HOW UAS
CAN IMPROVE
AIRPORT
MANAGEMENT
BY MICHAEL TOSCANO
The rapidly growing and innovative unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) industry has the potential to change the way a number of industries operate.
These small, easy-to-operate and inexpensive
platforms have a variety of applications, from
surveying wildlife and monitoring crops to
studying hurricanes.
It’s little surprise, then, that airports also will
benefit from this technology.
One of the pioneers in the use of UAS at airports
is the Salina Airport Authority in Kansas. Working
in collaboration with Kansas State University,
which has a certificate of authorization (COA) to
fly UAS at the airport, Salina has tested UAS for a
variety of uses on its 3,000 acres of land.
One important application of UAS at an
airport is wildlife mitigation. Wildlife in and
around airports pose serious threats to airplanes,
helicopters and other manned aircraft. The
problem of wildlife strikes garnered significant
media attention in 2009 when US Airways Flight
1549 was forced to land in the Hudson River
after geese were ingested in both engines of the
airplane. While we all remember the “Miracle on
the Hudson,” this, unfortunately, wasn’t the first
and it won’t be the last time that wildlife brought
down a plane. According to FAA, wildlife strikes,
including bird strikes, have killed more than
250 people and destroyed more than 229 aircraft
around the world since 1988.
As serious as wildlife strikes are, they are also
manageable. Airports already use several wildlife
mitigation measures that range from air cannons
and dog patrols to lasers and traps. UAS can help
augment these measures, providing airports with
a new perspective on the animals on its property
and their habitats. That’s exactly how Salina is
using the technology. By keeping track of wildlife,
the airport is better able to prevent or mitigate the
safety hazards they may cause.
Salina also has used UAS to monitor its
farmland, increasing revenue from this part of
its business. Flying over fields with imaging
devices, UAS can help detect crop stress or disease
before it is visible to the naked eye. Pinpointing
the exact areas where pesticides, fertilizers or
irrigation are needed helps to save time and money
while increasing yields. In fact, 80 percent of the
commercial market for UAS will be in precision
agriculture, according to an economic impact
report from the Association for Unmanned Vehicle
Systems International (AUVSI). Airports that
Photo on
facing page
shows a
Kansas State
University
Aeryon Scout
UAS. Photo
above shows
Professor
Kevin Price of
Kansas State
launching a
Zephyr II.
