Boulder County, Colo.-based UASUSA, which says it has been manufacturing unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for seven years, has received a commercial exemption for its TEMPEST and RECON fixed-wing drones.
According to UASUSA, the TEMPEST has a 10-foot wingspan and can carry a 10-lb. payload. In addition, the aircraft can fly for up to 90 minutes and is capable of operating in winds up to 50 mph. The company says it first designed the TEMPEST in 2009 to chase and study thunderstorms and tornadoes for the University of Colorado.
With the motor and propeller system aft of the payload, the RECON was constructed and designed to offer a clear payload view, explains UASUSA, which adds that the UAS has an 8-foot wingspan and weight of 6.8 lbs.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration exemption grant, the company is authorized to use the two UAS for “agricultural applications, aerial inspections, mapping, surveying, search and rescue, research and development, and product demonstrations.”
“The exemption is important to the company, as our customers are rapidly incorporating drones into their workflow and data-capturing processes. It eases our testing and demonstration process and validates our airframe once again,” says Skip Miller, CEO of UASUSA. “A number of our customers and partners had previously received exemptions to fly the TEMPEST or RECON. Precision agriculture, power transmission line monitoring and land surveying are a few of the areas where customers are employing drones. New applications are arising each day.”
