Ribbon cut on National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence

Sep. 18—SPRINGFIELD — The National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence officially opened at Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport on Monday, a day when Joby Aviation's Dayton manufacturing announcement put air mobility and its commercial possibilities at the top of the agenda.

California-based Joby Aviation joined the state of Ohio Monday in announcing that Joby intended to make electric planes near the Dayton International Airport for commercial aviation taxi services.

The state expects Joby to invest up to $477 million, creating to 2,000 jobs, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's office said. That investment will be supported by as much as $325 million in state and local incentives, the company and the state of Ohio said Monday.

The planes expected to be made in the Dayton area are cutting-edge electric planes that take off and land vertically.

"This has been, at least in my career, one of the most amazing days," said Terry Slaybaugh, JobsOhio vice president of sites and infrastructure and a former director of aviation for the city of Dayton.

"What a great double win for the Miami Valley," said Jack Marchbanks, Ohio Department of Transportation director, referring not only to the Joby announcement but the official opening of the new center in Springfield.

Fueled by a $6 million Department of Defense community infrastructure grant and a nearly $3 million JobsOhio grant, the center will be a home to military and civilian research in the realm of electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOL, vehicles and other "advanced air mobility" projects.

The center, also called "NAAMCE," is adjacent to the Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport terminal. The new building is a two-story, 30,000-square-foot office building that will house administrative, laboratory, meeting, and collaboration space, with 25,000 square feet of aircraft hangar space, for the Air Force and private industry.

"This center is a game-changer, folks," said Springfield Assistant Mayor Rob Rue.

"It's a culmination of activity and effort that we've been working on for like a decade," said Tom Franzen, Springfield assistant city manager.

This idea to create space where a facility can support the missions at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, while also support the missions at the Air National Guard Base, home to the Ohio National Guard 178th Wing, as well as private industry.

"It's really continuing to build those relationships with Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), NASA, the FAA, our colleges and universities to continue this momentum," Franzen said.

The Joby announcement would not have happened without that commitment to both military and civilian imperatives, he said.

"We need access to American ingenuity, to the type of companies you see exhibited here," said Col. Elliott Leigh, director of AFWERX, a technology directorate of AFRL, which is headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

The ribbon-cutting at the new center opened the two-day National Advanced Air Mobility Industry Forum, which continues Tuesday at the Hollenbeck Creative Arts Conference Center.

"Today is just the beginning of being able to open this building and being able to support more of this activity," Franzen said.