Business View Magazine | Volume 9, Issue 1

195 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1 plan will see many infrastructure improvements, including much-needed hangar development. They have begun the process of building a new 100 by 120 corporate hangar, but more general aviation T-hangars are coming up after that and then perhaps another smaller corporate hangar. The waiting list starts to fill up as soon as the plans are announced. There is plenty of room for more development, even for a jump school that Fuellner is hoping to bring on site. He notes, “Our Experimental Aviation Group has taken off as well. They are developing a new program to try and get people interested in aviation through the building, or rebuilding, of an aircraft. We have enough talented people on the field when it comes to the EA chapter and instructors and the flight school and the maintenance facility here that all these people have agreed and have a vested interest in the program. We have two airplanes that have been offered, one is an old Taylorcraft and the other is an experimental airplane. We are also going to have a dedicated spot in one of our hangars for the construction.” For Fuellner it is all about exposure and trying to change the perception of the airport as a “Rich Man’s Club”. He wants people to see that an airport is a place that can be important for the whole community. In 2022, they will be having aviation summer camps for the first time, and they will also be hosting the second year of their brand-new air show, which was s big hit last summer. They have even been working with a local company to host a paper airplane contest. It is all about finding different ways to pique the interest of the consumer. “It’s all about perception,” Fuellner admits, “and all of these events are springboards to bring in more usage and more income. We have popcorn and hotdogs on Saturdays now, for example, and people will fly in to get some – it is just the simple stuff that makes a difference. We have also added a 5K race this year to our air show INDI ANA COUNTY J IMMY STEWART A I RPORT