KEY TAKEAWAYS: Houma-Terrebonne Airport hosted what officials called the nation’s first unmanned aircraft flight carrying commercial freight. Elroy Air’s autonomous Chaparral can carry up to 500 pounds of cargo and travel as far as 450 miles. Bristow has ordered 100 of the aircraft, which could serve offshore energy, military and disaster-response operations. A new $3 million Houma facility will support aviation research and collaboration between public and private organizations.   Houma made aviation history this week through a drone affectionately named “Chappy.” Chappy’s accomplishment has many government officials excited about Louisiana’s future. “History was made here in Houma-Terrebonne,” Elroy Air CEO Andrew Clare said. Chappy carried a handful of Jerry cans, a pelican case, some Fed Ex packages and a military rucksack out and around the airbase. It is part of a phased approach Clare has planned for eventually having the drone do more. Chappy and Clare’s accomplishment marks the first flight of an unmanned aircraft carrying freight in the nation, and it took place at the Houma-Terrebonne Airport on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. Houma-Terrebonne Airport Commissioner Josh Alford announces the airports accomplishments, August 27. The airport made history this week when an autonomous drone carry freight. That, among other accomplishments in aviation, was discussed by a gathering of aviation industry executives, and government officials showed off the future of aviation with electric aircrafts and a multitude of drones Thursday, Aug. 27. Attendees were handed mock boarding passes with Gov. Jeff Landry’s name on them, a large sign above the head read “The Future of Flight,” and a projector screen showed footage from Chappy’s flights set to music from the 1986 movie “Top Gun.” This accomplishment, among others to come, proves America is putting its boot forward in aviation technology, officials said. “The eyes of American aviation are on Houma,” The Houma-Terrebonne Airport’s Director Ed Jarvis said. “Let’s show them what the bayou region can do.” Clare is a native of New York, where he said he was inspired by seeing aircrafts as a child. His company has contracts with Bristow, the military, and others to create Chappy’s siblings — with 100 ordered by Bristow. The drone’s official name is the Chaparral. It’s a hybrid aircraft that is roughly 22 feet by 30 feet. It carries up to 500 pounds of cargo and can fly a maximum distance of 450 miles. The aircraft is fully autonomous, and is capable of vertical lift-off and landing. Federal, State, and local government officials gather with aviation industry leaders to celebrate the Houma-Terrebonne Airport’s accomplishments, August 27. This week a fully autonomous drone carried freight for the first time in U.S. history. Clare explained that the goal of the aircraft is to carry cargo to places like oil rigs, the front lines of battlefields, or even into disaster-hit areas. For instance after a hurricane, if the infrastructure is down, it could carry water, fuel, and medical supplies into a corner of a parking lot. The drone is not intended to fly over populated areas. “This is not meant to be flying over New Orleans,” he said. “I’m flying from one distribution center to another, or from a hanger here to an oil rig, or from a forward operating base for the army out to soldiers in the field.” Chappy was parked in the hangar of a new building that will collectively house aviation-focused research between public and private entities. The building was purchased with $3 million in capital outlay secured by State Sen. Mike Fesi, Houma-Terrebonne Airport Commissioner Josh Alford said. The efforts done at the Houma-Terrebonne airport will have a ripple effect throughout the industry, he said. “The impact can begin here, spread throughout Louisiana, extend across the Gulf, and help shape aviation nationally,” Alford said. “Most importantly it can create new careers, and new reasons for the next generation to build their lives close to home.” Alford was one of the driving forces behind securing a federal designation for the airport that would allow the operation of commercial drones in Houma. Eight locations were chosen, and according to aviation leaders, Houma’s access to the Gulf is a unique asset to the area. Not only does it provide access to business, by carrying resources to rigs, but also the marshland allows for the testing of drones without endangering the public below. “The goal is to ensure these new technologies are introduced safely, responsibly, and in a way that benefits the public,” the Department of Transportation and Development said in a news release. Bristow’s Chief Transformation Officer David Stepanek said these technologies will not replace helicopters, but will compliment them. They have different missions, and they make business sense, he added. For instance, on display was the ALIA, a fully electric aircraft the company showed off in 2024. Stepanek himself has flown the aircraft in Norway. The aircraft has a range of about 300 miles and operates at about 60% the cost of the company’s workhorse, the C-139. According to Stepanek the ALIA is perfect for quickly moving parts at a lower cost. Louisiana Department of Economic Development Chief Innovation Officer Josh Fleig said flight technology like this, coupled with the announcement of Starbase in Vermillion Parish earlier this week, and the rise in investment into Louisiana by Amazon proves that Louisiana will drive technological innovation worldwide. “We have validated that we can be the laboratory for immerging technology not just in Louisiana, not just in the United States, but globally,” he said. “To do that we need companies that are taking moonshots to make humanity better and they are doing that from Louisiana… we need to have a seat at the table for what is changing the world.” Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Secretary Glenn Ledet also mentioned the Starbase investment, the announcement of an autonomous public transport system in Shreveport and this breakthrough in aviation as a revolution. “Opportunities are moving into the state at the fastest pace since the hayday of the energy industry,” he said. For Terrebonne, the benefits go beyond economical. These cutting edge technologies visibly taking off from Houma have the opportunity to inspire local children, who can grow up to further push the bounds of human ingenuity, Jarvis said. “Somewhere in Terrebonne Parish there is a young person who is going to see a drone crossing a bayou and he or she is going to say, ‘Hey something that I would like to do,'” Jarvis said. “He or she is going to have a good career, and good pay, and they won’t have to leave Louisiana, and that’s the real payoff.” This article originally appeared on The Courier: Houma airport makes U.S. aviation history with unmanned flight Reporting by Colin Campo, Houma Courier-Thibodaux Daily Comet / The Courier USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect ...read more read less