7 ms·

A Silicon Valley for Drones, in North Dakota

64 points by kloncks 11y ago

protomyth 11y ago
The aviation school at Grand Forks, ND is well known and the article is not kidding about the number of countries it attracts. It was a natural fit to move into drone piloting.
- Animats 11y ago
  That aviation school appears, in detail, in Miss Pilot, the Japanese drama. Episodes 5 and 6 are set there. (That drama was made with the total cooperation of ANA, and the aviation details are accurate.)
jmspring 11y ago
I think a serious benefit ND has, aside from the established reputation and money put in is space. I can't really think of somewhere in Silicon Valley (or near by) that has the lack of population, lack of airspace traffic, and lack of local / state / federal ordinances that would allow this degree of freedom. Silicon Valley has it's strengths, but it can't be ground zero for everything. Honestly, if the NUMI plant wasn't in Fremont, I could see the majority of Tesla being not in the bay area (one could argue the battery plant in NV is such a shift).
- protomyth 11y ago
  Although ND has crop dusters which will be an interesting conflict.
  - rfrank 11y ago
    How often do crop dusters usually fly? I feel like that's a problem that could be solved by a bit of communication.
    - protomyth 11y ago
      It's seasonal, but they fly at altitudes a lot of drones fly at.
      - rfrank 11y ago
        Yeah, they'd definitely be at the same altitudes. I moreso meant do crop dusters fly daily, weekly, etc. Probably pretty crop dependent.
        protomyth 11y ago
        As the jobs are contracted, so daily in season, chaotically.
      - at-fates-hands 11y ago
        As someone who used to travel the back rural roads of North Dakota, I can confirm this. I've been buzzed a time or two from crazy crop dusting pilots. It scares the bejesus out of you if you're not ready for it.
    - goodcanadian 11y ago
      Over a given field, once or twice per year at most. Most farms probably do not use aircraft for spraying at all. They use ground equipment: tractors pulling sprayers. Granted that my experience is a different part of the world, but crop dusters are really rather rare.
      - protomyth 11y ago
        Not in ND, they are fairly common. [edit: I'm in the NE to N central]
      - bkjelden 11y ago
        I lived in the Dakotas for 20 years and crop dusters were present, but not terribly common. Ground spraying equipment was way more common. As an aside, the City of Fargo uses crop dusters to spray for mosquitoes in the summer - which is either super cool or super annoying, depending on your opinion of airplanes :)
- bkjelden 11y ago
  Nevada is closer and seems to have most of North Dakota's benefits? I also wonder if Nevada's climate would make it a better choice too. The Dakotas have some of the most extreme weather in the US - hot summers, frigid winters, severe thunderstorms, and wind - there were a lot of windy days when I lived in North Dakota. Would days with subzero high temps and 30 MPH sustained winds be a useful environment for drones? One thing that really seemed to help the Silicon Valley get started was how away it was from everything - particularly the establishment on the east coast. I do wonder if the next big thing will be started somewhere that is similarly away from Silicon Valley - somewhere no one would expect, like North Dakota.
  - bigiain 11y ago
    Isn't a lot of the em[ptyt open space in NV under BLM control, and therefore off limits to "drones"? (Also, good luck getting your experimental UAV back when it mysteriously goes down over Area 51...)
    - frisco 11y ago
      I'm pretty sure BLM means open for drones... It's national parks that are off limits. BLM is the "everything else" of US land and in general has the most relaxed rules. Like, you can land a plane anywhere on a dry BLM lakebed, for one.
      - bigiain 11y ago
        Ahhh, you're right (here from .au I kind of automatically substitute "National Parks" for "BLM", cause that's a reasonable close translation to our local government nomenclature. I forget Natioanl Parks and BLM aren't synonyms.)
  - tillinghast 11y ago
    One could argue that extreme climate swings might make for an _ideal_ development environment. Environmental extremes would better model real-world conditions.
- Animats 11y ago
  "I can't really think of somewhere in Silicon Valley (or near by) that has the lack of population, lack of airspace traffic, and lack of local / state / federal ordinances that would allow this degree of freedom." Southern California has Mojave Air and Space Port, which is, among other things, a flight test center for civilian aircraft. Scaled Composites flies from there, and SpaceShip One was launched from there for the X-Prize. They have a test pilot school. Lots of exotic aircraft activity takes place there. Read their "Why Test Here" section.[1] Three of their features: "Welcoming attitude toward imagination and experimentation", "Huge airspace away from populated urban areas", and "Should you ever need it, a sophisticated Aerospace Rescue and FireFighting operation". This is useful for larger or longer-ranged drones. QF-4 drones, converted from F-4 fighters, are built and tested there. [1] http://www.mojaveairport.com/why-test-here.html http://www.mojaveairport.com/why-test-here.html
wtvanhest 11y ago
Embry-Riddle in Daytona Beach Florida seems far more likely. http://daytonabeach.erau.edu/ http://daytonabeach.erau.edu/ Also tons of near by land and open ocean, as well as NASA and government contracting engineers already co-located and a bunch of other great universities nearby or with satellite campuses in and around Orlando / Daytona. Being able to fly 365 days a year helps too. Realistically, the Pacific Ocean and insanely high concentration of engineers in sv seems like the most likely place for long-term drone innovation.
modfodder 11y ago
Maybe Stillwater, OK with the first UAS graduate program will vie for that title. https://unmanned.okstate.edu https://unmanned.okstate.edu
jokoon 11y ago
Weren't quadcopters formerly developed by boston dynamics ? Article is behind paywall.
- evv 11y ago
  To get around the paywall, tap the "web" link under the article title, then go through to the first result
rebootthesystem 11y ago
Stupid behavior like this is the reason for which drones will find progressively more regulation and resistance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmD3rXUR1Tw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmD3rXUR1Tw The supply of idiots seems limitless.

