Liam Ferguson purchased the North Pole, Alaska, airport (95Z) in May because he was looking for a suitable place to base his sonic drilling company. The equipment-heavy business requires a large footprint, and the 61-acre property was able to accommodate, with room to grow. The runway was icing on the cake.

• READ MORE: Delaware Ag Airport Sets Eyes on Growing GA Future

“When we started working in Fairbanks more often, I purchased a lot at an airstrip and ran my business out of my home there,” Ferguson said. “That was a temporary solution, and the goal was to find a block of land or a shop where we could move all of our equipment to. We looked around for about a year and the airport was for sale during this time. I thought that it was more than what we were looking for, but we started to entertain buying the airport because everything else was expensive, and I thought it would be cool as a pilot.

“Buying an airport seemed far-fetched and outside the realm of possibility, until we realized the potential that Bradley Sky Ranch had.” 

The property’s existing hangar building with dedicated office and shop space satisfied the needs of Ferguson’s business. In addition to improving the space, Ferguson has his attention focused on understanding what the future of the airport should look like.

• READ MORE: New GA Airport Near Las Vegas Has Its Eye on Space

“We have been trying to assess the place and then build from there,” he said. “Now that we have learned more about the airport, I feel like I have a pretty good long-term plan of what we are going to do. I am leaving the timeline pretty open-ended, The long-term plan is to provide rental hangars, basic maintenance services, and a full range of parking options to service local pilots. We are also talking about possibly adding an Airbnb and courtesy cars to help attract pilots to come visit. Camping spots will also be available.

“We could possibly sell some lots for hangar homes or develop some ourselves. We really do have a blank slate with this and will continue to grow it as long as we have support from the local aviation community.”

The condition of the runway at the time of purchase was satisfactory and required minimal work. After grading, compacting, and removing grass from the gravel/dirt surface, Ferguson shifted his attention elsewhere. 

“For phase one of improvements, I didn’t want to come in with all of these big plans, say we are going to do something, and have nothing change,” he said. “My goal for the summer was to talk to the people that are a part of the flying community here, to learn more about this place and get an idea of what should be improved.

“Part one is to clean up and renovate the hangar. Part two is to do dirt work on the taxiways and parking spots to improve drainage in the spring and open up more parking spots. This will also include fencing and general clean up. Part three is adding infrastructure like T-hangars, fuel, and an FBO.”

• READ MORE: Flight Training in the Scenic, Wild Last Frontier

Another key focus has been refurbishing the existing tie-downs at the airport, which had fallen into disrepair.

Ferguson advised that his commute from his hangar home to Bradley Sky Ranch is a paltry one-and-a-half-minute flight in his Cessna 205. His girlfriend and business partner, Maddy Thom, frequently joins the fray in her Cessna 150. There are currently 20 aircraft based at the airport.

The pair’s short-term goal for the airport is to stoke the energy that they’ve felt from current tenants and other Alaskan pilots. One of the ways that they plan to harness this shared enthusiasm for Bradley Sky Ranch’s future is by hosting an event at the end of the month. 

“The fly-in is going to be September 27-29, which is the first weekend after hunting season,” Ferguson said. “All of the pilots will be out of the bush at that time, and we’ve already gotten over 700 people signed up that are interested in coming to the event. This is the fourth year for the event and the second year that it’s being held here at this airport. It’s going to be something pretty big and will be a way to show people that we are cleaning up the airport. The goal is to include the community, and everyone is super excited.”

Notable aspects of the fly-in include food trucks, fire pits and camping, several live bands, and a pumpkin drop competition.

The post The Blank Slate of a North Pole Airfield appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

With plans to pursue Part 139 certification from the FAA, city officials are laying the groundwork for scheduled passenger service and increased corporate activity. This ambitious vision aims to position Greeley as a key gateway to the Front Range.

AirlineGeeks had the opportunity to interview Paul Trombino, the current director of public works for the city of Greeley, to help understand his vision and the city’s ambitions for the airport. Trombino assumed the role of director in June 2021 and has now added the airport to his list of areas where the city has significant growth potential.

