CHOCTAW NATION STAYS UNITED VIA BUSINESS AVIATION

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) is the third-largest recognized tribe in the U.S. with more than 200,000 members living in every state and in all walks of life. Only about 85,000 actually reside in the tribal lands in 11 southeastern Oklahoma counties. Because of this, the Nation, headquartered in Durant has relied on business aviation for many years to maintain connections among the far-flung tribal community members. After utilizing a series of airplanes through a management company, the Nation set up its own flight department in 2001 and currently operates a King Air 90 and a Citation Encore with three full-time pilots. The operation, based at Durant Regional (DUA), averages 400 flight hours per year flying around the lower 48 for weekend-long community meetings, as well as commercial businesses, government affairs at the state and national level, and frequent charitable and humanitarian missions. There is also a Cessna 172 available for shorter trips.

In May 2018 the CNO was one of nine sites selected by U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao to be part of the FAA’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program (UASIPP). The operation is located on the 44,000 acre CNO-owned Daisy Ranch, 60 miles north of Durant. Under a partnership between the Nation and FAA, aerospace companies, universities, OEMs, and air mobility startups are testing new drones and airspace management techniques for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations.