Dec 11 2015
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted Workhorse Group Inc. Exemption No. 13564 (Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2015-3055) following the company's petition requesting Section 333 exemption to test its HorseFly™ unmanned aerial system (UAS), stating, in part "in consideration of the size, weight, speed, and limited operating area associated with the aircraft and its operation, the Secretary of Transportation has determined that this aircraft meets the conditions of Section 333…. [T]he UAS operation enabled by this exemption is in the public interest."
The Section 333 Exemption process provides operators who wish to pursue safe and legal entry into the National Air Space a competitive advantage in the UAS marketplace, thus discouraging illegal operations and improving safety. It is anticipated that the use of UAS could result in significant economic benefits, and the FAA Administrator has identified this as a high priority project to address demand for civil operation of UAS for commercial purposes.
This exemption follows the receipt of a Certificate of Authorization to the Ohio/Indiana UAS Center and Test Complex, which allows Workhorse and the University of Cincinnati to continue their joint development of Workhorse Group's HorseFly™ at the Wilmington Air Park in Wilmington, Ohio.
Stephen Burns, CEO of Workhorse Group, said, "The granting of this exemption by the FAA represents a key milestone in our development of the HorseFly UAS. We have already initiated testing HorseFly in conjunction with our partner, the University of Cincinnati, at the Ohio/Indiana UAS Center and Test Complex. We expect to keep our shareholders informed of progress as testing continues."
Workhorse Group is developing HorseFly, an eight-rotor "octocopter," designed to be used in tandem with its EPA-approved electric work trucks. Weighing 15 pounds empty, HorseFly has a payload capacity of 10 pounds; it can achieve a maximum speed of 50 mph and a flight time of 30 minutes. The HorseFly UAS, which is subject to FAA approval for commercial use, is designed to be given a package and a delivery destination by a delivery driver, using a touchscreen interface in the delivery truck. The HorseFly has the ability to launch itself from the roof of the delivery vehicle and ascend to a safe cruising altitude and then navigate to the desired delivery point—say, a house's front stoop—autonomously, using GPS navigation.