Columbus UAS claims flight record

MANASSAS, Va. - Aurora Flight Sciences announced Jan. 22 that it has filed for an official world endurance record following an 80-hour flight of its Orion unmanned aircraft system (UAS). Observers from the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) were on hand to inspect the aircraft and witness the takeoff Dec. 5, 2014. They supervised the entire flight and witnessed the landing on Dec. 8. The previous official record of 30.5 hours was set in 2001 by the Global Hawk UAS. Orion is managed by the Air Force. The program began in 2007. Orion made its first flight on Aug. 23, 2013. The record attempt was the 18th flight in the test effort. Pilots of record for the flight were Peter Lehew, Cody Allee, Joel Walker and Dave Gerhardt. (Source: Aurora Flight Sciences, 01/22/15) Central Mississippi Note: The Orion UAS was designed by Aurora in Virginia. It was built by Aurora at its Columbus, Miss., plant.