Business View Magazine | June 2019

164 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE JUNE 2019 929 acres and has one asphalt paved runway measuring 7,002 X 150 feet. It is home to a renowned flight school, FBOs, a medical helicopter firm, several air charter companies, three aircraft sellers, six maintenance and avionic shops, seven hangar rental outfits, and 340 general aviation aircraft, making it the 8th busiest airport in Texas. It is also home to the Hangar 10 Flying Museum, which boasts four vintage planes: a Lockheed 10A plane, which has been owned by several individuals, including child movie star, Margaret O’Brien; the Stagger Wing, built by Beech Aircraft, which was used mainly for VIPs, admirals, and dignitaries; the PT-22, used by the Army Air Corps, primarily, as a trainer for rookie pilots; and the small, sporty-looking Piper L-4, which was used during World War II as a reconnaissance plane. These days, business is good at Denton, the airport of choice in north Texas. It is operationally self-sufficient and, according to Gray, there’s a waiting list for hangars and just about everything else. “For the most part, right now, everybody is full,” he states. It’s a situation that begs for more growth and development. “We have about seven acres of land left available for development and we’re talking to people on a fairly regular basis to construct new hangars - whether for their own corporate airplanes or to lease out space.” To accommodate that growth, the Airport is also in the process of completing its new parallel runway. “We’re halfway through construction,” Gray reports. “We have one runway, now– 7,002 feet by 150 feet; ILS; 100,000 pounds; can pretty much take any corporate airplane. Our new runway is 5,000 feet by 75 feet; a 30,000 pound runway to provide a secondary location for training, to separate traffic, and to help minimize any delays for arrivals and departures. That facility will be constructed and finished in September of this year. Shortly after that is done, we will be putting the runway lighting system on it, so, by the end of the year, we should have a fully-functional, second runway with GPS approaches. It’s a $6.4 million project.” Denton is also pursuing Part 139 certification from the FAA, which will allow it to accommodate unscheduled aircraft greater than 30 seats. “We AVIONICS • MAINTENANCE • REPAIRS OUR EXPERIENCED STAFF CAN COVER ALL YOUR MAINTENANCE NEEDS , from phase inspections to modifications and everything in between. We are easily accessible at the Denton, TX airport in the DFW area. Hangar H15 1750 Westcourt Rd, Denton, TX 76207 • TELEPHONE: 800-217-1011 www.ais-inst.com