- Jackson is already at the center of one of the nation's largest drone testing ranges
- Hopes are to build on that to attract companies ranging from defense to air taxis
- Watch video to see locations, future plans for drone infrastructure, drones in action...
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Can Reynolds Field, otherwise known as Jackson County Airport, become one of the nation's top proving grounds for drone technologies? County and Airport officials...and one Jackson-based start-up seem willing to bet on it.
This nondescript building on Taxiway F is home to Zephyr Systems — a Jackson company that specializes in the operation and testing of unmanned aerial vehicles — otherwise known as drones.
Next to it: the proposed site of a future "vertiport" — an area for vertical take offs and landings — and new hangars. Amenities that could attract millions of dollars to what is already, according to Zephyr CEO Michael Furmanski, one of the nation's biggest testing ranges for unmanned aerial vehicles.
Approval was recently granted by the Federal Aviation Administration after two years of efforts by the company. And now the effort is yielding benefits.
Michael Furmanski, CEO, Zephyr Systems: "Since we went through the whole process of navigating that, we now offer it as a solution to other companies."
According to Furmanski, this is already a moneymaker for Jackson, drawing companies from elsewhere to test their technologies here.
Michael Furmanski, CEO, Zephyr Systems: "The beauty is they can come in, they don't need to worry about going through all those approvals, which takes a long time."
A package approved by Jackson County Commission's Public Safety and Transportation Committee and ready for Commission approval contains not only provisions for the upgrade of the airport's aging terminal. There is also a draft resolution in support of advanced drone testing and operationalization.
According to Commissioner and Head of the Public Safety and Transportation Committee Corey Kennedy, the resolution will accompany a grant application for federal funds to build the vertiport, new hangar space, and other drone infrastructure.
Corey Kennedy, County Commissioner: "The vertiport is going to bring all the infrastructure that we need for electric aviation vehicles...both manned and unmanned vehicles. So Jackson will be a frontrunner."
It is this kind of infrastructure that Furmanski says can also make Jackson attractive to Silicon Valley companies testing and, eventually, deploying air taxis for passengers.
One such company — Joby — recently set up shop in Ohio, where testing drones is easier than in California's crowded airspace.
Michael Furmanski, CEO, Zephyr Systems: "It was a missed opportunity, but I think ultimately if we could position ourselves or continue to position ourselves as kind of the state-of-the-art facility, the turnkey operation for testing, hopefully, we'll attract the rest of them."
