Business View Magazine l January 2023

252 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 12 side of the airport. The main project though, which will help us reclaim 15 acres of land, is going to really help this airport economically. My bottleneck to growth has always been a lack of level buildable land,” Tate adds. When you look at Lincolnton Airport now it is located on 473 acres and has one runway designated 5/23 with an asphalt surface measuring 5,700 by 100 feet. It is located just 20 miles northwest of Charlotte Douglas International Airport and is ten miles due West of the largest lake in North Carolina, Lake Norman. In other words, it is well situated for traffic, especially northwest traffic along the eastern coast. There are around 100 general aviation aircraft and six corporate jets based at Lincolnton Regional, which offers all the regular amenities as well as 24-hour fuel sales for aviation fuel only. The airport terminal building is open from 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM. every day except for Christmas Day and Thanksgiving Day. The terminal is 12 years old with 6000 square feet of space. It is attached via a breezeway to the original terminal building which is a little over 2000 square feet and houses Premier Air – the on-site flying school with five airplanes as well as eight instructors. “Places like Charlotte are getting maxed out when it comes to space,” Tate muses. “Not only do they not have room for additional planes, but they are also more expensive and have a higher tax base. Our airport has moved to the point where we are self-sufficient and can charge lower rates. People are just naturally going to start using our facilities more.” It is the Lincolnton County Regional Airport, and that is an intentional designation – the airport is owned by both the city and the county. The board is made up of one official from the city and another four from the county. It is a split that has been renegotiated