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Unmanned aircraft makes history in New Mexico

ScanEagle makes America's first-ever 'over the horizon' commercial UAS flight in lower 48 states

NEAR VAUGHN, N.M.(KRQE) - The first-ever commercial 'unmanned aircraft' flights to travel long distance "over the horizon" within the lower 48 states are now in the record books.

An Insitu ScanEagle flew several railroad track inspection flights over central New Mexico in the last week of October.

Previously, the FAA had allowed commercial UAS (unmanned aircraft system) flights that travel out of a remote control pilot's 'line of sight" - only in the remote northern Arctic, off the coast of Alaska.

Those flights were for ConocoPhillips.

The Arctic and New Mexico flights are part of an FAA program called "Pathfinders" that seeks ways to safely integrate unmanned aircraft into regular airspace with manned aircraft.

"It's all stepping stones to integration into the national airspace," said Insitu Commercial UAS Manager Charlton Evans.

Launching from Near Vaughn, New Mexico, the ScanEagle was commissioned by BNSF Railway to look at more than 60 miles of track between Vaughn and Mountainair, New Mexico.

BNSF said its UAS technology would primarily target large railway problems like washouts and bridge damage.

BNSF often conducts daily inspections on many of its thousands of miles of track and hopes to expand its already comprehensive inspection program.

"The capabilities these aircraft have to gather additional intelligence that can then be fed in real-time to track inspectors on the ground will fundamentally enhance our program and the safety of the our railroad while helping to keep our people safe in harsh and extreme conditions," said Greg Fox, a BNSF vice-president, in a prepared statement.

The ScanEagle has a wingspan of about 10 feet and can fly up to 80 miles per hour. Depending on payloads, it remain aloft for as much as 24 hours. For the New Mexico missions it flew about 1,000 feet above the ground.

Remote control operators control its flight from a mobile command center and can use various cameras and sensors to capture images and readings. Data is beamed back in real time to the command center.

ScanEagles have been serving for more than a decade in military units around the world, including in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The original aircraft was actually designed to be launched via catapult from Tuna boats so crews could spot schools of fish from the air.

The catapult launchers remain a key feature of the system today, helping keep the aircraft mobile.

"And we continue to refine it to operate it in even more remote ways with even less ground support infrastructure," said Evans.

The ScanEagle also successfully used infrared systems in the summer of 2015 to detect hotspots at the Paradise fire in Washington state's Olympic National Park.

After each flight is completed, the aircraft is captured using a tall collapsible mast equipped with shock-absorber cords that snag a wing of the aircraft as it passes by.

No runway is needed for either launch or landing.

Insitu, a Boeing company, equips ScanEagles with radio transponders that help air traffic controllers and some other aircraft to detect the unmanned aircraft. However, ScanEagles cannot yet detect other traffic.

That kind of detect and avoid technology is something the FAA is requiring the UAS industry to develop and prove, before large scale unmanned operations are allowed alongside manned aircraft.

The aircraft that conducted the New Mexico flights is a veteran trail blazer.

"That airplane that flew the first flight down there was actually also the one that flew the first flights for ConocoPhillips up in the arctic," said Evans.

"So, we have our John Hancocks in that one and we expect it to go to the Smithsonian here in not too long."