobForDrones, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and drone regulatory environment. With her 3,000+ articles focused on the commercial drone space, Miriam is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and high tech she has over 20 years of experience in sales and marketing new technologies.
For drone industry consulting or writing, please email Miriam.
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