Greeley-Weld County Airport

Greeley-Weld County Airport was built in 1944 as a small regional airport. In the late 1940s, it saw small commercial service operations, with Challenger Airlines serving Greeley as a stop between Billings, Montana (KBIL), and Denver along with Salt Lake City (KSLC) and Denver. Ultimately, service ended, and the airport has since become a general aviation airport with around 120,000 operations annually.

In 1996, the airport underwent its most comprehensive expansion since opening in partnership with the FAA. It constructed a new 10,000-foot runway and taxiway system, along with a terminal, administration building, and landside infrastructure improvements to improve accessibility to the airport. Trombino highlighted how this significant investment was a sign of a strong “growth plan since 1996” and added how “[the city] has always seen potential in the airport” with the foundation already being set.

The airport is uniquely positioned because it already has a 10,000-foot runway. According to GlobalAir.com, the only public airports in Colorado with 10,000-foot plus runways are Colorado Springs (KCOS), Centennial (KAPA), Denver, Grand Junction (KGJT), Greeley, Hayden (KHDN), Montrose (KMTJ), and Pueblo (KPUB).

But what sets Greeley apart from this short list of airports?

Other than Centennial, which serves as a reliever airport for Denver International (KDEN), all other airports already see commercial service, making Greeley an attractive airport for future service additions. In fact, according to the FAA’s National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems, Greeley is currently the only public airport with a 10,000-foot runway in Colorado that is classified as a GA facility.

Development Plans

As mentioned, Greeley has a unique 10,000-foot runway, but what else can the airport offer for the Front Range? For one, the airport is already profitable as a GA airport serving the community.

“Rural airports typically operate in the red, but Greeley is in the black, which is unique,” Trombino said.

The airport is projecting significant growth in the next 10 and 20 years, with revenue jumping from $125 million in 2023 to $360 million by 2033 and nearly $700 million by 2043.

Trombino is adamant that he “wants the current businesses to [stay] successful,” as bringing more operations to the airport “will bring more customers, from maintenance to fuel,” even with the city’s growth plans.

Its operational outlook aligns with this vision, with projections showing growth from 120,000 operations in 2023 to 300,000 by 2033 and 600,000 by 2043.

Another major player spurring this growth is JBS USA Foods, a major meat processing company headquartered in Greeley. The company currently operates its corporate jets out of Fort Collins but is looking to move to Greeley.

JBS is looking to move to Greeley by March 2026 and needs a new hangar and taxiway built for its needs. It also needs the runway to be developed to increase weight limits from the current 45,000 pounds to a minimum of 65,000 pounds, or even 100,000 pounds. Trombino sees this opportunity as “phenomenal for setting us up for success” and believes it will be an excellent platform for the city to present to the FAA as a necessity for an increase in runway weight.

Trombino stated that the FAA “envisions Greeley as one of the main airports in Colorado, alongside Denver and Colorado Springs.”

Furthermore, the airport does not face the same constraints as similar regional airports. Many airports near the Denver metro area suffer from environmental, capacity, and space limitations, but Trombino believes that Greeley’s location is insulated from such issues.

“[The city views] the space in and around the airport [like] a blank canvas,” he said. “The other airports don’t have the length that we do, and more importantly, they all have housing around them, which causes constraints that we don’t face.”

When specifically asked about similar competitor airports like Northern Colorado Regional (KFNL) in Loveland and Rocky Mountain Metropolitan (KBJC) in Broomfield, Trombino said that they “have capacity challenges,” and don’t necessarily have the “capacity to expand.”

The city also believes there is no better time than now to invest heavily in the airport.

“If the airport doesn’t follow the growth of the city, it will become an economic drag, as we think about the city in the future, including transportation,” Trombinso said.

With the recent announcement that the American Hockey League’s Colorado Eagles are moving to Greeley from Loveland and the University of Northern Colorado is building its Osteopathic Medical School in downtown Greeley, Trombino believes that “all of the things are starting to align for businesses and residents for further growth and jobs.”

