PDAC: Submission #1192 | Dayton Development Coalition

Submission information

Project Details

1. To which Review Panel are you submitting your project? Economic Development

2. Project title The Sinclair College Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Aircraft Acquisition Initiative

3. Short description To continue to serve the needs of the growing Unmanned Aerial System, Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), and broader aerospace industry, Sinclair will expand its UAS fleet to incorporate aircraft over the 55-lb class and will include AAM systems. This fleet expansion will allow for R&D, academic instruction, and workforce training for public and private sector applications in an industry that is projected to triple in the next ten years, with specific investment in the Dayton region.

Organization Details

4. Organization making the request Sinclair Community College

5-8. Address 444 W. Third Street
Dayton, Ohio. 45402

9. County Montgomery

10. Recipient organization {Empty}

11-14. Address {Empty}

15. County {Empty}

16. Organization type Government

Organization Contact Details

17. Name Jeff Miller

18. Title Senior Vice President for Administration

19. Organization Sinclair Community College

20. Telephone 937-512-3889

21. Email jeff.miller@sinclair.edu

22-25. Address 444 W. Third Street
Dayton, Ohio. 45402

26. County Montgomery

27. Additional contacts Katie DeLand, DMGS
937-424-7086

Adam Murka, Q&A Strategies
937-321-5400

Location Details

28. City Dayton

29. County Ohio

30. Congressional district Ohio 10th

Financial Details

31. Funding request 2850000

32. Total Cost 19350000

33. Other sources of funds Sinclair has already invested $12.5 million of capital and operating dollars into the Sinclair National UAS Training and Certification Center, combined with $4 million of previous state investment. As such, Sinclair is prepared to incur any additional matching funds needed to complete this equipment acquisition.

34. How the funds will be used Equipment Purchases

35. Do you have matching funds raised or committed? If yes, explain in question #36. If no, skip to question #37. Yes

36. If yes, please provide additional information. (Or, budget document can be uploaded, see question 37) Sinclair has already invested $12.5 million of capital and operating dollars into the Sinclair National UAS, Training and Certification Center, combined with $4 million of previous state investment. As such, Sinclair is prepared to incur any additional matching funds needed to complete this equipment acquisition.

37. Budget Yes

Budget File Upload

sinclair-community-college-advanced-air-mobility-aircraft-budget.pdf (105 KB)

38. By what date will you be ready to spend the funds Within the next 6 months

39. Programs/grants for which this project would qualify Sinclair is actively working with Congressman Turner's office to determine any further funding opportunities for this project. Sinclair will apprise the Dayton Development Coalition as well as the PDAC Committee if any specific opportunities become available.

Community Details

40. Community Need The Dayton region is uniquely well-positioned for continued growth and development in the UAS, AAM, and broader aerospace industry. According to the Teal Group's World Civil Unmanned Aerial Systems Market Profile & Forecast for 2022/2023, the market for civil UAS promises to be one of the most dynamic aerospace growth sectors for the next decade, emerging from a $7.2 billion market (value of air vehicles) in 2022 to more than triple to $19.8 billion by 2031. Additionally, the Teal Group's World Military Unmanned Aerial Systems Market Profile & Forecast for 2022/2023 projects that UAS procurement spending will increase from the worldwide level of almost $10.6 billion annually in 2021 to $13 billion in 2030, totaling $123.1 billion over the next ten years. Military UAS research spending would add another $64.5 billion over the decade.

Specific to the region, in September 2023, Joby Aviation announced their selection Dayton, Ohio for their first scaled manufacturing facility for eVTOL aircraft. Joby’s facility at the Dayton International Airport will be capable of delivering up to 500 aircraft per year, supporting up to 2,000 jobs. The State of Ohio, JobsOhio, and local political subdivisions offered incentives and benefits to the company of up to $325 million to support the development of the facility, with Joby planning to invest up to $500 million as it scales operations at the site.

Sinclair Community College is a key partner in Montgomery County's Economic Development strategy in growing the entire UAS and AAM cluster, and further investment in large-sized UAS and AAM systems is critical. Sinclair continues to successfully partner in its efforts to be a driving force in the Dayton Region and Ohio. Alignment in all aspects of growing the UAS and AAM cluster is the key to collective success, and alignment in developing the right pathways for incumbent workforce training and meeting the needs of industry have provided countless positive outcomes.

Sinclair is at the forefront in UAS and AAM and has helped Montgomery County and the region grow talent and retain and attract new businesses from around the United States and world.

41. Previous Funding: Has the requesting organization received Congressionally earmarked funding in the past? If so, please provide a brief project description, year funded, amount, and Congressional sponsor. Yes, Sinclair Community College received $1,000,000 in Congressionally directed funding from Congressman Mike Turner and Senator Sherrod Brown in 2021 for the Sinclair Community College Advanced Manufacturing Center to assist in regional workforce training initiatives. Additionally, Sinclair was awarded $2,000,000 in 2022 for an initiative to train critically in-demand healthcare professionals.

42. Direct new jobs created 26 to 50

43. Existing jobs retained? 11 to 25

44. Sustained permanent jobs? 251 to 500

45. Please explain how you determined the job creation listed in questions 42-44. The Teal Group forecasts of continued expansion of the UAS industry in both the civil and military sectors for the coming decade are supportive of estimates for created, retained, or sustained jobs. A major driver for this request is ensuring the support is in place for Joby Aviation’s expansion to Dayton and their projected need to hire 2,000 new employees to support production, testing, maintenance, and training, etc. As a core academic and workforce training partner in the region, and nationally leading applied research institution supporting UAS and AAM focuses, Sinclair will play a prime role in ensuring workforce availability and that required training needs for Joby and other industry and government
stakeholders in Ohio are met.

These data points confirm the trend over the last decade, which shows a strong demand for UAS AAM technologies and robust educational programs. This has accelerated in recent years and escalated with Joby's latest economic development announcement.

46. Using your best guess, of the jobs created over the next 10 years, what will the average salary be? $50,000-$75,000

47. Is your project a workforce development program? Yes

48. If yes, does your program center on one of the ten JobsOhio targeted industries? Yes

Which industry? Aerospace and Aviation

49. Counties in which jobs will be created Auglaize, Butler, Champaign, Clark, Clinton, Darke, Fayette, Greene, Mercer, Miami, Montgomery, Preble, Shelby, Warren

Additional Details

50. Letters of endorsement, supporting materials, additional information. You can submit ONE PDF file that does not exceed 10 pages.

Sinclair- PDAC Letters of Support 2023.pdf (442.48 KB)

51. Is there opposition to the project? No

52. Name of person filling out this form. Katie DeLand

53. Telephone number of person filling out this form. 937-424-7086

54. Email of person filling out this form. This is where notification will be sent that the form was received. kldeland@dmgs.com

55. Do you want your project to be considered as a Community Project in the fiscal year 2025 –2026 State Capital Budget Bill? Yes

56. If your project type is on the list of ineligible projects (see above), please offer an explanation why your project could be eligible. If your project is not on the list, answer the question by stating that your project is not on the list of ineligible projects. Our project is not on the list of ineligible projects.

57. Has your organization received state capital budget funding in the past? If so, provide a brief project description, year funded, and amount. Yes, Sinclair Community College has received state capital funding in the past. In the FY23-24 capital budget, Sinclair was awarded $250,000 for the Aircraft Mechanic Training Center and $375,000 for the Sinclair Community College/Premier Health Partners Center for Nursing Excellence.

58. Does your project have a connection with, or provide some benefit to, a state agency that has bonding authority? Please check all that apply from the following list: Board of Regents (or specific educational institution)

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