AeroX is a nonprofit organization of business, government and community partners focused on creating a national model ecosystem for advanced air mobility ecosystem in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, North Carolina.

Our goal: help companies thrive by developing and leveraging unmanned aircraft technologies.

Read Our 2022 Annual Report

Location

Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, North Carolina, are located in the heart of North Carolina, a lead state in the Federal Aviation Administration’s three-year Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Pilot Program (IPP) and now a lead participant in its follow-on initiative, BEYOND.

During the IPP, North Carolina’s team posted more national firsts and flew more missions than all of the other eight IPP teams combined, including:

  • North America’s first unmanned passenger aircraft flight.
  • First U.S. medical package drone delivery demonstration flight over people.
  • First U.S. routine drone flights to deliver products for pay.
  • First U.S. routine UAS Part 135 package deliveries.
  • First U.S. first beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) UAS operations within controlled airspace.
  • First U.S. approval of a full Part 135 (commercial drone airline) certification.
  • First U.S. approval for BVLOS bridge inspections.
  • First N.C. coordinated statewide drone response to a disaster, the largest state response to date.

AeroX supports North Carolina’s continuing leadership in advancing AAM by serving as a testbed for and model for AAM in an urban setting. A $5 million grant from the 2021 North Carolina General Assembly is allowing AeroX to take a major step forward designing and developing an urban advanced air mobility system for the region and state.

Leadership

AeroX’s Board of Directors and AeroX Advisory Council include business and community leaders with direct knowledge, networks and experience advancing UAS and AAM operations and companies.

AeroX partners are part of a broad and growing network of AAM innovators – UAS manufacturers and operators, companies using UAS services, government agencies facilitating AAM advances and support organizations aiding the startup, expansion and growth of partner companies.

Funding

AeroX is sustained by memberships and grants from public and private sources.

Grant funding from the 2021 N.C. General Assembly flows through the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Division of Aviation, which has led North Carolina’s acclaimed participation in the IPP and BEYOND.