First, someone in county government must have read the Federal Land Grant document that gave the county the airport and discovered that it could not use the 2,000-plus acres for other purposes. If it does the county loses title to the land. But the county has managed to whittle away some of it in the last 30 years. Rerouting a road and "accidentally" building a home for troubled children and a nursing home on airport property effectively amputated around 200 acres. This cut about 300 feet off a reliever runway, and now there's a smaller buffer between the runways and several busy interchanges and a few new obstacles on the approach and departure paths.
There had been plans for changes, but a generation of county commissioners hesitated to pour money into the airport, especially when a new jetport was not far away. When the county realized it had to keep the airport, it decided to turn the airport into a moneymaker. It took some time for the planned changes to materialize.
The county effectively purchased or ran off the FBOs, and, for awhile, Page Field looked like it was shrinking as some customers took their business elsewhere. And the county discovered that running an FBO wasn't always immediately profitable. To entice locals back the airport needed good hangars, smooth ramps, adequate tiedowns, and flight schools to generate revenue and new pilots. And that's just what's happened recently at Page Field.
Doug Keen of Classic Flight submitted his petition for a flight school contract early on. It took the county two years to see the value of having several flight schools, instead of merely contracting with one school, Beaver Aviation, without even putting the contract out to bid.
Keen didn't sit idle while waiting on the county. He built a thriving Part 91 sightseeing business and a good reputation. Plus, he found the Zenith CH2000. The airplane had what he needed - low capital outlay, a standard engine, good parts availability, desirable handling qualities, and - it was brand new.
The airport built 18 new hangars last year, with 27 more on the horizon. It resurfaced the tarmac and laid out new tiedowns. And an old building got a new look, refurbished with offices and named the General Aviation Center. It now has DTN weather service and plenty of windows and office space. The county offered favorable leases to all comers, and they came.
Classic Flight moved in across from I Aircraft Rentals and Flight Instruction, and down the hall from Joanne Helicopters, In-Trim Helicopters, and Beaver Aviation's Pilot Shop (and flight school). Mike Gall, I's chief instructor, currently provides the airport's only multiengine rental. Keen bought two CH2000s and augmented them with an IFR-equipped, Grumman Traveler and a Cessna 172. Beaver Aviation, which rents Piper Warriors, has the building's store front. Classic Flight and I have the ramp view (good for watching students). The Sundowners Club and the Cub Club recently filled the second tier of office space.
Classic also invested in a PCATD Elite Trainer to complement the ATC-610J ground trainer that all the flight schools share time on. It hired two full-time and one part-time instructor, and Keen is working on becoming a Cessna Pilot Center. Walk in to the General Aviation Center on any day, and you'll see the joint jumping.
So I signed on. Why not? Keen pays his instructors well (and expects professionalism in exchange), he keeps his airplanes in airworthy condition, and customers are streaming in. He's considering adding a Part 135 charter service sometime this year. That would make him the second Part 135 operator at Page (Beaver Aviation was first), and from a business standpoint, it seems that more is better. At least, the Port Authority, which is beginning to reap the profits through increased fuel sales, finally thinks so.
It's hard to believe that my sleepy home field is experiencing a renaissance at the hands of the very same county government that only a decade ago was eager to sign its death warrant. And once again, it's a good place to be a flight instructor.
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