With the Greeley-Weld County Airport directly sitting within the Colorado Enterprise Zone, it provides tax advantages for new businesses to invest in and around the airport. The city recently presented its Strategic Airport Business Plan to the FAA, highlighting how the airport can also develop an agriport and railport to connect. A major highlight is that the city “has the ability to create a spur off the main [Union Pacific Railroad] line,” which, in Trombino’s view, will open the airport and the surrounding area for further freight operations.

Future Airport Vision

It’s clear that the city has a strong vision for the airport, but building it up and making it commercially successful requires more than solid infrastructure. This includes interest from operators in utilizing the airport, alongside facing issues such as not being equipped with an air traffic control tower.

Trombino believes that there are multiple ways for Greeley to tackle this.

The 233rd Space Group is located right next to the airport and already utilizes some areas of the field. Trombino believes that if the city “made improvements, [the airport] could be a great training space for the Air Force National Guard.”

The city is exploring the option of taking advantage of its partnership with Aims Community College. Trombino views Aims as “such a good partner” and potentially “building an ATC tower in partnership with Aims” to allow training to occur at the airport, too.

Other ideas have also been proposed, including utilizing a remote tower system, which would be cheaper for the airport in capital and labor costs.

“I’m not afraid of having Greeley at the forefront of technology,” he said. “It’s a matter of where we are and where the industry is heading, [so] we haven’t built a new airport in the country since 1995.”

The logical next step is to understand the market dynamics of the surrounding area and how to convince airlines and passengers to select Greeley over Denver and Cheyenne, both of which are an hour away from the city, with all of the developmental plans starting to take place.

Trombino says the city wants to start conversing with carriers like JSX and others “by the end of the year.” His reasoning stems from reduced security costs and a proven model at Rocky Mountain.

Airlines such as JSX “will be important” and “could be competitive” at an airport like Greeley.

He compared the airport to existing models like Chicago-Midway or Orange County, allowing people to get in and out of the busier metro more efficiently than the bigger, more congested airports nearby.

The city “thinks that this needs to be a high-end airport,” with Trombino personally believing that Greeley could “become a primary ancillary airport” in the Front Range.

“The airlines have to know who we are and that we are coming,” Trombino said. “I think we will be the new place to be, and the people in the northern Front Range will be surprised.”

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AirlineGeeks.com.

The post Greeley’s Ambitious Plan to Become Colorado’s Third Major Airport appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Mark Flury, a pilot based at another airport, told the Seattle Times he well understands the turmoil the closure of First Air Field (W16) in Monroe, Washington, will cause, but the 36-acre parcel really is a great spot to centralize the Snohomish County Public Utility District electrical distribution services.

Geoffrey Thomas, the city’s mayor and a pilot and hangar renter at First Air Field, disagrees, but there’s not much he or his council can do about it.

The utilities district is offering the family of late former owner Dr. Daryl Habich, who operated a dental office on the airport and even took fly-in appointments, $7 million for the site. For the district, the property is ideal.

“The history of the site is important, but for us it’s really about finding a place that’s a good spot for our crews and a good spot for future growth for the county,” Public Utility District spokesperson Aaron Swaney told the newspaper. “We have to meet that growth, and we have to have facilities that can do that.”

But for local pilots, life without the field just won’t be the same.

“Yes, it’s had a private component, but it’s also a public good,” Thomas told the newspaper. “A place that helps keep us connected—not a place with a 6- or 8-foot-high fence that keeps us out.”

Thomas said that although the city zoning allows for the utility center, the area of the airport is tourism oriented and he’s afraid a large compound of equipment storage and offices will be out of place. He said there is no doubt the facilities are needed (the area is one of the fastest growing in the state) but wishes the utility had found another spot. Fellow pilot Flury said they looked at 10 other places before settling on the airport.

