18 August 2009

Unmanned aircraft map Alaska fires

Staff from Poker Flat Research Range have traveled north to assist fire personnel in mapping the Crazy Mountain Complex fires with unmanned aircraft.

The University of Alaska’s Unmanned Aircraft Program is at Poker Flat Research Range.

Lightning strikes caused the Crazy Mountain Complex fires. There are 311 personnel assigned to the fires that have burned more than 440,000 acres, according to the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center. The Crazy Mountain Complex consists of four fires—the Bluff Creek Fire, the Jagged Ridge Fire, the Little Black One Fire, and Puzzle Gulch Fire.

The mapping operation is using 40-pound Insitu ScanEagles equipped with infrared cameras. The aircraft have collected data that has allowed fire personnel to track the progression of fires and current hot spots.

This work has proven difficult with manned aircraft. Dense and widespread smoke has grounded or severely limited logistical support from the air in recent days.

“With the infrared sensors aboard our unmanned aircraft, they’re identifying where the edge of the fire is,” said Ro Bailey, special projects manager at Poker Flat Research Range. “Anything the aircrafts get will be used to improve the accuracy of the current fire maps.”

The infrared cameras are performing exceptionally well. The equipment has the ability to peer through dense smoke as the unmanned aircraft fly above active fires. A ground-based pilot controls the aircraft during its flight.

When the university’s unmanned aircraft is in flight, no other aircraft can fly in the airspace. The University of Alaska is the first entity, other than NASA or the Department of Defense, to receive an emergency certificate of authority from the Federal Aviation Administration to fly in civil airspace with an unmanned aircraft beyond line-of-sight.

For related information, go to www.isa.org/sensors.