April 11--LONGMONT -- Meet the air apparent.
Starting May 1, Elite Aviation will be the new fixed-base operator at Vance Brand Municipal Airport, replacing both Twin Peaks Aviation and Air West Flight Center. The company will offer the same services, as well as an avionics equipment intallation and repair facility, and maintenance services for piston, turboprop and jet aircraft.
Elite is part of Chippewa Aerospace, an aviation services company based out of Conway, S.C. Chippewa's president, Julie Myers, said the Longmont airport was perfectly sited between the company's headquarters and its West Coast customers.
"Longmont had all the pieces that fit for us," she said.
The business initially will have five to seven employees, but could reach 20 to 30 in the first two years, Myers said.
"We have never laid off a single employee," said Myers, who began the company with her husband, Chuck, Chippewa's vice-president, in 2000. The company employs 38 and also has an FBO in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.
Among other things, the company plans to build a terminal building. The Myerses will meet with the Airport Advisory Board at 6 tonight in the City Council chambers, 350 Kimbark St., to answer questions and detail Elite's services. If the board gives its green light, Elite's leases at the airport will go to the City Council for final approval.
Myers said she and her husband would split their time between Conway and Longmont.
Airport manager Tim Barth called the shift "the biggest business change the airport has seen in 20-plus years." Currently, he said, the closest avionics shop and turbine maintenance area is at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield; once Elite arrives, those services would be available on-site.
A fixed-base operator, or FBO, is a commercial business allowed to operate at an airport that generally provides support services for pilots and planes.
Scott Rochat can be reached at 303-684-5220 or [email protected].
Copyright 2013 - Daily Times-Call, Longmont, Colo.
