Amanda Conner, Aviation Business Development Manager (NCDOAV) spoke to Aero-News Network about the state’s efforts to align developers, workforce partners, and technical assistance to further emphasize North Carolina’s (NC) commitment to competitively attracting uncrewed aerial systems, further cementing its claim to “first in flight”, and “showing that NC can stand above the rest”. Ms. Conner added that since the beginning, North Carolina has been very supportive, from a legislative perspective towards aviation, and sees drones as the next frontier similarly worthy of support.
With the advancements made and as waivers are approved, operations are conducted for various use cases, NC knows that this [drones] is where the industry is going, and they want to stay at the forefront. When asked “what specifically is NC doing to stay ahead and show makes North Carolina unique?”, Ms. Conner stated “we have successes that speak for themselves with the integration pilot program and beyond...we have five established drain ports in our state for medical package delivery and commercial service and they are operating routinely”.
NC sees the revenue generation, job creation, and investments for the state, and as long as they’re succeeding, they will continue to engage and recruit. When asked about the educational initiatives regarding drones, Ms. Conner spoke about the partnership in their state pavilion where they have aligned with educational opportunities to create that skilled workforce, “pulling in Elizabeth City State University with their aerospace and drone programming, North Carolina State University with their research development expertise, and involvement with the Assured Center of Excellence” to prepare the workforce.
When asked how NC is getting the message out, Ms. Conner added that the “legislative support and dedicated funding through our legislators for the UAS program and its integration into the division of Aviation for the North Carolina Department of Transportation” coupled with “areas that are excelling in its use and have developed their own programs, one of those being AeroX in Winston Salem.”
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