Drones to fly in South Point arena
The state will partner with the South Point to provide Nevada’s first indoor unmanned aerial vehicle test range.
Ryan Growney, general manager of the 2,163-room property on Las Vegas Boulevard South, said the company is in talks with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development’s Nevada Institute of Autonomous Systems to permit test flying small drones at the South Point Arena and Equestrian Center.
The arrangement was mentioned Thursday in Economic Development Director Steve Hill’s report to the board of directors. Hill did not elaborate in comments to board members at the meeting.
Indoor drone flights would be suitable only for the smallest of vehicles. Unmanned aerial vehicles are categorized by weight and the two lightest classifications — up to 12 pounds and 12-55 pounds — would work best indoors. Helicopter-type vehicles would be more suitable indoors than small fixed-wing aircraft.
“Our type of environment would be a great place for this type of testing,” Growney said. “We’re looking forward to working with them.”
Growney said the state already has conducted some brief test flights in the 4,600-seat arena which has a 250-by-150-foot floor.
The 13½-year-old property, owned by Michael Gaughan, was one of the first contacted by the Institute of Autonomous Systems, the Economic Development Office arm dedicated to developing Nevada’s fledgling unmanned aerial vehicle industry.
The state proposes to have a network of potential indoor sites to assure availability any day. The challenge will be to coordinate calendars so there’s at least one venue available that is between conventions or trade shows.
The Federal Aviation Administration in late December named Nevada one of six states to conduct drone test flights in the agency’s initiative to integrate unmanned aircraft into the federal airspace by late 2015. Four airports in Nevada were identified as test sites, including Boulder City Airport south of Las Vegas.
The idea to develop a network of indoor test ranges came from Bowhead, the contractor working with the state’s unmanned aircraft systems program management office.
Another advantage to providing indoor test ranges is that the airspace isn’t overseen by the FAA, which means a company wanting to begin test flights doesn’t have to file for a certificate of airworthiness from the agency, a requirement for any outdoor test-range flights.
The first outdoor test is scheduled later this summer at the Department of Energy-operated Desert Rock Airport on the Nevada National Security Site.
Contact reporter Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow him on Twitter @RickVelotta.
