The Draughon-Miller Central Texas Regional Airport

corporate pilots and charter pilots, who are very much in demand. So, we’re seeing military pilots coming out and transitioning to com- mercial and airline pilots.We do a lot of that transitional training here.” Currently, all operations at Draughon-Miller are avi- ation related, but Bratton says that the Airport also has some undeveloped, non-aviation property on a prime highway corridor that is available for lease, and he believes that the Airport’s location provides a tremen- dous opportunity for any business that wishes to lo- cate there. “Draughon-Mill- er’s huge advantage is loca- tion,” he explains. “It’s right in between major metropolitan areas. You’ve got Dallas/Ft. Worth just a couple of hours north; Houston is to the southeast; Austin is about an hour away, and another hour down the road is San Anto- nio. That triangle comprises about 80 percent of the Tex- as population and Temple is right in the middle along the I-35 corridor, which pro- vides an incredible business opportunity. A location like THE DRAUGHON-MILLER CENTRAL TEXAS REGIONAL AIRPORT Temple becomes very attractive because employees can find very reason- able home prices and the cost of living is significantly lower than it is in any of those large metropolitan areas. A business locating here has access to all of those metropolitan areas and very good transportation networks, including a major rail terminal in Temple. The area is very well-positioned for future growth.” Draughon-Miller has two asphalt paved runways, which according to Bratton have benefitted from some recent runway reconstruction proj- ects and “are in great shape.” In addition, the Airport recently completed new corporate hangar facilities and is finishing up the design of a ramp expansion in its corporate hangar area, which will provide additional shov- el-ready, corporate hangar sites. “We’re trying to stay ahead of the demand, to some extent, by providing the infrastructure for new facilities,” says Bratton. Some elements of the Airport’s Master Plan include replacement of the runway and taxiway incandescent lighting system with energy efficient