Hangar X Studios

North Dakota’s 125lb Drone Flies All Day | John Ibele

Listen Later

In this episode of Hangar X Studios, host John Ramstead sits down with John Ibele, co-founder of Meadowlark Aircraft Manufacturing, to explore the future of American-made drones. With decades of experience in high-volume manufacturing at Seagate, Ibele shares how lessons from producing millions of disk drive components in Asia can be applied to building drones right here in the U.S. The conversation spans topics like design for manufacturing (DFM), the advantages of domestic production, the challenges of scaling drone manufacturing, and the ambitious vision behind Meadowlark’s flagship fixed-wing VTOL drone, the FH125 “Strix.”

This episode is a fascinating look at how North Dakota is emerging as a hub for aerospace innovation, and how entrepreneurs like Ibele are determined to strengthen America’s manufacturing resilience in the drone industry.

Episode Highlights
  • Why much of America’s high-volume manufacturing shifted overseas—and how to bring it back.

  • Meadowlark Aircraft Manufacturing’s origin story and bold vision.

  • Insights into design for manufacturing (DFM) and how it drives product and process decisions.

  • The FH125 “Strix”: a fixed-wing VTOL designed for precision agriculture, wildlife management, fire and rescue, and perimeter security.

  • Managing massive data collection from drones with edge computing and transmission strategies.

  • Why North Dakota is the right place to launch a drone manufacturing company.

    • Key Points with Timestamps
    • [00:00:00] John Ibele on U.S. manufacturing: too often high-volume production defaults overseas, but domestic advantages are being rediscovered.

    • [00:00:58] Host John Ramstead introduces the sponsor (XTI Aerospace) and welcomes listeners to the live recording at The Hive, Grand Forks.

    • [00:02:42] Ibele shares how his partnership with Ned Tabet and background at Seagate led to founding Meadowlark.

    • [00:03:50] Introduction of the FH125 “Strix”—a fixed-wing VTOL drone with a 16-foot wingspan designed for all-day endurance.

    • [00:05:23] The challenge of managing terabytes of sensor data and the role of edge computing in drone operations.

    • [00:06:58] Why design for manufacturing (DFM) is critical for scaling drones while balancing cost, quality, and performance.

    • [00:08:57] How lessons from Chinese large-scale manufacturing inform Meadowlark’s U.S.-based production strategy.

    • [00:10:15] Why manufacturing shifted to Southeast Asia: labor cost advantages and “pattern following” by industry.

    • [00:11:20] The often-overlooked role of process engineers in developing and optimizing manufacturing systems.

    • [00:12:46] Upcoming milestones for Meadowlark: getting the FH125 Strix in the air and proving all-day flight capabilities.

      • Guest Bio – John Ibele

      John Ibele is the co-founder of Meadowlark Aircraft Manufacturing, a Grand Forks, North Dakota-based company building custom and scalable drones for commercial applications. With a career rooted in high-volume manufacturing at Seagate Technology, John brings deep expertise in design for manufacturing (DFM), process optimization, and global supply chain operations. His vision for Meadowlark is to revitalize domestic drone production, leveraging American innovation, skilled labor, and North Dakota’s strong UAS ecosystem.

      https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-ibele/

      About Meadowlark Aircraft Manufacturing

      Meadowlark Aircraft Manufacturing is a North Dakota–based aerospace company dedicated to designing and building innovative, American-made drones. Founded by industry veterans with deep expertise in high-volume manufacturing, Meadowlark focuses on both custom solutions and scalable production to meet the growing demand for unmanned aerial systems. With flagship products like the FH125 “Strix,” a fixed-wing VTOL designed for endurance and versatility, Meadowlark aims to serve industries such as agriculture, wildlife management, perimeter security, and emergency response—all while strengthening domestic manufacturing capabilities.

       

      Notable Quotes
      • “Unfortunately, a lot of our high-volume manufacturing just immediately goes overseas without another thought. We’ve undersold the advantages of producing domestically.” – John Ibele

      • “This can be done. And to be honest, North Dakota is a great place to do that.” – John Ibele

      • “DFM—design for manufacturing—really sits at the core of scaling production while balancing cost, quality, and performance.” – John Ibele

      • “The FH125 ‘Strix’ will be able to stay up all day, collecting rich data sets for industries like agriculture, fire and rescue, and perimeter management.” – John Ibele

      • “It takes more work to reactivate the muscles of domestic manufacturing, but the capability is absolutely still here.” – John Ibele
        • ...more
        View all episodesView all episodes
        Download on the App Store
        Hangar X StudiosBy John Ramstead