Southern California was not among the six locations chosen to be a civil aviation drone test site, the Federal Aviation Administration announced on Monday. The FAA decision was a blow to Southern California and in particular to Ventura County, where the economic development association lobbied hard for the area to be chosen, noting the designation would help revive the region’s declining aerospace industry by supporting high-tech, high-paying jobs. The FAA considered proposals from 24 states. Selected were locations in Alaska, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Texas and Virginia. The sites will test drones, develop flight protocols and complete other work in an effort to prepare for the safe flying of civilian drone aircraft by 2015. The Ventura County Economic Development Association argued that Southern California was an ideal test site because it is the home to facilities operated by some of the largest companies in the drone industry, including AeroVironment Inc., Boeing Co., General Atomics, Lockheed Martin Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp. The association had created an alliance that included Cal State Channel Islands, California Luther University, UC Santa Barbara, the Jet Propulsion Lab at Cal Tech, and the Mojave Air and Space Port, which each performing separate studies. In selecting the six test site operators, the FAA said it considered geography, climate, location of ground infrastructure, research needs, airspace use, safety, aviation experience and risk. For example, in Alaska, the University of Alaska will focus on drone operations in diverse climates, while in New York, operations at Griffiss International Airport will test how drones operate in crowded urban airspace. The agency expects the first test sites to be operational in about six months.
