Salina Connection at 2009 Kansas Unmanned Aerial Systems Symposium

"Welcome, Unmanned Aerial Systems," said Tim Rogers, A.A.E., Salina Airport Authority executive director, to the attendees of the Third Annual Kansas UAS Symposium. "The Salina community has been preparing for the development of UAS technology and the Salina Airport Authority has a strategic plan to facilitate this technology."

Rogers and almost 100 others made up the who's who of the UAS community that met in Wichita to exchange ideas and see what they had to offer one another as the future of UAS technology arrives.

"The commitment for facilities to grow for this technology goes beyond the planning stage," Rogers explained. "We have built a 69,000-square-foot hangar building, complete with office spaces and maintenance capabilities, and the Authority can finance up to $20 million in construction for new aerospace and aviation businesses."

Aside from the astonishing amount of square footage, unique assets like Crisis City and close partnerships with Fort Riley, the Kansas National Guard Great Plains Joint Training Center and the Kansas State University at Salina College of Aviation and Technology, make the Authority the ideal location for UAS development, testing and training.

"We have probably the best collegiate aviation fleet in the United States," said R. Kurt Barnhart, Ph. D., Kansas State at Salina head of the department of aviation. "Our role is expertise, working daily in the national airspace system."

With the backing of the City of Salina, Saline County and the Salina Chamber of Commerce, the Authority is able to support the aviation community on a broad spectrum of playing fields including military operations, civilian enterprise and technological development.

"When Tim Rogers says he's all about supporting, he is absolutely right," said Brig. Gen. Norman E. Steen, Great Plains Joint Training Center commander. "We at the National Guard are all about supporting the people of the United States but we wouldn't be able to do that without the support of Tim Rogers and the Authority."