Business View Magazine | Volume 8, Issue 6

205 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 8, ISSUE 6 K I LLEEN-FORT HOOD REGIONAL A I RPORT General Aviation (GA) aircraft operations, typically, GA aircraft land at Skylark Field (the old Killeen Municipal Airport). Most of the GA aircraft that do land at GRK are larger corporate jets. Being a Joint-Use airport, GRK shares the runway with Robert Gray Army Airfield, providing GRK with access to a 10,000 feet long and 200 feet wide runway. “We’ve had some of the largest aircraft in the world land here,” says Mike Wilson, Executive Director of Aviation for the City of Killeen Aviation Department. “The Army routinely has C-5 Galaxies come in.” The next project in the pipeline for the Killeen- Fort Hood Regional Airport is a major one – construction of a new hangar, estimated to be completed around January 2022. The project comprises 16,000 square feet of hangar space with an additional 7,500 sq. feet of office and shop spaces for use by the current tenants. The facility will provide a good base for operations for CSI Aviation – a seasoned air transportation and air charter company, founded in 1979 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The company provides passenger charter and cargo air transportation, as well as medical flight services. They are also a U.S. Department of Defense authorized air carrier; certified by the U.S. Transportation Command Commercial Airlift Review Board (CARB). This certification allows them to transport government and army officials. The company’s footprint has expanded over the years, as Wilson recounts, “CSI started out at the airport by renting an office with a temporary tent shelter for a single plane. Their business grew, and they were treated so well here that they made the decision to relocate a large portion of their operations to the airport.” Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport is also in the design stages for their second hangar – estimated to be around 8,000 sq. feet with