Business View Magazine - Mar 2024

see these new pilots that are interested in aviation to help meet that demand,” he recounts. In addition, Bass Aviation, responsible for airport maintenance, is actively recruiting mechanics to meet the growing need amid Rocky Mount Wilson’s growth. In 2021,the airport recorded 10,200 operations,which skyrocketed to 29,700 in 2022, and an astounding 45,800 in the following year. Moss attributes a significant portion of this surge to Blueline Aviation, a flight school in Johnston County. He reports, “We’re seeing a lot of traffic because they’re such a big flight school there, they are congesting the traffic pattern over Johnston County. And so, to find other places nearby, they’ll come to our airport. Of course, we try to have the cheapest fuel around, and that gives them another incentive to come to our airport.” On the safety side, Rocky Mount-Wilson goes above and beyond standard safety measures, implementing ID badging for tenants, pilots, and employees, along with trained drivers to ensure a secure and controlled environment. “Anybody that is authorized, or that would need access to the ramp area, or the T-hangars, they have all been trained in driver training on airport grounds, limiting any type of incidents regarding conflict between aircraft and vehicles. And then, anybody that is being escorted through the gate, if they are not driver trained, they must be escorted by airport personnel,” says Moss. “That’s one way that we have increased our security measures, just by taking that one extra step. GA airports usually are not held to that standard, and we’re not held to that standard either. But we’d like to set the precedents here.” A FUTURE VISION Moss’s personal aviation journey began at the age of thirteen when he went on his very first plane ride, which happened to be at Rocky Mount-Wilson Airport. 191 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 11, ISSUE 03 ROCKY MOUNT-WI LSON REGIONAL AIRPORT