Dexa pushes drone delivery forward in Dayton

Dexa Drone in Dayton, Ohio, believes the future of delivery looks very different from what we know today. Instead of waiting days for a package, Dexa imagines a world where a single item arrives at your exact GPS location in minutes. No address. No parking. No delays.

Right now, Dexa is the only small scale, FAA certified drone delivery operator in the country. That status allows the team to move fast and experiment in ways most companies cannot. Their goal is simple. They want local businesses to compete with giant online stores by offering near instant delivery.

When interviewed by the Spectrum News 1, CEO Beth Flippo says this approach gives smaller shops a real chance to win customers. Big online retailers changed expectations for fast shipping. Local stores have struggled to keep up. Dexa wants to give them a tool that is faster and cheaper than two day shipping. A drone could deliver an order in under 15 minutes.

Dexa’s system is built around single item missions. An electronics shop could send out a phone charger. A bakery could send a warm pastry. A coffee shop could deliver a hot drink to a parent watching their kid’s soccer game. A hiker could request water. A runner could order a first aid kit. The drone flies to the GPS point and sets the package down. There is no need for a street address because drones do not follow roads.

The current Dexa unmanned aircraft weigh about 15 pounds and can carry five pounds. They are designed to be light, efficient and safe for short range flights in real environments. These drones focus on real life use rather than perfect lab conditions.

FAA approvals and new unmanned aircraft

Dexa began as Drone Express, and one of its early partnerships was a pilot program with Kroger in 2021. Working with a major retailer helped the team learn how to build a reliable drone delivery system. They studied weather limits, flight routes, ordering patterns and packaging. All of that shaped the company’s current approach.

To deliver packages for compensation, a company must hold an FAA Part 135 air carrier certificate. It is the same type of certificate required for small airlines. Dexa earned that certification and also secured FAA approval for its aircraft as airworthy. Only four companies in the country design, build and operate drones under Part 135: Amazon, Google, Zipline and Dexa.

Dexa recently certified a new aircraft with fewer rotors and a payload capacity of up to 20 pounds. This model gives the company more flexibility for larger or heavier items. It also shows the company’s focus on American manufacturing. Flippo says each component is sourced in the United States and can be traced back to the supplier. That level of control is rare in the drone industry.

During flight, the drones cruise at about 400 feet. They only need about 10 feet of vertical separation to pass each other safely, which allows Dexa to scale up operations over time. The aircraft are fully autonomous. Each mission is programmed before takeoff. The drone follows that route, completes the delivery and returns home on its own.

Dexa’s pilots work from a remote operations center. They watch flights on laptops, similar to air traffic controllers. Each pilot can monitor up to 40 drones at once. The drones appear in different colors to show their status. If something goes wrong, a pilot can order an immediate landing, deploy a parachute, return the aircraft home or guide it to a safe zone.

Pilots must meet many of the same standards as manned aviation crews. They need a third class medical certificate and must pass routine drug and alcohol testing. Dexa treats drone operations like a true aviation program.

Scaling up and entering major cities

Dexa has a long term plan that goes far beyond Dayton. The company wants to operate in dense urban areas. These are the places where parking is limited and traffic slows everything down. Flippo believes drones can help people who only want one item right away.

The company hopes to be the first operator to run a drone delivery service in New York City. The goal is to offer a simple option. You open an app, order one thing and have it delivered to your location. No need to drive or wait.

Dexa wants dozens or even hundreds of drones in the air at one time. With autonomous flight and high capacity operations, the team believes that goal is within reach.

DroneXL’s Take

Dexa is becoming a serious competitor in the drone delivery world. Its focus on single item missions and GPS based drop off makes sense for real customers. The new 20 pound payload drone signals a push toward larger orders and new use cases. If Dexa manages to scale in crowded cities like New York, it could become one of the most influential drone delivery companies in the country.

Photo credit: Dexa Drone