Assuming the deal goes through, it will take several years to break ground on the new facility, and Flury said the district will help pilots find new accommodations. But First Air will leave a hole.

“I’ve made some of my best friends here learning how to work on a plane and learning how to fly,” pilot Edward Haynes said. “It’s just sad to see it go and be another forgotten-about airport that was a really special place.”

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

The post Pilots Lament Likely Loss of Beloved Washington Airport appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Jack Poff, the founder of Shumway “Innernational” Airport (IL05) in Effingham, Illinois, hopes that the facility will still be used as an airport once it’s sold.

“Well, I sure hope we do get to sell it as an airport, because at the point it doesn’t sell that way, it’ll revert back to farm ground,” Poff said. “And that would absolutely break my heart. I can tell you that I put enough work, love, and TLC into this property that I would hate to see it be anything else.” 

To understand Poff’s attachment to the airport with the 2,338-foot grass runway, you have to look back at why it was built. In 2006, the construction professional by trade decided to find a piece of land suitable for a runway, following the reentrance into aviation after a long break.

“After I got married and started raising a family, I was out of aviation for quite a while,” Poff said. “But after my son was born, he started getting interested in remote control airplanes, and we joined a club here in the area. The fellow that owned the place where we flew the remote-controlled planes decided to sell the property, and it was no longer going to be available for us to use.”

Poff explained that flying remote control planes ultimately turned into flying fixed-wing aircraft again and the desire to own his own airport. That’s because the two had nowhere suitable for him and his son to fly. 

“Along the same time, I went up to EAA AirVenture [in Wisconsin] with my son, and we ended up over in the homebuilt section,” he said. “I had been out of aviation for a while, so I was asking some of the homebuilders what they would recommend, as far as planes to build. And they said, ‘definitely a Van’s.’ Within a year or so, I decided that we were going to start in on an RV-9A build.

“I bought the different kits to assemble and started working on them in my garage. It got to the point [in the build process] that I told my wife, ‘Now you’re going to have to start parking outside because I need more room to build my airplane.’ She told me that I was going to have to find somewhere else to build it. Along the same time, I was also looking for a place for the remote-control field. And then I thought, ‘Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. Why not go ahead and find enough property to have a full-scale runway?’” 

Poff started talking to a local farmer who, after some persuasion, was willing to part with some of his land. But it would take several acquisitions to piece enough parcels together to create a suitable landing site. He wound up with 37.72 acres, where he built a 5,200 square-foot hangar/shop and an attached 2,344 square-foot, three-bedroom apartment.

The airfield has served its purpose well. For nearly two decades, Poff has flown an RV-9A from it, albeit a different one than he purchased shortly after his first visit to Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh. He now believes that the time he spends mowing the airstrip will be better used toward finally finishing his nearly complete RV build.

“Sometime in the middle of doing all of the work last summer, I decided that I was spending an awful lot of time working on the airport and the runway,” he said. “But again, no time to spend on building the airplane, which now is going into its 20th year of construction. So, I’m getting really close, but I’m not done yet. I just want to finish it up. And frankly, after hosting fly-ins the last 15 or so years, I shouldn’t get all of the fun. Someone else should enjoy it.” 

Poff said that over 350 people and 65 aircraft attended the last fly-in the airstrip hosted in 2022. It included a pulled pork luncheon cooked by his wife, Darlene. 

“Before I decided to sell the airport, I decided to improve the runway,” he said. “There were a couple of places where it was a little bit rough and there were some different things that I wanted to do. I wanted to move it 10 feet farther to the north to give it more development potential. If you’re going to develop lots, you need all the extra space that you can get. So we decided to [do that on the south side of the runway]. The airport was closed during all of 2023, and we got the grass planted at just the right time. It really looks great.

“Shumway Innernational has always been a favorite of all people that like to land on grass. I’ll say it’s their favorite place to land here in southern Illinois. And it’s even better now, in better shape than it’s ever been.”

