Business View Magazine | August 2019

149 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE AUGUST 2019 LAGRANGE CALLAWAY A I RPORT into the community. We have a gorgeous Fixed Base Operator and are ready for people to come in and do business with us.” “Our master plan highlights the construction of hangars over the next five years,” Wells continues. “We recently constructed a corporate hangar in 2017, and I am working, currently, on the design of another corporate hangar and some more T-hangars. We have to go to the County each year with a budget proposal and see what is possible. But there are a lot of other infrastructure changes that we are working on. Currently, we are working on a runway expansion of 900 feet to make our main runway 6,500 feet, and we are moving from medium to high-intensity lighting on that runway. We are doing the pre-bid work on installing a new Instrument Landing System (ILS) and a new beacon for the Airport. Then, there are plans to rehabilitate all the taxiway lighting, to design and replace the fuel facility, to design and overlay all of the apron and taxiways – and again, more hangar construction. We have asked for just over $14 million to do this work. This money will come from the county, the State, and FAA grants.” Before the county took over the Airport, its economic impact on the local area was estimated at approximately $9 million, annually. As the Airport continues to grow, that amount should rise along with it. “We have something exclusive to offer,” Wells states. “I suppose one of our biggest assets is that we have 750 acres which are not developed, and so, that is where our primary focus is. Also, we are very well-situated in between Atlanta, Columbus, Montgomery, and Birmingham.” Adding to those advantages are beautiful weather that amounts to over 300 perfect flying days each year; a Fixed Base Operator that offers competitive fuel prices; an Aircraft Maintenance Facility operated by Southside Aviation; an aircraft rental and flight school run by the Flying Club and Airventures; as well as a local Civil Air Patrol Squadron. Everything is in place for a period of sustained growth.