ATechandFlyingFuture:Aquiline Drones

from In Flight USA October 2020

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A TECHAND FLYING FUTURE 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)

By Annamarie Buonocore

Here 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 engineers.

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?

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A Tech and Flying Future

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AD: We have used the name Aquiline for many companies in the past. It started off with Aquiline Holdings, which was an IBC, for the purpose of launching Aquiline Ambulance, an ambulance operation I founded to move patients across the Caribbean for medical resources. That was done in concert with local governments to provide a transportation network for different islands to share medical resources. Then we got out of the air ambulance service and got into the credit card processing space. Then we got into the digital media space for a while. I had a whole business portfolio and used digital media to transform educational content into rich interactive media. Most of this dissolved during the global economic downturn. I got back into active flying. This is the latest Aquiline company. Aquiline means eagle in Latin, which is fitting. We were the first CIA drone mission launched in 2008 out of Area 51. This is our latest venture, and we are here to transform the drone industry.

IF USA: Tell me about how Hartford, Conn. is booming for drone technologies.

AD: Hartford is going to become the drone capital of the U.S., and Aquiline Drones has taken on the position of bringing as much manufacturing back into the U.S., mainly in the drone space, as possible. Hartford is also rich in aviation history. Many of the seasoned aviation enterprises like Command Aerospace were all here in Connecticut. We chose Hartford for the fact that it has a rich aviation history, and we couldn’t think of a better place to launch a homegrown supply chain to support the business.

IF USA: How do you see drone technologies integrating with manned aircraft?

AD: Drones are an extension of manned aircraft in that they have the same operating principles. They have the same powerplant, hydraulics, physical structure, design, etc. Going forward, the goal is to keep drones and manned aircraft separate so that they are out of harm’s way. Many helicopters cost a great deal of money to operate, mainly because of the manned personnel. Drones can help keep those costs down, so we expect to see a much healthier integration of unmanned aircraft into the manned airspace. That is why we are working to help more people train for their unmanned aircraft certificate. We will likely be the first company in the U.S. to be operating manned and unmanned aircraft under the same auspices and certificate. If you look at drones as gadgetry, then you will have a problem seeing them integrate with manned aircraft. But if you respect them as aircraft, you will see it. It’s all in the education.

IF USA: Is your company doing anything to educate the public about drones?

AD: Absolutely. We are launching our drone academy in the coming months, and that academy also speaks to the initiative I mentioned earlier in that it is going to be in the business incubator for the air ambulance initiative I mentioned. We are putting out many white papers to educate the public about drone safety and the use of drones. We are also launching our Flight to the Future program that is designed for anyone over 18 years old. If someone is unemployed, underemployed, or about to be furloughed in our Covid-19 world, they can be part of it. No prior degrees or certifications are needed. Aquiline Drones prepares a participant to become a fully licensed drone pilot and business operator through pilot training, cloud immersion, industry application, and small business skills. The first course launched on Sept. 1, however interested parties may register for the virtual training program anytime and complete each module on their own time for ultimate flexibility of schedule. The program is aligned with the White House’s recent launch of its “Find Something New,” which encourages American residents to find alternate career paths.

IF USA: Can you speak of any environmental benefits of drone technologies?

AD: Yes, the environmental benefits are clear. There is very little carbon footprint, they help keep humans out of harm’s way, they help in firefighting, and they help allocate scarce resources in times of crisis. They investigate environmental hotspots, and there is a plethora of applications that speak to the environment.

IF USA: Thank you!

For more information, contact info@aquilinedrones.com .