The post Illinois Grass Strip Airfield Ready for Next Generation of Owners appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Before purchasing Tailwinds Airport (06NC) in St. Pauls, North Carolina, the couple had dreamed the lifestyle change into existence, writing the airport’s address as their own, even before closing on the property. 

“We were specifically looking for a runway home and were living up in Michigan at the time,” Jonathan said. “I’m not a big fan of Michigan, because it’s cold and wet for too many months of the year for my preference. We were looking for some place further south that wasn’t quite as cold and wound up finding this place.”

Not long after seeing a link for the airport listing, the Admudsens were on a jet headed to look at the property and make an offer.

“It was kind of funny because one of the first questions that the realtor had was, ‘Well, what are your intentions with the property?’” Jonathan said. “I kind of laughed and said, ‘Well, what do you mean? It’s an airport! We plan on keeping the runway!’” 

The couple, both A&P/IAs and pilots, have owned the airport for less than a year and say, so far, the experience has aligned with their expectations for owning an airport. 

“My wife and I recently bought the airport in September of last year,” Jonathan said. “So, it’s still fairly new to us, and we are in the process of getting it all set up the way that we want it. Tailwinds Airport was originally constructed in 1993. The guy who was originally there was named Bob Rogers, and I wish that I could have met the guy. He was a staple in the area, and everybody knows who he is. Anytime we give our address out, everyone says, ‘That’s Bob Rogers’ old place!’ But his granddaughter actually still lives there on the property, our next-door neighbors, and they were excited to hear that we were going to keep the runway.” 

According to Jonathan, the airport was largely turnkey, allowing the couple to move in and fill the hangars with planes of varying types. 

“The runway was in pretty good condition when we bought the airport, but it hadn’t been used much recently because Bob was getting older and hadn’t been flying as much,” he said. “Once we got it, we, of course, had to mow the grass and get it all cleaned back up again. It has runway lights, so we got those all back in working condition again. Right now, we are in the process of cleaning up some trees around there and getting everything the way we want it. 

“Our plan for the future is that we want to build another bigger hangar there as well. There are presently three shade hangars on the field, and there is a workshop hangar, which is all air-conditioned. That makes it really nice for working on planes in the summertime.”

The couple keeps several of their own aircraft at the airport, in addition to temporarily hangaring aircraft that they work on for others. 

“We have several airplanes,” Jonathan said. “My wife and I just finished putting a [Piper] J-3 [Cub] back together and have a [Aeronca] Champ there that’s flyable. Then we have her little Cessna 150, and I have a Cessna 172 that I use to commute back and forth to Charlotte [North Carolina] for work [as an airline pilot]. I do it every week, and it’s an hour and a half from my house to walking into the airport terminal.

“We have been having a lot of fun running the airport so far and are still trying to get the word out that we are there. We are hoping that we get some more people that come over, stop by, and say hi from time to time. But we are starting to get known a little bit in the area and people are coming by. I think that a lot of people are nervous, though, since we are a private airport, and they need prior permission. So everybody is worried whether they are going to get permission or not. I always tell them that we have trees on both ends of the runway, so as long as you pay attention to your performance numbers, then, yeah, absolutely, come on in!”

The North Carolina transplants have been just as excited to explore other airports in the state and beyond. Jonathan highlighted some of the places that they’ve either visited or hope to soon. 

“I haven’t explored the area as much as I want to yet, but there are a lot of amazing places nearby,” he said. “There are a couple of really good on-airport restaurants. One of them is neat but had burned down last year and just got it back up and running. It’s called the Pik-n-Pig, a little barbecue joint up north in Carthage [at Gilliam-McConnell Airfield, BQ1]. There are several other restaurants around that we are slowly getting around to.

“We are also not far from First Flight Airport (KFFA) in Kitty Hawk, where the Wright brothers first flew. That’s a little over an hour away. Then, of course, there’s Wilmington, Myrtle Beach [South Carolina], and many other things are close by as well. One of the other places I’d like to take the kids to is Ocracoke Island Airport (W95).”

Overall, owning an airport of their own has been worth the sacrifice, Jonathan Amundsen said.  

