![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/trevor-woods-2.jpg\")
\u201cWe are very fortunate to have Trevor step up to take the\nreins at the NPUASTS,\u201d said North Dakota Lt. Gov. Brent Sanford. \u201cTrevor was\nthere when the test site began and has been there every step of the way through\nthe federal testing contracts, Grand Sky, BVLOS investments, and now Vantis\nimplementation. Trevor is at the top of this exciting new industry, and we look\nforward to more exciting announcements to come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Woods has been with NPUASTS since its inception and was part\nof the proposal team that pitched North Dakota to the FAA as an ideal test site\nlocation. At that time, Woods was working at the University of North Dakota,\nconducting UAS research, providing technical expertise to UAS projects within\nthe university and managing all UAS-related waiver and regulatory submissions\nto the FAA. When the FAA selected NPUASTS as its first official UAS test site,\nWoods functioned as the test site\u2019s airspace manager, supporting UAS operations\nas well as building operational documents and writing procedures, and eventually\nbecoming the director of operations in 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn the beginning, the test sites were a brand-new concept,\nso we knew what our big goal was \u2013 integrating UAS into the National Airspace\nSystem \u2013 but not really the how. There was no clear-cut, black-and-white set of\ntasks,\u201d Woods said. \u201cOne thing that was incredibly important to us was not to\nlimit ourselves to a test range. All of the UND flights we\u2019d been doing up to\nthat point were out in the field, where the research was happening. We knew that\nwas the future \u2013 UAS flights in the real world, where the need is.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the test site grew, Woods took over as director of\nsafety. This role, by its very nature, works extensively with the FAA on\nregulations and procedure, something Woods was well-versed in. With his\nlong-term institutional knowledge, strong relationship with the FAA, and\nextensive knowledge and experience with both operations and safety, Woods was a\nnatural choice for executive director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited for this new challenge,\u201d said Woods. \u201cI\u2019m\nincredibly confident in my team and what we\u2019re capable of. We\u2019ve already\naccomplished so much that was once considered impossible. Getting to be at the\nforefront of this industry is incredible \u2013 we get to shape the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trevor was also instrumental in the conception and\ndevelopment of Vantis, North Dakota\u2019s statewide UAS network, which is\nadministered by NPUASTS. He contributed to the development of the first UAS\ncorridor in the state, located between Grand Forks and Fargo, and directed\nsafety efforts for this precursor to Vantis. He helped design the initial\nblueprints for a statewide beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) network and\noversaw all safety protocols during its build-out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA major milestone for Vantis is getting FAA approval, which\nrequires developing an impeccable safety case,\u201d said Jim Cieplak, Vantis\nprogram manager. \u201cTrevor\u2019s long-standing relationships within the FAA and his\nwealth of safety and regulatory knowledge have been invaluable. I look forward\nto everything Trevor will bring to the Vantis table in this new role.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trevor holds a Commercial Pilot License and is a certified\nflight instructor with instrument rating. He earned a Bachelor of Business\nAdministration in Aviation Management and a Master of Business Administration,\nboth from the University of North Dakota. He has extensive experience\npertaining to spectrum management issues related to UAS operations and was\nNPUASTS\u2019 lead on its involvement in the FAA\u2019s Integration Pilot Program (IPP)\nand its successor, the BEYOND program, both of which focus heavily on BVLOS\nflights and public acceptance of UAS.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Northern Plains UAS Test Site (NPUASTS), one of seven Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) test sites, announces the selection of a new executive director. Trevor Woods, formerly the director of safety, was chosen by the Northern Plains Unmanned Systems Authority, which oversees NPUASTS, for his UAS expertise, business experience and future […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,127],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-north-dakota","category-unmanned-systems"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20777"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20777\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20779,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20777\/revisions\/20779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}