How Local Governments are Integrating UAVs into One of the Nations Busiest Airspaces

 

The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is home to one of the busiest airports in the country. Lots of planes in the sky means a massive logistical headache for integrating drones into the airspace. But everything’s bigger in Texas, even the gumption to find solutions to difficult challenges; now, a coalition of local governments wants to take on that UAV airspace challenge for DFW.

Ernest Huffman, founder of the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), created a dedicated voluntary association of local governments to assist in regional planning for all modes of transportation, including the safe integration of UAS operations, from the smaller package delivery drones all the way up to automated air mobility taxis into the busy DFW airspace.

The group is comprised of over 300 members from various levels of government, private aviation and academia.

The group’s founder joined us on MarketScale to discuss how the organization entered into an agreement with NASA, as well as to discuss their plans to launch beyond visual line of sight operations as a part of larger smart city initiatives.

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