“As far as recommendations to anyone else wanting to have a place of their own, it is an absolutely amazing experience and I have zero regrets,” he said. “But it does require a lot of time, sweat, tears, and help from the right people. It takes a lot of cooperation and communication to get the results we have here. I’d never been able to do it without the help from friends, neighbors, and family that have supported us.”

The post This Runway Is a Keeper, New Airport Owner Says appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Those who have contributed to the millions of views on his memorable YouTube videos know that Patey’s aviation adventures often begin in his home state of Utah. Now, a new line on his aviation resume is hangar developer, as he has joined forces with fellow pilots to bring more than 138 new hangars and a new FBO building to his home airport. 

Chain of Events

This project was the result of an unfortunate evolution at airports in the local area, according to Patey.

“We started to see a unique and unfortunate chain of events, which was the bigger airports squeezing out general aviation all throughout Utah,” Patey said. “They closed down a great general aviation airport in St. George, Utah, moved it into a bigger location, and shut down all of the small hangars. It was basically a complete removal of an airport to become a more commercial-centric facility. Salt Lake City International Airport (KSLC) started to become a little more challenging [to work with], as if they were trying to be more commercial only. We started also seeing that with South Valley Regional Airport (U42), which is primarily only general aviation, where they stopped allowing people to build their own hangars and only allowed the airport to build and rent space.

“That doesn’t feel as much of a home, family community, since you can only rent and not own part of the field. And as that started to happen, we started watching and saw it happening all across the country. The little guys are getting squeezed out, the grassroots people with passion.”

To be a welcoming place for these pilots, as well as positively impact the growing demand for hangar space at his longtime home airport, Patey banded with three of his friends and fellow aviators: Troy Mason, Ryan Gledhill, and Grant Collard. 

Mason provided more detail about the hangar shortage and why the four decided to do something about it. 

“We kept talking about how we need more hangars here,” Mason said. “In the state of Utah, there isn’t a hangar available for sale—anywhere. In fact, if you want to take your brand-new airplane and tie it down outside, there is something like a 300-person waiting list. And who wants to put a brand-new plane outside? There are no hangars available.” 

As a result, the foursome decided that Spanish Fork Municipal Airport/Woodhouse Field (KSPK) would benefit from additional hangar space. Patey explained that this facility has supported his aviation dreams since day one and would be a great place to invest for the future. 

“We have been on this field since the day we learned to fly, both my wife and I,” Patey said. “Woodhouse Field is one of the oldest airports in Utah. It’s a generational family airport, and the original guy who opened it, one of the Woodhouses, was the first to bring aviation to the area. He learned to fix airplanes and also taught his son to fly, who taught his son to fly, and so on. And still today, multigenerations later, there is still a Woodhouse doing small aircraft engine repair and maintenance on our field.

“And fortunately, whether it was luck or foresight, when they were doing the initial development, they only allowed development on one side of the field. This left the other side for future generations. We feel like we are the next generation. We are in the hub of the biggest building area in the state, just outside of Salt Lake City [and just south of Provo], and are in the center of all of these airports where general aviation is being pushed out. And we feel very fortunate to be the next generation here, as we learned to fly at Spanish Fork, built our hangars at Spanish Fork, and started to build all our crazy planes that we like to build here at Spanish Fork.” 

There was some work with cities (one eventually relinquished its rights to the airport) that had to be accomplished first before the hangar project got off the ground. There was a considerable amount of discussion needed and Patey’s twin brother, Mark, jumped in to help. Over the course of several years, Mark Patey worked tirelessly to share the group’s vision with the city’s board, allowing it to understand the benefit of such a large-scale project at the airport.

The city of Spanish Fork is now the project’s biggest advocate and is working hand in hand with the four partners to ensure the more than 138-hangar development at the Patey Aviation Business Park is successful.

