For aviation, these are heady days, with autonomy and electrification of aircraft coming to the forefront. This era is comparable in importance to the era that saw the first air cargo flight from Dayton to Columbus in 1910, said William “Bill” Stanton, president and chief executive of SC-Alastor Consulting.
“You are well situated to lead these types of activities,” Stanton said.
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, home to the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), and Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport, home to the testing of both civilian eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft and military unmanned aircraft, offer a strong confluence, forum participants said.
Jeff Hoagland, president and CEO of the Dayton Development Coalition, said the payoff can be seen in the attraction of companies such as Sierra Nevada Corp., Joby Aviation (both in Dayton) and Anduril, which is building a huge manufacturing facility near Rickenbacker Airport.
J.P. Nauseef, president and CEO of JobsOhio, predicted that in 10 to 15 years, the forum will be the industry’s biggest trade show dedicated to advanced air mobility.
“It’s very clear that we’re on our way to being centered on a multi-trillion-dollar industry,” Nauseef said.
He spoke of a detailed state plan that will attract companies that want to be near a manufacturing-ready workforce, Wright-Patterson and AFRL, as well as the NASA-Glenn Research Center in the Cleveland area.
“We have a plan,” he said. “We’re methodically executing and implementing that plan. And you’ll see it play out in front of you. ... We’re focused on the long game, not the short game, and we will not be deterred.”
Springfield-Beckley Air National Guard Base continues to grow, welcoming a Space Intelligence Production Cell in recent weeks, home to the Space Force’s 76th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron and the 4th Intelligence Analysis Squadron.
“We said a SCIF (Secure Compartmented Information Facility) ... that was in caretaker status,” Col. Donald Braskett, wing commander of the 178th Wing in Springfield. “I just happened to have lunch with the 88th Air Base Wing commander who has NSIC (the National Space Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base). I just happened to mention that we had an 8,000-square-foot SCIF sitting around.”
That SCIF helped lead to the new Space Intelligence Production Cell in Springfield.
The National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence, at the Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport, continues to draw companies and government representatives, advocates say.
DZYNE Technologies, based in California, is involved in testing the Uncrewed Long-endurance Tactical Reconnaissance Aircraft (ULTRA) platform for AFRL, has posted on its careers site an opening for a UAS Operations Site Lead in Springfield.
The forum continues Wednesday at the Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport.
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