Drones’ June Test Flights to Carry Rutgers’ Research Aloft

CREST HAVEN — Another test of drones is tentatively scheduled to take off from Cape May County Airport June 16. Joseph M. Sheairs, executive director of Stockton Aviation Research and Technology Park briefed freeholders May 26.
Sheairs told the board he is “In a position to assume the master lease from the FAA.” He termed as “mind boggling” trying to deal with the U.S. and state economic development agencies and other “players” involved in getting the park started. He spent 34 years at the FAA Technical Center in Atlantic County, and is a veteran air traffic controller.
“I feel like I’m in the right position to make it happen,” he said.
That made the board perk up, especially Freeholder Will Morey who had been working closely with Sheairs to get the county’s economic development engine turning centered around drones and their technology at the county airport in Erma.
Sheairs rehearsed the assets of the airport, including its proximity to the bay and ocean, and located close to, yet far below, some of the air highways to some of the world’s busiest airports in New York, Philadelphia, and Newark. That is one thing the FAA was anxious to learn, how drones would interact with commercial aviation.
Drones that will be tested from the airport are not tiny drones that take images of houses and beaches and cost just a few hundred dollars. Test drones will have 17-foot wingspans, and be capable of carrying up to payloads of 160 pounds in cargo bays. Additionally, they will be packed with avionic equipment that will enable them to be tracked by air traffic controllers.
“We are deeply involved with research,” Sheairs said. When he asked officials at Rutgers University about projects, they responded with seven test projects within a day.
If weather cooperates and a launch can be effected June 16, four of those Rutgers research projects will be aboard, including one that will do 3-D analysis of objects on the ground, another that will prove whether drones can be used to check cracks in a pipeline, Sheairs said. Another project is to do bridge analysis within a mile of the county airport.
Another agency interested is the Department of Transportation which wants to learn if aerial analysis of asphalt and how it wears over time is feasible.
During Superstorm Sandy, he said first responders lost Internet. That could be a thing of the past because, Sheairs said, “We have a means to put up airborne Internet within 16 hours. We can create airborne internet in matter of hours and it is very sustainable.”
Another feature of 3-D imaging would be the ability of a drone to fly from Cape May Point to Sandy Hook, 170 miles, and take images of the entire length to provide researchers with a true three dimensional image of the beachfront.
Safety is paramount in every launch, he said. That includes people on the ground and in the air. “My job is to run the test site, set up infrastructure and insure the safety of air space,” he added.
Morey added that the runway to be used in the drone testing is not one of the main runways at the airport. Two runways will remain open to air traffic throughout the test times, he added.
Pilots of the drones will first practice takeoffs and landings, Sheairs said.
Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton, an Air Force veteran, said on hearing of the concept, “We will do what is necessary to support this project. I think we have to take a hard look and make the investment necessary to Cape May County.” He added that, “Worldwide this (drones and technology) will be a multi-billion business. This is exciting.”
“Ultimately it is in our interest for the economic development issue,” said Morey, who oversees the county’s economic development.