Wes Tomlinson
The Decatur Daily, Ala.
(TNS)

Oct. 17—Little more than a month after opening, Pryor Field Regional Airport's new aircraft maintenance division is preparing to expand, having serviced an estimated 25 to 30 aircraft and with plans to hire additional employees and build a new hangar.

The Pryor Flight Center Aircraft Maintenance Division began operations Sept. 1 and employs 11 people, according to General Manager Neal Ropp. He said its workforce could double within six months.

The Pryor Field Airport Authority also plans to break ground within about 60 days on a roughly 15,000-square-foot hangar, according to Adam Fox, the authority's CEO.

"These guys have done exceptionally well since kicking off just a month ago, and they've been keeping the hangar full," Fox said.

Fox said the division was created quickly after another aviation company began winding down operations at Pryor Field, giving the airport an opportunity to retain experienced maintenance workers.

Pryor Flight Center has operated at the airport since 2020, when the Airport Authority assumed responsibility for its fixed-base operator services, which include fueling and other support for private and business aircraft.

Fox said approximately 145 aircraft are based at Pryor Field, providing a potential customer base for the maintenance division.

The division primarily services private and business aircraft, with most of its work involving single-engine planes, although it also handles twin-engine piston aircraft, according to Business Development Director Todd Ellison and Aircraft Maintenance Manager Glen Williams.

Ellison said annual inspections are among the most common services requested.

Williams said the division has worked on as many as 10 small aircraft at once.

"The way the work typically flows, you've got something that you're actively working on real hard for a day or so, and then you get to a point where you have to order parts," Williams said. "Then the next airplane can be worked on at the same time."

Williams said the operation's main limitation is available shop space.

"We're actively growing," Fox said. "The Airport Authority is actively reinvesting into the airport, growing our operations and growing jobs."

The division is also looking to expand the range of aircraft it can support.

Fox said Pryor Field can accommodate aircraft as large as a Boeing 757, although the maintenance division's ability to service larger aircraft is more limited. He said the division could perform certain repairs on larger planes that are grounded by mechanical problems, a service known in aviation as aircraft-on-ground, or AOG, maintenance.

More extensive scheduled inspections of larger aircraft would require the division to expand its capabilities.

"Some of the other phase inspections and things of that nature, that's going to be a process to get into, but not something we would shy away from," Fox said.

Fox said the airport is primarily targeting customers across the Southeast, while Ropp said Pryor Field is well positioned to serve aircraft operators within about a 250-mile radius.

Williams said the division is already serving customers from farther away, including Premier Jet Center in Minnesota.

"We've got our Premier Jet guy — they're based out of the Midwest," Williams said. "He comes in here at least twice a week. We don't always work on the aircraft, but we've done several things for them."

The airport also recently acquired a mobile maintenance van, allowing mechanics to travel to other airports to repair aircraft that cannot be flown to Pryor Field.

"We want to be that first call once they realize something is wrong," Fox said.

The division's anticipated workforce growth also coincides with the launch of Calhoun Community College's Aviation Maintenance Technology program at Pryor Field.

The FAA-certified program began classes in August and prepares students to pursue airframe and powerplant certification.

Ropp said one Calhoun student is already working with the maintenance division on days he is not in class.

Williams said the division employs FAA-certificated airframe and powerplant mechanics and offers training opportunities for apprentices pursuing those credentials.

Fox said the broader goal is to strengthen Pryor Field's role in regional economic development.

"Economic development does not ride a bus," Fox said. "It flies in on an airplane."

— [email protected] or 256-340-2442.

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