Flying into the Future: Drone Testing Facility Skyway Range Grows with Flexible Funding from TEDC Creative Capital
Table of Contents:
Bringing the Future of Unmanned Flight into Focus
A Collaborative Hub for Drone Innovation
Testing in Action: Early Successes
Fueling Growth with Nontraditional Financing
Eyes on the Horizon: A Vision for Oklahoma’s Future
Picture next-generation drones taking flight in a safe, secure, high—tech indoor—outdoor facility in the heart of Oklahoma. That’s exactly what an exciting startup, Skyway Range, is making possible. This innovative drone testing center is powering new technology and fueling economic opportunity across the state, thanks partly to flexible funding from TEDC Creative Capital.
Bringing the Future of Unmanned Flight into Focus
“Many people don’t appreciate the complexity of everything that goes into making something fly,” says Randall (Randy) Burke, director of Skyway Range. And he would know. With an aeronautical background that spans service in the Air Force, private sector flight companies, and leadership at the FAA Logistics Center in Oklahoma City, Randy understands how essential unmanned flight is to the future.
There’s no doubt that drone technology is already transforming industries of all kinds—from crop monitoring and data-driven agriculture to inspecting hard-to-reach infrastructure like bridges, pipelines, and power lines, as just a few examples. Skyway Range offers the ideal conditions to test and certify this technology, helping to keep Oklahoma at the forefront of innovation in drone tech.
A Collaborative Hub for Drone Innovation
Skyway Range is the result of a unique partnership between Oklahoma State University’s OAIRE, Osage LLC, and Tulsa Innovation Labs to expand our region’s offerings as a tech hub. Created through funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge Grant, the Skyway Range facility is designed for commercial, government, and private innovators to test unmanned aerial systems in real-world conditions.
Located just beyond downtown Tulsa, Skyway Range spans 1,200 square miles of both urban and rural test zones. Its proximity to Tulsa International Airport allows for realistic urban flightpath testing, while other sections of the range offer a variety of rural terrains. Indoors, advanced testing environments will be designed to simulate different weather and climate conditions.
The facility also offers 30,000+ square feet of hangar, office, operational space, storage, aircraft fueling, and a 3,000-foot runway. Short-term and long-term tenants can benefit from support from OSU and Tulsa Innovation Labs, plus nearby accommodations at the Osage Casino Hotel.
Testing in Action: Early Successes
Skyway Range’s mission is to help developers test and certify drones safely and efficiently, so they can bring their products to market while helping to grow Oklahoma’s economy. “They bring us their requirements, and we can figure out how to take care of their business,” says Randy. “We provide technical support, a secure place to test, and opportunities to meet certification standards.”
Among its first tenants is WindShape, a Swiss company that uses programmable modular fans to simulate wind and weather conditions. This unique technology allows developers to test drones in everything from sub-zero temperatures to gusty storms—all under one roof. “It is going to be a one-of-a-kind facility in the world to do all of that kind of testing in one spot,” says Randy.
Fueling Growth with Nontraditional Financing
Like many startups, Skyway Range needed upfront capital to get off the ground, even with grant funding in place. But traditional banks weren’t the right fit. They wanted financial history that Skyway Range didn’t have yet as a startup. And because they were a grant-funded collaboration, personal loans didn’t make sense.
Enter TEDC Creative Capital. “The unique thing about TEDC is that they’re familiar with government grants,” Randy says. TEDC provided a reset loan to provide cash flow while the facility builds its client base.
“TEDC understood the language I was speaking and the concepts I was dealing with,” Randy continues. “That made them easy to work with. The process was quick and straightforward. And fortunately, this is a sustainable business, so we’re confident that once the federal grant ends, our customer base and their activities will sustain us.”
Eyes on the Horizon: A Vision for Oklahoma’s Future
Randy sees enormous potential for unmanned systems to serve rural communities with fast, affordable delivery of supplies, lab results, and medical products. “You can do that through unmanned systems,” he notes. “This is the future—much quicker, much cheaper than putting in another highway and finding someone to drive and burn gas.”
Skyway Range wouldn’t be possible, he says, without the vision of the Osage Nation in acquiring the Skyway 36 land, or the technical leadership of OSU Air in advancing drone development. This advanced tech can help support other vital elements of the state economy. “There are hardworking people in northeastern Oklahoma—supporting agriculture, oil, and gas—who need better access to services,” Randy says. “Unmanned aircraft can connect those rural areas to what’s available in the cities.”
Looking ahead, Randy also sees Skyway Range as a job creator. “We’re going to bring job opportunities, because this industry is not going away,” he says. Testing is just the start. Skyway Range will encourage companies to establish manufacturing centers near the testing range, for easy access to all they need to make their tech successful. And that, he says, will be good for all of Oklahoma.
We want to attract manufacturer dollars to bring long-term economic sustainability to Oklahoma,” Randy says. “We don’t want our kids to have to move away to get a job. There’s cool stuff going on here.” With TEDC’s support and a growing client base, Skyway Range is building momentum. “In the next 12 months, we expect our customer pipeline to grow,” Randy says. “Revenue will follow, and thanks to TEDC, we now have the cash flow to support that growth.”
As a community-focused champion of local economic development, TEDC Creative Capital supports the financial success of small local businesses and startups in Oklahoma by offering nontraditional funding vehicles and foundational business education programs. Discover the numerous flexible financing options and entrepreneurial resources that TEDC offers to help drive your business forward.