With a light agenda, members of the Carroll County Airport Commission devoted time at the Feb. 18 meeting to a proposed flight school.
Danny Hendricks gave a presentation, saying a flight school will benefit the airport by encouraging more people to learn to fly. He would like to move into a hangar with an office, but the hangar under consideration currently has a tenant. That tenant is expected to let his lease expire, but commissioners also noted they could cancel the lease with 30-days’ notice.
If the hangar becomes available, Hendricks said it would immediately need some drainage work on the outside. A slope sends water across a sidewalk and against the building. Commission Chair Chase Tressler said the airport should absorb cost of the drainage work, something the commission has discussed for years.
It would require installing concrete with a drainage grate, and Tressler guessed at a cost of $3,000. Commissioners approved the allocation, and Tressler will seeks bids. He said the airport has money coming in dedicated to infrastructure.
Hendricks hopes to begin interior work on the hangar in April, if possible. He planned to install flooring, inside walls, and a drop ceiling. He will also add awnings over windows which have persistent leaks. Hendricks said the work he invests will increase the lease price for the space from $210 to $310 per month. In return, he asked for a year without a rate increase, to help him recover part of the cost of the remodeling.
In addition to his flight school, Hendricks said a flight club is returning to the airport. The club was based here a few years ago but moved to Cassville after conflicts with the CCA commission. Members of a flight club jointly own an airplane.
In his Manager’s Report, Michael Pfeifer noted that 10 percent of monthly fuel sales had been deposited into a new reserve account. He said all hangars are currently leased, with 49 planes housed at the airport. The waiting list has 35 applicants.
So we have a airstrip in Trigger Gap for flight schools and flight clubs and it’s only a few miles from the airport. Now we are going to have more flight schools and flight clubs at the airport? Anybody wonder what’s going on?