The Fearless Flight Facility (F3) is the only university outdoor flight laboratory for testing unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia region. The 100-foot wide, 300-foot long, and 50-foot high facility serves as a critical nexus between the Clark School of Engineering’s College Park labs and UMD’s UAS Test Site in Maryland’s St. Mary’s County.

With F3, the department can conduct cohesive, comprehensive research and education programs in concept and development, testing and evaluation, and life-cycle testing.

Advances to equipment and algorithms made possible by the facility have a host of applications. New vehicle configurations can improve the efficacy of UAS in search-and-rescue operations, for example, while progress in the field of cooperation could lead to surveys of large swaths of farmland quickly and at low cost.

Faculty and students can make reservations to use the facility for testing by booking time via the Fearless Flight Facility (F3) Reservation page.

For questions about reserving time at the Fearless Flight Facility, contact Rachel Tucker at rdtucker@umd.edu.