64 points by kloncks 11y ago

The aviation school at Grand Forks, ND is well known and the article is not kidding about the number of countries it attracts. It was a natural fit to move into drone piloting.

Animats 11y ago
That aviation school appears, in detail, in Miss Pilot, the Japanese drama. Episodes 5 and 6 are set there. (That drama was made with the total cooperation of ANA, and the aviation details are accurate.)

jmspring 11y ago

I think a serious benefit ND has, aside from the established reputation and money put in is space. I can't really think of somewhere in Silicon Valley (or near by) that has the lack of population, lack of airspace traffic, and lack of local / state / federal ordinances that would allow this degree of freedom. Silicon Valley has it's strengths, but it can't be ground zero for everything. Honestly, if the NUMI plant wasn't in Fremont, I could see the majority of Tesla being not in the bay area (one could argue the battery plant in NV is such a shift).

protomyth 11y ago
Although ND has crop dusters which will be an interesting conflict.
- rfrank 11y ago
  How often do crop dusters usually fly? I feel like that's a problem that could be solved by a bit of communication.
  - protomyth 11y ago
    It's seasonal, but they fly at altitudes a lot of drones fly at.
    - rfrank 11y ago
      Yeah, they'd definitely be at the same altitudes. I moreso meant do crop dusters fly daily, weekly, etc. Probably pretty crop dependent.
      - protomyth 11y ago
        As the jobs are contracted, so daily in season, chaotically.
    - at-fates-hands 11y ago
      As someone who used to travel the back rural roads of North Dakota, I can confirm this. I've been buzzed a time or two from crazy crop dusting pilots. It scares the bejesus out of you if you're not ready for it.
  - goodcanadian 11y ago
    Over a given field, once or twice per year at most. Most farms probably do not use aircraft for spraying at all. They use ground equipment: tractors pulling sprayers. Granted that my experience is a different part of the world, but crop dusters are really rather rare.
    - protomyth 11y ago
      Not in ND, they are fairly common. [edit: I'm in the NE to N central]
    - bkjelden 11y ago
      I lived in the Dakotas for 20 years and crop dusters were present, but not terribly common. Ground spraying equipment was way more common. As an aside, the City of Fargo uses crop dusters to spray for mosquitoes in the summer - which is either super cool or super annoying, depending on your opinion of airplanes :)
bkjelden 11y ago
Nevada is closer and seems to have most of North Dakota's benefits? I also wonder if Nevada's climate would make it a better choice too. The Dakotas have some of the most extreme weather in the US - hot summers, frigid winters, severe thunderstorms, and wind - there were a lot of windy days when I lived in North Dakota. Would days with subzero high temps and 30 MPH sustained winds be a useful environment for drones? One thing that really seemed to help the Silicon Valley get started was how away it was from everything - particularly the establishment on the east coast. I do wonder if the next big thing will be started somewhere that is similarly away from Silicon Valley - somewhere no one would expect, like North Dakota.
- bigiain 11y ago
  Isn't a lot of the em[ptyt open space in NV under BLM control, and therefore off limits to "drones"? (Also, good luck getting your experimental UAV back when it mysteriously goes down over Area 51...)
  - frisco 11y ago
    I'm pretty sure BLM means open for drones... It's national parks that are off limits. BLM is the "everything else" of US land and in general has the most relaxed rules. Like, you can land a plane anywhere on a dry BLM lakebed, for one.
    - bigiain 11y ago
      Ahhh, you're right (here from .au I kind of automatically substitute "National Parks" for "BLM", cause that's a reasonable close translation to our local government nomenclature. I forget Natioanl Parks and BLM aren't synonyms.)
- tillinghast 11y ago
  One could argue that extreme climate swings might make for an _ideal_ development environment. Environmental extremes would better model real-world conditions.
Animats 11y ago
"I can't really think of somewhere in Silicon Valley (or near by) that has the lack of population, lack of airspace traffic, and lack of local / state / federal ordinances that would allow this degree of freedom." Southern California has Mojave Air and Space Port, which is, among other things, a flight test center for civilian aircraft. Scaled Composites flies from there, and SpaceShip One was launched from there for the X-Prize. They have a test pilot school. Lots of exotic aircraft activity takes place there. Read their "Why Test Here" section.[1] Three of their features: "Welcoming attitude toward imagination and experimentation", "Huge airspace away from populated urban areas", and "Should you ever need it, a sophisticated Aerospace Rescue and FireFighting operation". This is useful for larger or longer-ranged drones. QF-4 drones, converted from F-4 fighters, are built and tested there. [1] http://www.mojaveairport.com/why-test-here.html http://www.mojaveairport.com/why-test-here.html

wtvanhest 11y ago

Embry-Riddle in Daytona Beach Florida seems far more likely. http://daytonabeach.erau.edu/ http://daytonabeach.erau.edu/ Also tons of near by land and open ocean, as well as NASA and government contracting engineers already co-located and a bunch of other great universities nearby or with satellite campuses in and around Orlando / Daytona. Being able to fly 365 days a year helps too. Realistically, the Pacific Ocean and insanely high concentration of engineers in sv seems like the most likely place for long-term drone innovation.

modfodder 11y ago

Maybe Stillwater, OK with the first UAS graduate program will vie for that title. https://unmanned.okstate.edu https://unmanned.okstate.edu

jokoon 11y ago

Weren't quadcopters formerly developed by boston dynamics ? Article is behind paywall.

evv 11y ago
To get around the paywall, tap the "web" link under the article title, then go through to the first result

rebootthesystem 11y ago

Stupid behavior like this is the reason for which drones will find progressively more regulation and resistance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmD3rXUR1Tw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmD3rXUR1Tw The supply of idiots seems limitless.