North Dakota Approved For Night Flight-Testing Of Drones; Only US Site With Such Approval -- August 23, 2015

For background:

• first drone manufactured in North Dakota is rolled out, June, 8, 2015
• North Dakota has nation's first unmanned airport, June 3, 2015
• update on North Dakota drones, May 10, 2015 

Now, in today's update, sent in by a reader, the AP is reporting, that of the six FAA sites approved for drone testing, only one site has been approved for both day and night flights.

Of the six sites in the U.S. where researchers are trying to figure out how to integrate unmanned aircraft into civilian airspace, only North Dakota's can fly high both day and night.

The Federal Aviation Administration approved a plan last week that allows drones to be flown up to 1,200 feet above the entire state and permits flights at night, a combination that makes North Dakota unique, since other test sites are limited to a 200-foot blanket and daylight hours.

Alaska, New York, Nevada, Texas and Virginia also were selected in December 2013 as national test sites for unmanned aircraft, which the FAA does not currently allow for commercial use. As for why North Dakota's wide-open skies were chosen for the higher altitudes, the FAA referred questions to the North Dakota Department of Commerce.

Officials at the Northern Plains site wasted no time getting up in the air at night last week with the Draganflyer X4ES, which was monitored by three University of North Dakota pilots.

Of note, California applied for an FAA drone test site but was specifically denied.

******************************

A Note to the Granddaughters

The Community College

From wiki:

William Martin (born February 16, 1957, Bethesda, Maryland) is an American botanist, currently Head of the Institut für Molekulare Evolution, Heinrich Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf.

Born in Bethesda, Maryland, Martin was educated at Richland College, Dallas, Texas, and Texas A&M University. After working as a carpenter in Dallas, Martin moved to Hannover, Germany, and obtained his university Diploma from Technische Universität Hannover in 1985.

Martin's PhD is from Max-Planck-Institut für Züchtungsforschung, Cologne, where he did postdoctoral research, followed by further postdoctoral work at Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, where he obtained his Habilitation in 1992. In 1999, Martin became full (C4) professor at Universitaet Düsseldorf.

Martin is a distinguished and sometimes controversial contributor to the field of molecular evolution. He is known particularly for his work on the evolution of the Calvin cycle and plastids including chloroplasts, and, more generally, for contributions to understanding the origin and evolution of eukaryotic cells.

Martin is co-author, with Miklos Mueller of Rockefeller University, of the 1998 paper The Hydrogen hypothesis for the first eukaryote. A wealth of subsequent research papers include contributions, independently and with Michael J. Russell of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, to understanding the geochemical origins of cells and their biochemical pathways. 

So, here we have a guy that is probably near the top of the food chain among modern biologists, perhaps a Nobel Prize contender, who went to a community college in the DFW area, and then to a school possibly known more for its football program than its scholastic program.

And then, with his college degree, works as a carpenter in the Dallas area, before moving to Germany, to get his undergraduate degree from the Technical University Hannover, and his PhD from a "satellite college" of the Max Planck Institute in fairly non-descript Cologne, Germany.

What an incredible story, starting with a community college in Dallas.

********************************

Another Note To The Granddaughters

The granddaughters lived in Boston for four years, from summer, 2009, to summer, 2013. We spent much of that time in Boston, also, taking care of them. It was a wonderful time.

During those four years we got to "know" the Boston metro -- the subway -- very, very well.

This story about Boston upgrading the metro for this next winter was very, very interesting. It talks a bit about the orange line, probably the line we know least. We knew the Red Line best, taking it to Harvard Square several times each week. We knew the Green Line well which took us to the fine arts museums and was the oldest line, as far as I remember. We took the Blue Line to the aquarium and I believe to the airport. I don't recall taking the Orange Line all that much.

If money were no issue, I would live in the Boston area. My favorite place was Provincetown, Cape Cod.