“We have a company called True North Steel that makes culverts and steel products and Northwestern Energy Both jet operators. We have Coborn’s Foods, which is a grocery chain out of Minnesota that comes in here on a Citation Sovereign. We have Jack Link’s Meat Products; their beef jerky is made in a plant 12 miles from here. Jack Link’s has a fleet of five jets and are in and out of here all the time.” In addition, NetJets Aviation and Jet Solutions are two fractional jet ownership companies that land and take off regularly.They service business travelers whose companies don’t own their aircraft but may need to fly somewhere on short notice. TRAINING AND BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE Across the U.S., there is a shortage of both pilots and aircraft mechanics, and Cooper sees some possibilities emerging at Huron. “Revv does have a flight instructor here, with plans to increase that service,” he shares. “They are working with our local high school to bring flight training and maintenance training into the high school level. They also agreed with Lake Area Technical College in Watertown which trains pilots and mechanics. In September, they’ll start that combined program with the high school and Lake Area Tech for the maintenance training. We’re trying to get them onto the airport in an old flight service station building that we’ve got here that would be perfect for educational use. We’ve offered them the facility, and once they’re up and running, they think that they’ll probably be using that.” Going forward, Cooper says that he would like to develop unused airport space and broaden the FBO’s services. “We’re trying to get Revv Aviation sold on the idea of building a paint shop here, or possibly building it ourselves and leasing it to them,” he relates. “We’d also like to see some more hangars built for general aviation. I get calls almost weekly from people looking for hangar space. So, we’re trying to develop a new hangar area. A project that will start this year is an extension of our taxi lane to the north end of the airport, and that will open up a new hangar area. Hopefully, that would bring some more tenants on board.” Lastly, Cooper’s been trying to get commercial service back to Huron, as well. “We’ve had a consultant put together a program determining its viability in the Huron area,” he explains. “And now we’re trying to find a carrier that we can entice into, at least, giving us a try. We’ve got a mechanic here with 23 years with SkyWest Airlines, and he can handle any type of regional jet. “ “We can offer them maintenance and we’ve got a hangar that’s large enough – someplace where they can pick up passengers, have maintenance done, or 8 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 11, ISSUE 07
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