One of the Largest Ever Drones Flown in Ireland takes to the Air at Spanish Point
Shannon based company, A-techSYN unmanned aerial systems (UAS), test flew one of the largest drones ever flown in Ireland on Tuesday at Spanish Point Airfield. The event was held at Spanish Point Flying Club and a number of potential customers were invited to witness what the company has described as an “important moment which will become a milestone in the UAV History of Ireland.”
A-techSYN Ltd announced last June that it had signed Heads of Terms with Shannon Group plc’s International Aviation Services Centre (IASC) for a premises in the Shannon Free Zone business park in County Clare.
A-techSYN has transferred the development and production of its leading-edge ‘PilotUS’ autopilot hardware and software to the Shannon facility. Welcoming A-techSYN to the Shannon Aviation Cluster at the time, Patrick Edmond, IASC’s Managing Director, said that UAV technology was a very significant growth area in the aviation Industry.
Adnan Cetinkaya, Head of Sales and Operations of A-techSYN; John Drysdale, Business Development Manager of IASC and Gokhan Celik, CEO and founder of A-techSYN
“UAVs are a real growth area and the technology is evolving rapidly. We’re delighted to welcome an innovative company such as A-techSYN as part of our aviation cluster, and this further confirms Shannon as a leader in this industry sector. Our flexibility is a big part of our success: in this case, Shannon Group’s property arm Shannon Commercial Properties was able to offer A-techSYN a flexible property solution that matches their future growth strategy.”
A-techSYN was demonstrating its CGT45 SLT, one of the first UAV’s to use electric engines for take-off and landing and a combustion engine during fixed wing flight. It was the first demonstration flight in Europe for the CGT45-SLT.
A company spokesman confirmed “We are planning to setup Clare/Spanish Point as one of the UAV and Drone Test Centres in Europe. The UAS business is a most promising sector with job opportunities for people not just with higher degree of education but also for high school graduates.”
“Since a picture says more than 1000 words – and video consists of 25 pictures per second – we are planning a demonstration flight in Spanish Point Co Clare. I believe this is going to be one of the first UAS flights of this size in Ireland. We are inviting universities and potential important customers from across Europe who we met during our promotion activities,” the company added.
About the Author
Mark Dwyer Mark is an airline pilot flying the Boeing 737 for a major European airline. In addition he is also a Type Rating Instructor, Type Rating Examiner and Base Training Captain on the B737. Outside of commercial flying Mark enjoys flying light aircraft from the smallest 3 Axis microlights up to heavier singles. He is also an instructor and EASA Examiner on single engines and a UK CAA Examiner. He flies the Chipmunk for the Irish Historic Flight Foundation (IHFF). Mark became the Chairman of the National Microlight Association of Ireland (NMAI) in 2013 and has overseen a massive growth in the organisation. In this role he has worked at local and national levels. In 2015, Mark won ‘Upcoming Aviation Professional Award’ at the Aviation Industry Awards sponsored by the IAA. Mark launched this website back in 2002 while always managing the website, he has also been Editor and Deputy Editor of FlyingInIreland Magazine from 2005 to 2015.
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