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ADVANCED AIR MOBILITY
Coming to Battle Creek Executive Airport
Battle Creek Unlimited (BCU) is spearheading the creation of MICH-AIR, an advanced air mobility park at the Battle Creek Executive Airport (BTL). MICH-AIR is being positioned to serve multiple functions:
As a manufacturing site for large drones
As a center for large drone operations (e.g. cargo terminal, freight delivery, surveillance, or firefighting)
As a hub for drone maintenance and repair
As a location for training drone pilots
As a terminal for urban air mobility
As technology evolves and the industry expands, drone operations are expected to extend to major commercial airports such as Detroit and Grand Rapids.
Advanced Air Mobility's Future is Being Built in Battle Creek
ADVANCED AIR MOBILITY BY THE NUMBERS
22.91 B
VALUE IN 2022
73.1 B
2028 PROJECTED VALUE
OUR STRATEGIC ADVANTAGES
Battle Creek is a community that possesses several key attributes for advanced air mobility businesses to thrive. These include a strategic location, connectedness to cutting-edge technologies on a global scale, a robust corporate presence, and abundant opportunities for growth and success.
LOCATION
Battle Creek is situated between Detroit and Chicago, along I-94, with Grand Rapids to the north, and Fort Wayne and Indianapolis to the south. Battle Creek allows access to 60% of the Canadian and U.S. markets within overnight shipping distance. More importantly, the MICH-AIR team is working to create a network of airports across Michigan, which would enable remote and autonomous arial vehicle operations.
BTL, AIRPORT ASSETS, AND BCTIFA
The Battle Creek Executive Airport (BTL) is the third busiest airport in Michigan, catering primarily to general aviation users. BTL has ample airspace and runway capacity, with approximately 200 acres of airside land available for development. Work is underway now on a new Airport Layout Plan, funded in part by MDOT.
BTL is home to Western Michigan University’s College of Aviation, which will add drone curriculum in 2024. The 110th Wing of the Michigan Air National Guard operates at BTL, where it has a remote drone operations mission. The FAA has a Flight Operations team at BTL which performs flight inspection activities throughout the Great Lakes and Central regions. BTL is also home to Duncan Aviation, which manages a large maintenance/repair/overhaul facility, as well as WACO Aircraft, which produces reproduction biplanes.
Importantly, BTL is part of the Battle Creek Tax Increment Finance Authority (BCTIFA), the first industrial TIF district in Michigan. In 2022, the City of Battle Creek voted to extend the BCTIFA's for an additional 25 years through 2047. This will help secure funding for future projects.
FORT CUSTER
INDUSTRIAL
PARK
Battle Creek’s Fort Custer Industrial Park (FCIP) is adjacent to BTL. It is the largest industrial park in Michigan, and home to almost 90 companies which collectively employ approximately 13,000 people. The industrial park has significant foreign investment, and includes more than two dozen companies from Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Japan, and China. DENSO, the Japanese Tier-1 auto parts company, established operations in Battle Creek and has become Battle Creek’s largest employer. In 2021, DENSO announced a partnership with Honeywell to develop aircraft motors, initially prioritizing the urban air mobility (UAM) segment with a focus on air taxis and delivery vehicles.
