Robotics developer asks to test drones on Calverton runway
Mike Passaretti, program manager of aerial services division ULC Robotics, with a drone in Hauppauge on Jan. 9. Credit: Howard Schnapp
A Hauppauge-based robotics developer wants Riverhead’s permission to flight-test drones using the runway of the Enterprise Park at Calverton.
ULC Robotics LLC, an international robotics developer, is seeking a temporary agreement with Riverhead for a designated work area on the 7,000-foot runway of the EPCAL property.
Mike Passaretti , program manager for ULC Aerial Services, told the Riverhead Town Board last Thursday at its work session that the company currently flight-tests unmanned drones from a clearing in Edgewood Oak Brush Plains Preserve in Commack. However, they were attracted to the Calverton property, which has a wide-open space, a surrounding buffer area and minimal public interaction.
The company would be flying vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, or VTOL drones, below 400 feet in a "racetrack pattern" from the runway to the southwest portion of the property and then back up to the northeast portion while staying over the runway, Passaretti said.
Riverhead Supervisor Yvette Aguiar asked Passaretti if the company had “ascertained the possibility of something going wrong” with those test flights and if safety protocols were in place.
Passaretti said that the company, founded in 2001, monitors the weather in advance of flights and has built fail-safes into their aircraft.
“I can’t tell you that there’s zero chance of a failure, but I can tell you that we do everything we can to lower that chance as much as practically possible,” Passaretti said, adding the company had a "very, very high safety record" with no serious incidents or injuries occurring in previous test flights.
ULC Robotics wants to use the runway at Enterprise Park at Calverton to test drones. Credit: ULC Aerial Services
The robotics company met with the board in October at the request of venture group Calverton Aviation and Technology, who is still negotiating with Riverhead on finalizing a $40 million deal to purchase more than 1,600 acres of property at EPCAL for aerospace operations. The company attended as part of the venture group’s effort to show the town they have several tech companies willing to work with them after closing the deal.
Riverhead Councilwoman Jodi Giglio, who had been in talks with the company in previous months, said Friday the lease agreement — which requires town board approval — would be month-to-month up to 12 months and predicated on whether the venture group purchases the property. If and when the deal is finalized, the company would need to obtain a lease from Calverton Aviation and Technology to operate on the property.
