First up, let’s talk flying cars — specifically, making them here in Dayton, Ohio.
$1 million over two years slated for Joby Aviation
A committee making funding recommendations for Montgomery County commissioners recommended Monday that Joby Aviation be slated for $1 million over two years to build flying cars on Concorde Drive in Dayton.
Why it matters: This is another incentive for the California company is build the world’s first large-scale manufacturing operation of electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOL) near Dayton International, having a facility operating by 2025.
“A lot of great jobs are going to be created here,” said Chris Williams, assistant county administrator for business services for Montgomery County.
If you’re flying a drone for commercial purposes in the United States, there are rules you need to follow — specifically, the FAA’s Part 107 rules. One of those rules: You must fly at or below 400 feet.
Matrix Research builds region’s first private drone flight enclosure
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Flying below 400 feet will not be a problem for Beavercreek defense contractor Matrix Research, thanks to the company’s new drone enclosure in the Miami Valley Research Park.
A first? Company leaders say it’s the first privately owned drone flight enclosure in the Dayton area.
Visible from the highway: The enclosure stands 50 feet high and 60 feet wide, with a length of 120 feet, behind the contractor’s building at 3844 Research Blvd. Drivers on eastbound U.S. 35 east of Interstate 675 should be able to spot it easily if they look to their right.
Why it matters: Matrix doesn’t make drones, but it produces sensor arrays designed to be carried by drones — video equipment, radio frequency sensing equipment and more .
The company also hopes to work with students.
Aircraft maintenance operation in Dayton will close, laying off 54 workers
This story broke late Friday: Stevens Aerospace and Defense Systems has told Ohio government it will close its maintenance, repair and overhaul operation (MRO) at Dayton International Airport in two months.
The facility at 3500 Hangar Drive, Vandalia, will close by Jan. 31, 2024, affecting 54 workers, the company said in a WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notice) Act letter.
MRO growth: Another MRO operation, Sierra Nevada, is also operating near the airport on 16 acres. That operation is capable of supporting the largest aviation projects in the world. And it’s expanding.
CareSource offers new plans focused on diabetes
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
CareSource announced it has new Marketplace health plans geared toward people living with diabetes, and these are the first health plans the Dayton-based insurer is offering tailored to a specific chronic condition, Samantha Wildow reported Sunday.
Managing diabetes: “One main target was to make it more affordable for members to manage their diabetes with select tests and screenings, insulin, medication, and testing supplies be available at no cost,” said Mark Faber, senior director of product management at CareSource.
Mercy Health’s $200M Kings Mills Hospital nearing completion in Warren County
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Warren County’s newest hospital, the $200 million Mercy Health Kings Mills Hospital, is expected to open in the first quarter of 2024, staff writer Ed Richter has reported.
Flurry of activity: The Dayton Daily News last week was given a tour of the new facility, which is in the process of being furnished with medical and diagnostic equipment. The healthcare provider received its temporary certificate of occupancy before Thanksgiving, and the 172,500 square-foot building has been in a flurry of activity since, with equipment installation and other interior projects.
Quick hits
Webster Station or Water Street District? Call it what you will; here are 12 great ways to celebrate the holidays there.
Charged: Former PUCO chairman charged in multi-million dollar bribery scheme.
Good luck and godspeed, Mr. McCord: Quarterback a question mark for Ohio State.
Winter wanderlust: Requires planning.
Dayton police struggle: Dayton government reporter Cory Frolik gives us the details.
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