Efforts are well underway to make Traverse City into a globally-recognized blue economy hub. And if northern Michigan can conquer the seas, then it stands to reason the next step would be to conquer the skies.

Leaders from Northwestern Michigan College (NMC) and Traverse Connect see big potential for unmanned aerial systems (UAS) – more commonly known as drones – to become northern Michigan’s next big industry cluster. It’s an idea driven by recent news that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is working on a new regulatory framework for UAS technologies. If/when that new regulation becomes law, it would mark what NMC UAS Program Coordinator Tony Sauerbrey calls “the second coming of the drone industry.”

“Tony currently instructs under FAA Part 107, a regulation I like to describe as a ‘de-confliction’ of the national airspace,” says Scott Dennis, an adjunct professor and certified flight instructor at NMC. “Under Part 107, we can fly drones below 400 feet and within visual line of sight, and the drone has to weigh less than 55 pounds. That regulation was the FAA’s first attempt to say, ‘Okay, you can fly drones, but don't get in the way of all of our air traffic systems.’”

Now the FAA is working on a new regulation called Part 108, which Dennis says would represent “a true integration of drones into the national airspace.”

“Under that regulation, drones would be properly incorporated. They would have flight rules. They'd be flown by credentialed pilots. They'd have maintenance standards, much like what we teach over on our professional pilot side,” Dennis tells The Ticker. “And so, NMC is looking at how we would grow our curriculum into that Part 108 area.”

Sauerbrey and Dennis aren’t the only ones getting excited about Part 108. Next month, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) will host the “Uncrewed Triple Challenge,” a state-sponsored competition that “tasks entrants with using unmanned, autonomous drones to seamlessly transport a package across Michigan — traversing water, air, and land.” The competition starts at Alpena Harbor on May 19 and ends at Camp Grayling on May 22.

“Companies across the nation, including many in Michigan, are working on the next generation of drones for a wide variety of defense, civilian, and commercial uses,” reads a Triple Challenge event description on the MEDC website. “These drones deliver medicine to isolated communities, support military personnel on the front lines, and transport critical manufacturing components to cut down on production delays. With the Uncrewed Triple Challenge, Michigan is making its mark in this sector, which will help drive investment and job growth.”

The aspect of Part 108 that would be most groundbreaking, Dennis says, would be a green light for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations. Right now, drone operators aren’t allowed to fly their drones beyond their field of vision. If Part 108 opens the door for BVLOS, it would significantly increase what drone pilots can do with their aircraft.

“People often think of drones delivering packages to their door, but it’s actually a lot more than that,’” says Camille Hoisington, director of ecosystem development for Traverse Connect. “It's about advancing social equity through access in rural areas. It’s things like being able to deliver medical supplies or emergency goods to rural areas. It’s being able to inspect power lines in difficult to reach places. It's environmental protection. It's being able to monitor what's going on in our agricultural fields. There’s a lot of potential, beyond what you might immediately think.”

Traverse Connect sees massive economic opportunity. In 2023, Hoisington says, a joint report from the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Office of Aeronautics and the Michigan Aeronautics Commission identified Traverse City as “one of three key regions” in the state that could become “a test bed for innovation with the advanced aerial mobility space.” Between Traverse City’s strong manufacturing sector, Traverse Connect’s work on attracting new businesses to the region, and northern Michigan’s mix of topography, the study flagged the region as a good place to test, develop, build, and use drone technologies.

“When you look at the future of the drone industry, there’s a $9.4 billion market projected by 2030,” Hoisington says. “It definitely seems like the future of airspace, and it’s something we’re ready to place a big bet on.”

Beyond offering a chance for existing drone companies to show off their best tech, next month’s Triple Challenge will also act as a test case for northern Michigan as a UAS hub. According to Sauerbrey, the state has been working to develop a drone “corridor” between Alpena and Camp Grayling, and is eyeing Grayling to Traverse City as the next potential leg. If that happens, it would allow NMC and Traverse Connect to implement their next-level drone plans before the FAA even rolls out Part 108 rules.

“Right now, BVLOS requires a higher level of safety than drones currently have,” Sauerbrey explains. “So how do we bridge that gap? The intermediate thing is these corridors, which are essentially very sensitive radar stations set along a route that can be the eyes for the drone operator. It's electronic eyes, but you can see the drone, you can see any air traffic in the area, and you can keep the drone separate from other air traffic.”

Drones will eventually have sophisticated enough technology onboard that this kind of on-the-ground corridor infrastructure won’t be necessary. In the meantime, though, areas with corridor status would be the best places in the country for anyone trying to do business in the drone world.

“The feds aren’t going to come out with Part 108 tomorrow, and say, ‘Okay, you can go do whatever you want,’” Sauerbrey says. “Instead, it’s a question of how can we crawl, walk, run, to being safe. How can we test these systems? How can we certify these systems? Well, you have to go to an area that provides that safety, kind of like a sandbox to play in. So, as drone manufacturers and other companies want to experiment with new technologies or new applications, like drone delivery, they're going to have to go to a sandbox to be able to start safely testing these things, and to prove their technology could then be used in an area that doesn’t have these radar facilities.”