Status of The FAA UAV Test Sites

So far, a lot of press announcements, but little definitive testing has apparently been done.  Links and Contacts have been identified.

Fact Sheet – FAA UAS Test Site Program

as of 7/24/14

2014 Annual Meeting Presentations | National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA)
JSkaggs-NLGA-7-24-14-v1.pdf

UAS Test Sites Contacts
The Test Sites: Who, What, Where
On December 30, 2013, the FAA announced the following six applicants had been selected to operate the UAS test sites:

• University of Alaska.  ACUASI
• Alaska; University of Alaska; Pan-Pacific UAS Test Range Complex Director and Deputy Director, ACUASI; Rosanne Bailey; rbailey11@alaska.edu 
• UAVs get tested in Fairbanks for public safety uses - Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Local News
• development of a set of standards for unmanned aircraft categories, state monitoring and navigation.  
• work on safety standards for UAS operations. 
• Battlespace at Pan Pacific UAS Test Range
• New director, focus of the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Marty Rogers was appointed to lead ACUASI in January 2014
• Pan Pacific UAS Test Range Complex (PPUTRC) A Component of ACUASI-Bailey.pdf
• State of Nevada. Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems
•  Nevada; State of Nevada; Communications Director; Ms. Jennifer Cooper jcooper@diversifynevada.com
• UAS standards and operations
• operator standards and certification requirements. 
• a concentrated look at how air traffic control procedures will evolve with the introduction of UAS into the civil environment 
• how these aircraft will be integrated with NextGen.  
• Nevada Becomes Third Operational FAA UAS Test Site
• New York’s Griffiss International Airport. NUAIR Alliance
• New York; Griffiss International Airport; NUAIR Technical Director; Dr. Ray Young; ryoung@nuair.org
• developing test and evaluation 
• verification and validation processes under FAA safety oversight. 
• sense and avoid capabilities for UAS 
• researching the complexities of integrating UAS into the congested, northeast airspace.
• FAA Announces New York UAS Test Site Now Operational
• North Dakota Department of Commerce Northern Plains Unmanned Aircraft Systems  .  
• North Dakota; North Dakota Department of Commerce; Director, Economic Development and Finance Division; Mr. Paul Lucy; plucy@nd.gov
• develop UAS airworthiness essential data and validate high reliability link technology.
•  conduct human factors research. 
• a variety of different airspace which will benefit multiple users.
• First FAA-Approved Drone Test Site Goes Live Next Week in North Dakota - IEEE Spectrum
• Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi - Lone Star UAS Center of Excellence & Innovation.  
• Texas; Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi; Senior Research Development Officer; Ron George; ronald.george@tamucc.edu
• develop system safety requirements for UAS vehicles and operations 
• a goal of protocols and procedures for airworthiness testing. 
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) - Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership UAS Test Site .  
• Virginia; Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University ("Virginia Tech"); Director; Mrs. Rose Mooney; mooneyr@vt.edu
• to conduct UAS failure mode testing 
• identify and evaluate operational and technical risks areas. 
• FAA Announces Virginia Tech UAS Test Site Now Operational

In totality, these six test applications achieve cross-country geographic and climatic diversity and help the FAA meet its UAS research goals of

• System Safety & Data Gathering, 
• Aircraft Certification, 
• Command & Control Link Issues, 
• Control Station Layout & Certification, 
• Ground & Airborne Sense & Avoid, 
• Environmental Impacts.

The FAA Creates Thin Privacy Guidelines For The Nation's First Domestic Drone "Test Sites" | Electronic Frontier Foundation

The FAA Won't Tell Its Drone Test Sites What to Test | Motherboard

In April, the United States' first commercial drone test site opened in North Dakota. Since then, it's done, well, not a whole lot.
That's not the test site's fault: Officials at the independently-operated site insist they are ready and willing to fly, anxious to start helping the Federal Aviation Administration commercialize drones. But the FAA hasn't told them what, exactly, they're supposed to be testing. And now, there's evidence that the very idea of the test sites is being somewhat tossed out the window, leading administrators like Becklund to wonder what, exactly, they're here for.
The question, then, is: What is the FAA thinking?
The agency established these test sites in order to experiment with commercial drones, but it isn't letting the test sites do any testing. It hasn't even told the test sites what they are supposed to be testing. In fact, the only indication it has given anyone about what each test site will specialize in is from a press release in January, which noted that North Dakota would "validate high reliability link technology" and "conduct human factors research."
That came as news to Becklund: "The only time we've ever seen that is in the press release," he said.