Unmanned aircraft partnership gets FAA authorization

(AP) – The Federal Aviation Administration has approved a new flight corridor in central Virginia for unnamed aircraft testing.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s office announced Friday that the FAA had recently authorized the Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership to conduct research flights up to 7,000 feet high in a nearly 5,000 square mile area.
    
The first flight took place in the newly approved corridor took place on May 11.
    
Officials said the newly authorized airspace will speed up development of unmanned aircraft capable of doing safety inspections of critical infrastructure.