<i>&quot;I can&#x27;t really think of somewhere in Silicon Valley (or near by) that has the lack of population, lack of airspace traffic, and lack of local &#x2F; state &#x2F; federal ordinances that would allow this degree of freedom.&quot;</i><p>Southern California has Mojave Air and Space Port, which is, among other things, a flight test center for civilian aircraft. Scaled Composites flies from there, and SpaceShip One was launched from there for the X-Prize. They have a test pilot school.  Lots of exotic aircraft activity takes place there.  Read their &quot;Why Test Here&quot; section.[1] Three of their features: &quot;Welcoming attitude toward imagination and experimentation&quot;, &quot;Huge airspace away from populated urban areas&quot;, and &quot;Should you ever need it, a sophisticated Aerospace Rescue and FireFighting operation&quot;.  This is useful for larger or longer-ranged drones. QF-4 drones, converted from F-4 fighters, are built and tested there.<p>[1] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.mojaveairport.com&#x2F;why-test-here.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.mojaveairport.com&#x2F;why-test-here.html</a>