Sacyr innovates in its construction processes to develop experimental flight centers, an area in which the company already has some relevant experience.
In 20218, Sacyr Engineering and Infrastructures built the ATLAS (Air Trafic Laboratory for Advanced unmanned Systems) or test flight center in Villacarrillo, Jaén, for the Fundación Andaluza para el Desarrollo Aeroespacial (FADA).
The ATLAS Center facilities include runways and buildings for the development of its activities. It has an asphalt runway that is 600 meters long and 18 meters wide, and an obstacle-free zone.
Inauguration ATLAS center, March 21, 2014 (atlascenter.aero)
The test flight center has three buildings:
1. Air traffic control building. This building centralizes the monitoring of the complex’s activity, and has other infrastructures for general support, office work, technical and social services.
2. Maintenance hangars. Hangars hold the employees’ work stations. The hangars have room to host four aircrafts, tech development and workshop areas.
3. Annex facility building. It is right next to the complex and is home of the transformation center, a space for a future electric generator and the water utility facilities.
The budget for the construction of the test flight center was € 2 million and had a 10-month execution deadline.
This facility hosted the test runs for the Spanish company Zero 2 Infinity, which developed helium aerostats to fly to the edge of space.
Furthermore, Sacyr used it as a test center for Pandora project, set in motion with Tyges and Robotnik. This project develops multivehicle sensors, for both drones and unmanned land vehicles, able to 3D map a project site.
Other projects in Spain, like the test flight center in Fuerteventura, to be commissioned in 2023, expand our country’s innovation capacity in the field of aeronautics. Sacyr has a great deal of valuable experience that qualifies the company to tackle this project.
