Wilmington Air Park
The
Port Authority will have to rely on ATSG/Airborne and other
traditional businesses to grow the airpark because the drone center
appears to be concentrating in the Clark County/ Springfield area.
Paul
Hunter
http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/business/economy/clark-county-looks-to-lead-uav-industry/ngKYc/
Clark County looks to lead UAV industry
Local
businesses and institutions will push ahead with their attempts to
make Clark County a leader in the emerging commercial drone industry,
despite losing out on a bid to be one of six national test sites.
That
includes launching the state’s first precision agriculture program
at Clark State Community College and building $500,000 hangars at the
Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport to house unmanned aerial
vehicles.
Other
assets, like the Ohio/Indiana UAS Center and Test Complex on U.S. 40,
put Clark County in a good position to attract businesses in
manufacturing and research, even without the Federal Aviation
Administration test site designation, said Frank Beafore, executive
director of SelectTech Geospatial.
The
unmanned aircraft industry could generate as much as $339 million for
Ohio’s economy — and $13.6 billion nationwide — in the first
three years after drones are integrated into U.S. airspace, experts
have said, and precision agriculture is expected to play a
significant role.
Just
last week, the FAA approved the first commercial use of a drone in
the U.S. and at the end of last month, the UAS center in Springfield
participated in its first series of test flights.............
Frank
Beafore, executive director of SelectTech Geospatial, talks about the
3D printer, at right, that his company uses on many of their
projects. Bill Lackey/Staff
SelectTech’s
Ann Conrad, a UAV technician and Nathan Gertz, a design engineer,
show the new Clark State UAV to Jane Cape, dean of business and
applied technologies, and Amit Singh, vice president of academic
affairs. The UAV, designed and built by SelectTech in Springfield,
will be used in Clark State’s new precision ag program
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