WARM SPRINGS — The first drone test flights at the Warm Springs Indian Reservation have taken place in recent weeks after being approved as a test range by the Federal Aviation Administration more than two years ago.

The Confederate Tribes of Warm Springs officially declared the range open and operational for testing on Friday, although winds were too strong to put a drone up in the air to mark the occasion.

The reservation is one of three ranges in Oregon approved by the FAA for testing drones, which are technically referred to as unmanned aerial systems.

The other two ranges are in Tillamook and Pendleton.

“These test ranges are very important for research and development so these drones can be safely integrated into the airspace,” said Don Sampson, CEO of Warms Springs Ventures, a business development group for the tribes.

“It’s going to be exciting to see the flights,” said Evaline Patt, vice chairwoman of the Warm Springs Tribal Council.

Patt said she’s looking forward to the tribe working with the testing program and the potential for drones to help with forest fire management and local farming operations.

One of the applications of drones suggested by Sampson would be observing crops from above to find where certain areas might need more water. They could also be used to collect information on wildfires when it’s too dangerous or too smoky for manned aircraft, he said.

The tribes are hoping to see economic benefits as well. Companies will pay the tribes to come and use one of the five sites on the reservation.

Sampson said Friday that companies are already beginning to talk to the tribes about integrating manufacturing of drones at the reservation with testing. It’s too soon to estimate the amount of revenue the range might generate for the tribes, he said.

The test range at the reservation is one of six in Alaska, Hawaii and Oregon that are part of the Pan-Pacific UAS Test Range Complex.

Business Oregon, the state’s economic development agency, provided $1 million in grant funding for infrastructure at the reservation’s flying sites, such as gravel roads and runways as well as buildings and trailers to store equipment.

Sampson said state funding is also being used to renovate an office space at the Kah-Nee-Ta resort where drone companies can have a meeting space and assess data they’ve collected in the field. There are also plans to build a shop space where companies can do repairs on drones after crashes.

Peter Elstner, with the University of Alaska Fairbanks drone operations program, took part in some of the first flights at the reservation. The university has been testing a drone called the Aeromapper for taking pictures that are used to create maps.

“It’s a really efficient air frame,” said Elstner, about the drone. “It’s very thin and very light.”

Warm Springs is the only reservation in the country with an FAA approved test range, Sampson said.

Companies that want to test drones at the reservation have to get a certificate of authorization to fly. The process of approval has recently been sped up from about eight months to only two weeks.

The reservation is expecting smaller drones initially , but companies could soon bring out larger aerial systems and take part in more complicated testing.

— Reporter: 541-617-7820,

tshorack@bendbulletin.com