July 2018

264 265 million for the 664 direct and indirect jobs that the airport supports, total annual economic activ- ity generated by Stillwater Regional Airport is just over $70 million a year. In addition, the airport contributes approximately $3.9 million in annual state and local tax revenues. The airport also continues to support the col- lege, now Oklahoma State University (OSU), in many ways. It is home to the OSU Flight Center, which trains students majoring or minoring in Aerospace Administration and Operations with a concentration in professional pilot. The OSU School of Educational Studies, with an enroll- ment of approximately 250 students, is located at the airport, and the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department also has its Aerospace Systems Discovery Lab located there. The Lab, a retired American Airlines MD-88, is used for STEM education at the college level as well as for local K-12 students. Occasionally the school also charters flights for its sports teams, and visiting professors, speakers, and parents often use the airport, as well. Currently, the airport is in the middle of a three- phase construction project. “We’re finishing up with Phase One,” explains Assistant Airport Direc- tor, Paul Priegel. “We’re completing our parallel taxiway to our primary runway, and that’s going to add a lot of efficiencies. Immediately after that, we have a crosswind runway that has been closed for about a year, and we’ll start a rehab project on that. That’s going to increase our capacity, and having that extra runway will be very beneficial for our flight school, which makes up a large pro- STILLWATER REGIONAL AIRPORT Music...It’s deep in our roots. We live it, breathe it and make it kick! Proudly generating Stillwater’s rhythm since 1973 KICKER Audio brings you the best of : C a r A u d i o • M a r i n e • P o w e r S p o r t s M o t o r c y c l e • L i f e s t y l e G e a r Find & Follow Us: @kickeraudio /kickeraudio #kickeraudio www.kicker.com corporations fly in and out to do business here in Stillwater.” Some of those compa- nies include, Special Energy Corporation, SST Software, Armstrong World Industries, Total Energy, Devon Energy, and the Pot- tawatomie Nation. In addition to a booming corporate and general aviation market, August 2016 marked a transformational milestone for Stillwater with the launch of American Eagle Airlines service to and from one of the country’s largest hubs, the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Overnight, this vital link allowed the community to connect to around 1000 destinations in over 150 countries without the hassle of commuting to a larger city. This service was made possible through a partnership with the Stillwater Regional Airport Au- thority, Visit Stillwater, Oklahoma State University, the Stillwater Chamber of Commerce, and the City of Stillwater. Still- water’s free parking, short check-in and screening lines, and devotion to customer service is helping to make it the go-to commercial airport for those traveling in and out of North-Central Oklahoma. Each year, an estimated 20,075 visitors arrive at the airport on general aviation aircraft, and since American Eagle Airlines began its scheduled commercial flights, another 21,112 arrive from the American Airlines hub at Dallas-Ft.Worth. These visitors often spend on lodging, food, retail purchases, ground transportation, and entertainment; annual visitor spending is estimated at $44.1 million. Added to the annual payroll of approximately $26.2