Business View Magazine September 2018

172 173 takeoffs and landings. It’s in the top five percent, nationally, of all towered airports, and is a nation- al priority general aviation air- port in the eyes of the FAA.We are a reliever to the John Glenn Columbus International Airport, and we are certified through FAA-Part 139 for commercial service; we don’t have any com- mercial airlines operating, but we do maintain our certification.” Hammon adds that the air- port is one of about 30 airports owned by universities around the country, but only one of three that is owned by a Tier One research institution. Therefore, he states that the airport’s first priority is “to support and fulfill the University’s ‘learning, discov- ery, and engagement mission’ – supporting academics, sup- porting research, and supporting outreach to the community.We do that in a number of different ways.We operate the universi- ty’s Flight Education program, while several of the airport staff participate in classes.We esti- mate that there are about 350 students who utilize the airport each semester as a classroom. We also employ a number of uni- versity students so they get that real-world interaction. And we host research projects –we don’t do the research, but we have You know that dream where you can fly? We can make it come true. Capital City Aviation is a not-for- profit flight training and aircraft rental club. Our custom-tailored, one-on-one flight training can have you in the clouds before you know it. You know you’ve always wanted to. Make the call. 2160 West Case Road • Columbus, OH 43235 • info@CapitalCityAviation.com • 614.459.2541 THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY AIRPORT the facility where faculty can come out and do it. About 65 faculty members utilize the airport each semester. And regarding outreach to the commu- nity, we have estimated we connect with about 3,000 kids a year, through various programs.” “We’re also an airport,” Hammon reiterates, “and that’s what some people tend to forget.We often hear that ‘Ah, you’re just a flight school.’ No, we are the corporate airport in Central Ohio.We have 14 different corporate flight departments that are based out here, up to and including a Fortune 10 company. About 200 GA aircraft are based here – everything from a small Christen Eagle up to a Gulfstream 4. The Ohio State Airport is also one of four in Franklin County, and Hammon explains that each airport has carved out its own niche: “The John Glenn Columbus International Airport is the air carrier facility for the region. They have some cor- porate over there, but their role, in this region, is to serve the airlines.We have Rickenbacker, which was the old Air National Guard and Air Force base, which is more of a cargo facility, now. They have Bolton Field, as their primary reliever, which they own. Then there’s us. One benefit we have, right off the bat, is location, location, location.We are in the corner of town that is seeing most of the corporate expansion, so we already have that natural customer base. “So, we kind of all know what our niche is and what our area of influence is. The one thing we can say we have over many of the GA airports in central Ohio is the full-service FBO, open from six in the morning to almost midnight.We also