July 29--The Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport may take a look at adding flight instruction this year.
Manager BobWhitmer included it on his list of potential priorities for 2013-14 shared during last month's board meeting.
"No one is teaching this at the airport right now, but we continue to receive calls from people who are interested in taking flying lessons," Whitmer said. "I'm talking to someone now to see if this is a possibility. We're not talking about a flight school. This would be an instructor and one plane to start, with the potential for more."
The airport ended what was likely its busiest fiscal year at the end of June, and now Whitmer and the board of directors are focusing on ways to maintain existing partnerships and grow new business in 2013-14.
Airport Board Chairman Ray Assmar, who is a pilot, said working with the Fixed Base Operators to add flight instruction at the airport could be good for the community.
"That's something I would like to work on. It could help boost our numbers for the control tower and help to secure that," Assmar said. "In the early 1970s, there were 14-15 of us at a time taking flying lessons, and it was really exciting for people."
Assmar said he continues to be asked about flight instruction opportunities.
"I also want to work with FBOs -- those businesses that provide fuel and aircraft maintenance and hangar space at airports," Whitmer said. "Anything we can do to attract more business there, we need to do that. The more aircraft that reside at your airport -- that pushes up flight activities."
Flight instruction fits right into that goal, he said. The novice pilots and instructor will have a lot of stops and gos with practices.
The control tower has to maintain a level of flight activities which are monitored and counted through the Federal Aviation Administration's formula, Whitmer said. The requirement is based on the number of flights, both commercial and general.
"I also have had discussions with someone about a full-fledged flight school, but he doesn't have the financial backing yet," Whitmer said.
The airport's control tower is one of 251 across the country targeted to close at the end of the federal fiscal year, Sept. 30, unless money makes it into the Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration budgets. The closures were earmarked as part of the across-the-board federal funding cuts known as sequestration.
But Whitmer said recent budget talks have been encouraging, with support mounting for keeping the towers open.
Both Whitmer and Assmar also said they want to work on improved signage that guides passengers to the airport.
"Right now, GPS and MapQuest directions are sending people to MidAmerica Jet instead of the terminal," Whitmer said. "I have tried to get this corrected. Some last minute travelers have missed flights because of this. It happens more often than you would think."
Allegiant Air does not hold or delay flights, he said. When travelers follow recommendations and get to the terminal 2- to 2 1/2-hours early, the misstep in directions is not an issue.
Whitmer's priority list also includes retaining and expanding Allegiant flights and growing Cape Air passenger numbers. Allegiant now flies to and from Orlando. Cape Air, as the airport's Essential Air Service provider, receives a federal subsidy for providing several daily, nonstop flights to St.Louis.
"It's common knowledge that if you don't keep Allegiant flights at 90 to 95 percent full, you lose them," he said. "We want to do whatever we can to keep our current flights to Orlando at that level."
Allegiant only flies to about nine cities, and Owensboro's opportunity for additional flights more likely would be another Florida destination or Las Vegas again or Phoenix, Whitmer said.
"No one has told me that, but those are my personal thoughts," he said. "And I suspect if we did have an other opportunity, it would be flights to Punta Gorda on the Gulf Coast or Ft. Lauderdale. But Allegiant has to decide through their studies if the Owensboro region can support that."
The list of completed projects at the regional airport in 2012-13 was significant -- including a new and expanded terminal and the last leg of the main runway extension to 8,000 feet. And the airport logged 31,566 passengers during 2012.
Joy Campbell, 691-7299, [email protected]
Copyright 2013 - Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
