Kelly Hills outlines FAA UAS test range, seeks Kansas role in drone agriculture and firefighting

Lucas Cope, chief executive officer of Kelly Hills Unmanned Systems, told the Kansas Committee on Transportation on an informational briefing that his company was awarded a Federal Aviation Administration UAS test range and is using it to test and commercialize drones for agriculture and firefighting.

The briefing laid out the company’s focus, partnerships and technical needs. "We joined forces with the FAA and were awarded a UAS test range," Cope said, describing the range as a place where companies can move prototypes quickly from garage to flight. He told the committee Kelly Hills is concentrating on beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) flights to enable autonomous spot-spraying and other precision-agriculture tasks.

Why it matters: BVLOS operations can enable daily autonomous missions and precision spraying that proponents say could reduce chemical use and labor needs on farms, while also creating new services for rural economies. Committee members pressed the presenter on safety, airspace coordination and regulatory constraints, and asked what state-level actions could complement federal rules.

Cope described several elements of the test-range program and the technologies his company is flying. He called out a fixed-wing spray system commercial partner, Pika, as “the largest drone ever approved by the FAA for commercial operations,” saying the aircraft is about 40 feet wide, can hold roughly 100 gallons and is fully autonomous when operating inside the program. He said Kelly Hills uses Lidar mapping and other sensors to build terrain maps for safe low-altitude operations.

Several members asked about safety around existing air traffic and airports. Cope said flights are coordinated with the FAA and local air traffic control and that altitude separation and coordination are primary mitigations: "If we're going to fly, they — they tell us if we can go or not," he said. He also said BVLOS radar and surveillance capability gives operators a broader “heads up” of surrounding traffic.

Regulation and commercialization questions generated sustained discussion. When Representative Proctor asked whether the FAA allows autonomous airport-to-airport flights or carrying passengers, Cope said that, within the test-range program, advanced airport-to-airport operations have been done but that carrying people autonomously is not permitted: "You cannot autonomously fly people around." He also told the committee the FAA reauthorization has required the agency to create a UAS-specific division and work toward clearer rules for drones.

Committee members raised operational details including spray altitude (Cope said typical spray altitudes are about 10 to 15 feet above the crop), topography and mapping (Kelly Hills uses Lidar to build field maps and update them as features change), and drift concerns. Cope said wind and timing are important controls and that university and USDA research partnerships would help validate spray systems.

On economic development, Cope described outreach to state agencies, universities and the federal delegation, including Kansas Department of Transportation staff, Wichita State and Kansas State campuses, and meetings in Washington, D.C., with federal officials. He cited examples from other states — North Dakota, Alaska, Oklahoma, Texas and Oregon — as case studies of different investments and industry strategies. He said one study placed Kansas lower on a preparedness ranking and urged the state to pursue coordinated investment and partnerships.

Several members suggested public-safety applications, including search-and-rescue and firefighters’ use of BVLOS capability. Cope said public-safety waivers are sometimes issued on a case-by-case basis and that the test-range work could inform expanded capabilities for emergency use. He invited committee members and staff to visit Kelly Hills’ facility in Seneca for demonstrations and follow-up briefings.

The presentation was informational; the committee did not take formal action. Committee members asked for continued engagement and follow-up information about state support, KDOT coordination and possible research partnerships.

Ending: Cope emphasized the commercial and safety goals of the test range and repeated an invitation for committee members to visit Seneca. Committee leadership closed the meeting after scheduling unrelated future hearings.