Pilots

The flying Causeys

Thirty years ago a North Carolina farm family planted a runway in one of its fields that has produced a bumper crop of aviation-related businesses. Now, that same farm hosts a turboprop and jet charter business and an international parts manufacturing operation. You'll find the airport listed officially under Liberty, North Carolina. The hay still grown near the 3,800-foot runway at Causey Airport, located 20 miles southeast of Greensboro, is the only reminder that the Causey family once concentrated on beef cattle and hogs.

The transition from farmers to pilots began in the 1960s when Winfield Causey, now 54, and his younger brother, Charlie, watched neighboring dairy farmer R.T. Keck fly his Piper Super Cruiser from a 1,300-foot grass strip. Teenagers at the time, they thought they might like to fly and asked their father, Benson Causey, what he thought of the idea.

"To our surprise, he was positive and told us to look into it," Winfield said. On advice from Keck, the boys returned to their father and suggested that they buy an airplane in which to learn.

"He said he had a secret desire to learn to fly," Winfield said. With $500 from each brother and the senior Causey, the three purchased a Taylorcraft and learned to fly from Keck's runway on the farm next door.

It seemed like a good idea to build a 2,700-foot grass runway on the Causey farm for what was then a hobby, and that led to building and providing hangars for nearby pilots. It also prompted Winfield Causey's aunt in August 1976 to open a restaurant in her home called Fran's Front Porch. It is still operated today by now 84-year-old Francis Causey Holt.

"We sort of got into the airport business by accident. It was a hobby that got out of hand," Winfield said. Soon the pilots using the hangars got together and installed a fuel tank. But farming wasn't out of the picture yet. Winfield went to North Carolina State University and got an associate's degree in livestock management. Then his brother went to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and became an airframe and powerplant mechanic. As aviation began to steal time from farming, the boys and their father established a full-time private airport open to the public. Winfield got an instructor certificate and taught students while Charlie ran the repair shop. Their father, who died 15 years ago, was the overall head of Causey Aviation Service.

Now they have a 40-foot-wide, 3,800-foot paved runway on their public-use airport, although there's never been a local, state, or federal dollar invested. As private airports are not eligible for such funding in North Carolina, the work was done a little bit at a time.

Causey Aviation expanded into the charter business. Starting with single-engine piston aircraft, today the Causeys have four jets and three turboprops based at their airport. The company is half-owner of a Cessna Citation SII, a Raytheon Beechjet, and three Beech King Airs, and leases two Cessna Citation V aircraft. It operates about 20 on-demand flights a week for local customers and for other charter operators. The Causeys can call on 18 pilots, many of whom work part time, located within 50 miles of the airport.

Hanging on the wall of Winfield's office are photos of some of Causey Aviation's customers, including former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Colin Powell, former President George Bush, Barbara Bush, Jesse Jackson, former Vice President Dan Quayle, and Elizabeth Dole. Barbara Bush flew in with her husband and again by herself to campaign for her son during his presidential bid.

Charlie's maintenance business grew from offering annuals and 100-hour inspections to manufacturing FAA-approved parts. He and his staff make about 180 parts for Piper models and Beech turboprops, including landing gear bushings, fuel cap seals, and nose strut tubes. Causey Aviation receives about 200 orders a month from customers all over the world. About 10 percent of the orders are exported, and yet the company is not even on the Internet. To focus more attention on the parts and charter business, the flight school was turned over to another operator last year.

Charlie, Winfield, and their father became pilots, of course, all soloing over a two-day period. Now, Winfield's wife and son, as well as Charlie's wife and two daughters, are pilots. Son Jeff has received his private pilot certificate and instrument rating, and plans to obtain the commercial certificate.

All told, the equipment and buildings at Causey Airport are worth several million dollars, although Winfield points out that most of the money is in the operation, not in the bank. "I'm like the guy who began working on his second million from aviation after giving up on the first one," Winfield joked. A greater measure of success comes from the fact that Causey Aviation is still around, while many aviation companies that started 35 years ago have gone out of business.

A sign in Charlie's shop says, "Dream more than others think is practical." The Causeys have.