Michigan Unmanned Aerial Systems Consortium

The Michigan Unmanned Aerial Systems Consortium, or MUASC, is an unmanned aerial systems flight and ground test center. It is based at the Alpena County Regional Airport in Alpena, Michigan. The group is a tax-exempt nonprofit under section 501(c)(3).

The site says MUASC has 11,000 square miles of airspace. The airspace is used for research, development, certification, qualification and systems testing for commercial unmanned aircraft. Part of it is a military operations area that belongs to the Air National Guard. Over 30 percent extends over Lake Huron.

MUASC is a test range for the Griffiss FAA test site in Oneida County, New York. The site says this teaming agreement gives clients access to the same FAA approval processes as the six FAA UAS test sites. MUASC is also part of the NUAIR Alliance.

The group has a blanket certificate of authorization for Class D airspace at Alpena County Airport. This lets testers change the existing certificate instead of applying for a new one. The site also says the Griffiss certificate lets MUASC perform services in Michigan and beyond.

The site describes plans to offer similar services at Willow Run Airport. It also describes a training park that is being built with Alpena Community College. The park will support rotary and fixed wing platforms.

MUASC offers training for operational and workforce needs. The listed courses include Part 107 preparation, commercial flight management software and hands-on training. The group also provides pilot and observer services for flight missions.

The site says the first commercial flight was flown in July 2016. Three people were certified as FAA mission commanders by NUAIR. The group calls itself an industry driven not-for-profit organization. The phone number is 989-358-9968. The address is 1617 Airport Road, Alpena, Michigan 49707. The site also lists a Facebook page.