A TECH
October 2020
AND
FLYING FUTURE
www.inflightusa.com
19
The Story of Aquiline Drones and its Founder Barry Alexander
Aquiline Drones Ascends to New Heights to become Fastest-Growing, Full-Service Drone Company in the USA. (Courtesy Aquiline Drones)
H
By Annamarie Buonocore
ere at In Flight USA, we have the pleasure of publishing stories about all things that fly. General aviation is ever evolving and is improving to make the world a better place. Unmanned aircraft, or drones, are a growing industry that can complement general aviation and all that it does for the world. The demand for drones is increasing for many industries and services, ranging from real estate to police work. We recently had the pleasure of talking to the Connecticut-based startup, Aquiline Drones, a unique drone company that is not only promoting new unmanned aircraft but future flight education as well. The company has sought to reach many young aspiring drone pilots and aviators and is doing a great job of promoting STEM education. We had the opportunity to talk to Barry Alexander and ask him questions about his company and hopes for the future. We proudly present the story of Aquiline Drones. In Flight USA: Tell me a little bit about your background. What compelled you to get into drones? Barry Alexander: I am a pilot by profession. I have worked as an airline transport pilot captain for 25 years. I am quite decorated in my aviation background. I flew helicopters for a while. I was an aircraft mechanic for a while, a CFI for a while, and I have flown different airplanes for different companies and service models. Drones are an extension of regular manned aircraft, and it was sort of a natural progression into that industry, given the aviation background that I have. It is important to me that our company’s leadership have veteran and military pilots as well. We have Air Force generals and aerospace engineers on board, as well as technology professionals and software engi-
neers. IF USA: How many people do you have working in your company right now? AD: We have about 20 individuals in our Hartford office. We are in the Stark building, and we occupy the penthouse where we have research and prototyping space. IF USA: What do your employees do? Are they mostly aviators? AD: The majority of them are aviators. When we speak of drones, we have a unique portfolio. We are building our own airline out of this office, with a dispatch and flight-following department, crew scheduling, and maintenance— everything you would find in a typical airline. The purpose of that is to enable us to deploy our human organ transport service, which is part of our air-medical operation that is being deployed over the next few months. Most of our employees have extensive experience putting such operations together, and that is what happens most of the time here. We also have marketing, cloud engineering, and development testers. The cloud is an important part of our business, so we do a lot of testing development. Our cloud is very industry specific and focuses on aviation and drone operations. That is what sets us apart from other cloud-based platforms. IF USA: Would you say it is difficult to become a drone pilot? AD: No, it is not. It is easier for pilots who are already certificated, but if you have any prior aviation experience, that will be helpful. If you do not have any prior aviation experience, then it is a little bit more extensive to train and get your license from the FAA. In the backdrop of Covid-19, individuals are pivoting, and this is definitely a career that is growing. IF USA: Why did you decide to call the company Aquiline Drones? Continued on Page 20
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