Dirt Work to Begin

“The city has been so supportive,” Mason said. “When we brought this project idea to them, they said, ‘Yeah, that sounds great. Submit us a plan!’ So that’s kind of how it started. We submitted a plan to them, and they loved it. In fact, they didn’t give us a wide enough space next to the runway, initially. They called us back and said, ‘We heard you. Develop the site plan and tell us what you want.’ That’s what we’ve done.

“The city has been fantastic every step of the way. Every time we need something, they’re accommodating. For example, the typical airport lease is like 15 or 20 years, and the hangars that we are going to build are nice. They aren’t sheds. These are beautiful buildings, and the bigger ones are going to cost, easy, two and a half or three million dollars. Anyway, we went to the city and said that customers for these will have to get loans for these hangars, and 15 or 20 years doesn’t give our customer the ability to get a loan. Their response was, ‘Well, Troy, this is where you are going to find out what great partners we are.’ They gave us a 50-year lease. Fifty years! What city is giving 50-year airport leases right now? That’s what we’ve been able to secure for our customers and the airport.”

Gledhill provided insight into the project’s general timeline, including the date that dirt work is expected to begin.  

“What we are hoping [is] we will be able to submit for a building permit, do our architecture, engineering, and everything else to submit for a building permit in June,” Gledhill said. “Unless there are some things with the Army Corps [of Engineers] that we need to work out for wetlands mitigation, we are hoping to break ground sometime [in] early August. If there are some mitigations that we have to go through, we will push that out three months. There will be several different phases. We anticipate the first phase taking about nine months or so. The other phases will start before that phase is totally complete, but I wouldn’t anticipate actual move-ins until the middle of next year.”

The development project doesn’t just include three sizes of hangars but also an FBO building set to rival any across the country, the group contends. This video, produced by Knighton Architecture, showcases a fly-through of the airport property, including the planned FBO building and rows of hangars—with hangar sizes ranging from 48 feet by 48 feet, all the way to 95 feet by 120 feet. 

A Destination Stop

“I think that the two main things we took into consideration when designing the site plan is making it an aviator’s airport and something that the community is proud of,” Gledhill said. “This is going to be a destination stop…. There will be reasonable fuel prices and amenities, which there are not a lot of at the field right now. People will want to come here. And by getting the community involved, it doesn’t [hopefully] turn into a Santa Monica (California], where people are trying to force the airport out.

“If everything goes the way that we are envisioning, the restaurant will be the dining destination in the city—and maybe even south county.

“There will be several different viewing areas that are front and center in the FBO. You hear a lot about how people got into aviation. They’ll tell stories about how when they were younger their mom or dad would take them to the airport on Saturday mornings for breakfast and watch the planes take off. We are creating some perfect spots for that to happen here. We are also talking about doing walls and tributes to people that made aviation great, including some locals here that are a big part of aviation history. This will be something the community is proud of.” 

This sense of belonging among visitors to the airport will be further developed with people coming together. Collard understands the importance of that, as well as what elements foster such an environment. 

“I am an apartment developer, and we have seen kind of a sea change in terms of what people want in a community,” Collard said. “In the past, it was just, ‘I want my place to live. I don’t want to see anybody.’ Today, communities are being set up around amenities where you are meant to bump into each other. That’s really what we want to bring to the airport. We want to bring a community [feel] and be a place where people can congregate. It will be a place you go to on the weekend and see people hanging out, not just preflighting their airplane and taking off. It will truly be a place to spend a lot of time.

“And that’s one of those things as a relatively new pilot I’ve appreciated most about aviation is that it brings together a really interesting mix of people that are aviation geeks. It’s a happy thing [for me] anytime that happens.”

The group has a unique metric for success in mind for the project. Rather than focus entirely on dollars and cents, Patey Aviation Business Park’s impact will largely be measured by the vibrance of the interactions at the airport. 

“Here’s the shortest summary of whether or not we succeed,” Mike Patey said. “If we come to the airport and we find that half of the people there showed up, even though they are not going flying, we built the right FBO.”

The post Utah Development Project Takes Aim at GA Hangar Shortage appeared first on FLYING Magazine.