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A Fort Worth aerospace company is taking off with its plans to design, test and build unmanned aircraft in far north Tarrant County for military and commercial uses.AVX Aircraft Co. recently relocated from a small office in Benbrook to a larger modern facility at Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport to grow the company specializing in advanced vertical lift technology. A team of about 40 engineers and professionals now operates in the new facility at 13901 Aviator Way off Interstate 35 West, and AVX plans to double its workforce within the next year. The facility has 14,000 square feet of office space and 7,000 square feet for designing and testing prototypes. Once an aircraft is flightworthy, company engineers will test it on the adjacent runways, officials said.The company, launched in 2005, “has grown from that small office to this facility here,” company founder David Brody said at an Oct. 29 ribbon cutting event in the company’s aircraft hangar, which was draped with large U.S. and Texas flags and featured helicopter models that showed the evolution from piloted crafts to unmanned vehicles.Since the company’s early days, AVX has been “building a reputation and brand for technical excellence,” company President and COO Kendall Goodman said.In 2010, AVX shifted its patented coaxial rotor design technology to current military strategies involving unmanned aircraft, attracting attention — and contracts — from the Austin-based U.S. Army Futures Command.“We’ve developed a reputation for grit and punching above our weight class,” Goodman said.AVX Aircraft Co. has created designs for vertical lift unmanned aircraft, including the RECON-45 drone, left, and multi-mission unmanned vehicles for military and commercial applications. (Courtesy image | AVX Aircraft Co.)
AVX’s future lies in developing aircraft with vertical takeoff and landing capabilities, Goodman said. The company will design next-generation helicopter technology that includes advanced aircraft frames that eliminate the need for fasteners and joints. AVX is also developing sustainable technology software intended to lower fleet operational costs and predict the lifespan of aircraft parts.Developing vertical takeoff and landing aircraft for the military is significant, Goodman said.“This technology doesn’t exist on the battlefield,” he said. “It’s a game changer.”Fort Worth-based AVX Aircraft Co. is partnering with XTI Aerospace Inc. to refine current designs for the TriFan 600, a fixed-wing vertical lift aircraft. (Courtesy image | XTI Aerospace Inc.)In June, AVX and Colorado-based XTI Aerospace Inc. agreed to develop, design and certify XTI’s TriFan 600, a fixed-wing vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.“The relationship with AVX provides XTI Aircraft with seasoned engineering talent and a company highly experienced in designing and developing vertical lift aircraft technology,” Scott Pomeroy, chairman and CEO of XTI Aerospace, said in a statement. “AVX will help refine our current design, which we expect will accelerate the TriFan 600 development program while significantly reducing expenses for certain engineering capabilities and services.”AVX’s military applications of its technology are impressive, said U.S. Rep. Jake Ellzey, R-Waxahachie, a former Navy fighter pilot who now serves on the House Appropriations Committee’s Defense subcommittee.“If you’re at AVX, you’re a pioneer,” said Ellzey, whose congressional district includes part of Tarrant County.Vertical take-off and landing aircraft would be an asset to the military, Ellzey said. “Our troops need it, our pilots need it, our country needs it,” he said.U.S. Rep. Jake Ellzey, R-Waxahachie, center, prepares to lasso a steer roping dummy during an AVX Aircraft Co. ribbon cutting event on Oct. 29, 2024, at Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport. (Camilo Diaz | Fort Worth Report)Alliance boomAVX joins more than 570 other companies based at the Alliance airport.“The airport itself was innovative since day one and we’re the world’s first industrial airport built out of the ground to serve an industrial purpose,” Christian Childs, president of Hillwood Aviation Companies, said. “We love partnering with new companies, we love to see them get their feet on the ground here.”Economic possibilities on the horizon with autonomous aircraft technology, Childs said.“We’ve got a little bit of development property still left around the airport adjacent to the airport, so we’re marketing that to some prospective users,” he said.AllianceTexas, Hillwood’s 27,000-acre master-planned, mixed-use development, is also home of the Mobility Innovation Zone, a private-public hub for surface and air mobility solutions.An $80 million federal Infrastructure for Rebuilding America grant will help build a new State Highway 170 intermodal bridge and other significant infrastructure improvements to create the new Smart Port at AllianceTexas, Hillwood recently announced.Scott Helsing, AVX senior vice president for unmanned aircraft systems, right, gives a tour of the new AVX Prototype Lab on Oct. 29, 2024, at Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport. (Camilo Diaz | Fort Worth Report)Prototype labScott Helsing, AVX senior vice president for unmanned aircraft systems, showed visitors the company’s prototype lab, where designs for aircraft are being tested and refined. Engineers are designing the all electric flight control system to replace hydraulic parts on unmanned aircraft, eliminating up to 800 pounds to make it lightweight and effective, he said.3D printers allow engineers to visualize and create parts needed for the aircraft.Eventually, Helsing said, the company plans to build limited production prototypes of its aircraft at the facility. The vertical take-off and landing craft will be tested at Alliance’s runways.“We can figure out what was wrong and take the next steps to improve it,” he said.Eric E. Garcia is a senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.