“There are very few economic development organizations in the state of Ohio which are utilizing this technology. We wanted to be on the forefront of that,” assistant director Chris Castle said. “Drone footage is a big key to marketing properties these days.”

Mastering the flyovers and fly-bys on behalf of NEDC are Norwalk resident Jordy Horowitz, a licensed remote pilot. In August, he passed the 60-question FAA Part 107 knowledge test, which focuses on regulations covering air space, FAA rules on where you can and can’t fly and safety precautions.

“The test is pretty challenging,” Horowitz said. “It probably took me a couple weeks to study.”

His wife, Heather, is the NEDC director.

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“We are very fortunate we have someone who has a license who will donate his time,” she said, noting that his FAA license, which he paid for, allows him to obtain commercial footage.

Heather Horowitz shared the importance of using drones to attract businesses to the Norwalk area.

“Using drones will help with attraction,” she said.

Since it’s difficult at times for business owners to visit the community, Horowitz said NEDC can provide them critical information in a video that incorporates the drone footage. She said it allows businesses to have a “virtual depiction” of a property and how it may be developed while also showing off the beauty of Norwalk.

Castle edits the footage into videos for businesses considering coming to Norwalk. He said it takes about 20 minutes of raw video to create a 2 1/2-minute clip. 

While editing the videos, Castle adds instrumental music that he owns. He said he may consider selecting “something industrial” for a prospective warehouse site or an acoustic song to complement an empty parcel of land.

“You have to think of the type of property when you’re choosing the music for this,” Castle added.

The NEDC videos feature graphics on the utility capacity, zoning information, previous use and size of the property a business may be considering.

“Anything that used to be in an Excel spreadsheet is now on the title overlay in a gorgeous 4K video,” Castle said.

Jordy Horowitz, who obtains the footage “in kind” for NEDC, shared what goes into the research he needs to do when he operates a drone. He references sectional aeronautical charts, which are navigational references of the area which include information on the heights of various structures, geology and topographical information on things like towers and mountains.

“A sectional chart has tons and tons of data on it,” said Horowitz, who also consults phone apps to determine the wind speed.

The Norwalk man has 35 to 40 hours of experience flying the NEDC drone, which was purchased in December from Daniel’s Hobbies.

“I picked it up pretty quickly. I have pretty good spacial awareness,” said Horowitz, who believes that gift is an important skill in operating a drone.