Business View Magazine November-December 2018

100 101 down to corporate pilots and charter pilots, who are very much in demand. So, we’re seeing military pilots com- ing out and transitioning to commercial and airline pilots.We do a lot of that transitional training here.” Currently, all operations at Draughon-Miller are avi- ation related, but Bratton says that the Airport also has some undeveloped, non-aviation property on a prime highway corridor that is available for lease, and he believes that the Airport’s location provides a tremen- dous opportunity for any business that wishes to lo- cate there. “Draughon-Mill- er’s huge advantage is location,” he explains. “It’s right in between major met- ropolitan areas. You’ve got Dallas/Ft.Worth just a cou- ple of hours north; Houston is to the southeast; Austin is about an hour away, and another hour down the road is San Antonio. That triangle comprises about 80 percent of the Texas population and Temple is right in the mid- dle along the I-35 corridor, which provides an incredible business opportunity. A loca- THE DRAUGHON-MILLER CENTRAL TEXAS REGIONAL AIRPORT tion like Temple becomes very attractive because employees can find very reasonable home prices and the cost of living is significantly lower than it is in any of those large metropolitan areas. A business locating here has access to all of those metropolitan areas and very good transportation net- works, including a major rail terminal in Temple. The area is very well-posi- tioned for future growth.” Draughon-Miller has two asphalt paved runways, which according to Bratton have benefitted from some recent runway reconstruction proj- ects and “are in great shape.” In addition, the Airport recently completed new corporate hangar facilities and is finishing up the design of a ramp expansion in its corporate hangar area, which will provide additional shov- el-ready, corporate hangar sites. “We’re trying to stay ahead of the demand, to some extent, by providing the infrastructure for new facilities,” says Bratton. Some elements of the Airport’s Master Plan include replacement of the runway and taxiway incandescent lighting system with energy efficient