Fri, March 29, 2024

AGS test program helps groceries take flight

Up in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane, and it’s….a drone delivering your weekly groceries?

That could be a possibility in the future, thanks to a business project developed by the Augusta Regional Airport.

The airport created Airworx Innovation Xchange, an aerospace business incubator, a few years ago to support startups in the aeronautical and aviation industries, according to its Director of Marketing and Business Development, Diane Johnston.

eoy CAMPAIGN HEADER

“It provides an opportunity to move the industry forward,” Johnston said. “If they need help with marketing, we can help with those types of things.”

So far, the airport houses two businesses: the Augusta Flight Center, a flight school, and a charter pilot who’s considering developing a flight simulator. She said the airport recognized the need for more workers in the industry.

Airworx Innovation Xchange is also tied to its STEM program for local students, which the airport has operated for more than 10 years.

“We provide an opportunity for kids who may not have considered aviation as a career,” Johnston said. “We have memorandums of understanding with Richmond County and Burke County schools.”

Students will get the chance to visit the airport and meet the entrepreneurs. The project will also create apprenticeship opportunities for them. The airport already has a summer internship program.

She said drone deliveries aren’t available in the Augusta area yet.

“The Federal Aviation Administration is trying to figure out how to do this,” Johnston said.

A company called UPS Flight Forward Inc. is currently testing deliveries of medical supplies and other items over very short distances. Augusta Regional will allow companies to use its facilities to test drone deliveries.

To perform these tests, the airport has partnered with the University of Alaska.

“The University of Alaska feeds data directly to the FAA and NASA,” she said.

For more information, visit skyworxinnovation.com.

Subscribe to our eNewsletter for the BEST local business news delivered to your Inbox each week day.

* indicates required

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More Posts

Cyber attacks: Not if but when?

Think your company is too small to be hacked? No. So what happens to the integrity of your business when your customer’s info is breached?