April 2011 Reporting Points from the Salina Airport Authority
Avweb awarded their "FBO of the Week" ribbon to America Jet at SLN, April 28. Located at America's Fuel Stop, America Jet has long been known for their genuine Midwestern hospitality, and that's just what AVweb reader Jeremy Phillips received on a recent visit to the world-class fixed base operator. "The line and maintenance crew went out of their way to make our trip the best one we ever had," Phillips said when he nominated the FBO on Avweb's website. "They went out of their way to make things really easy for us." Avweb awarded their "FBO of the Week" ribbon to America Jet at SLN, April 28. Located at America's Fuel Stop, America Jet has long been known for their genuine Midwestern hospitality, and that's just what AVweb reader Jeremy Phillips received on a recent visit to the world-class fixed base operator. "The line and maintenance crew went out of their way to make our trip the best one we ever had," Phillips said when he nominated the FBO on Avweb's website. "They went out of their way to make things really easy for us." As a member of the Federal Aviation Administration's Contract Tower Program, the Salina Air Traffic Control Tower handles more than 80,000 operations each year, including more than 7,000 business jets that stop for refueling. The Salina Airport Industrial Center is one of the nation's most successful airport industrial parks with more than 70 businesses and organizations. You'll find that Kansas State University has one of the most diverse fleets among aviation universities and colleges. Some of the highlight aircraft of the fleet are the Beechcraft King Air C-90, Beechcraft Baron, Schweizer 300 CBi helicopter and ASK 21 glider. for as low as $168 with no charge for parking At comparable prices, if you could cut your travel time in half, and not have the general hassles of the full airport experience, wouldn't you do it? Hassle free, convenient, affordable, and most importantly-FAST. This is a new option in business and leisure travel. SeaPort offers daily scheduled flights in the Northwest and Mid-South like the old airlines, but with a notable absence of what makes flying today slow and miserable. How? Commercial air travel in today's climate is difficult at best. The airports are becoming more crowded, have longer lines and with the tighter budgets, speed and convenience seem like a thing of the past. Until now. The way travel was meant to be, with all the conveniences of private air travel, but without the big price tag. Isn't it about time? Donate Today From the XD's desk: Salina, the Salina Airport Authority and Saline County are prepared to support Gov. Brownback's commitment to retain and recruit aviation jobs for Kansas. Key to the Governor's efforts is providing aerospace firms the workforce, workforce training and education, infrastructure and incentives necessary to conduct business in Kansas. Locally, Saline County has partnered with Sedgwick County to expand foreign trade zone benefits to all businesses in our county. The City of Salina has authorized the construction of $5 million of new utilities at the Salina Airport to support aerospace hangars and shops. The Salina Airport Authority is in the process of renovating more than 498,000 square feet of hangar and shop space at an estimated cost of $8 million for immediate occupancy. The SLN Aviation Service is open for business. Kansas State University's Salina campus features one of the nation's Top 5 aviation programs. K-State Aviation already partners with Wichita State University, the University of Kansas, Salina Area Technical College and the National Center for Aviation Training to educate and train our state's aviation workforce. Our community will coordinate our local economic development incentives with the excellent State of Kansas incentives to retain and recruit aviation firms to the SLN Aviation Service Center. The combination of available workforce, education and training partners, available hangars at a world-class airport, existing infrastructure and competitive incentives makes the SLN Aviation Service Center the nation's premier location for aerospace industry growth. Governor Brownback has set aviation job creation as a state priority. Salina, the Salina Airport Authority and Saline County are prepared to help achieve the governor's goal. Salina Airport Authority Executive Director Tim Rogers, A.A.E., joined aviation and economic development leaders from across the state in Wichita at the Governor's Aviation Summit, April 25. Mike Hutmacher/The Wichita Eagle This is the first of many industry and economic development summits to be held by Gov. Sam Brownback. The summit will produce the first-ever Kansas strategic plan for retaining and growing the aviation and aerospace sector in Wichita and Kansas. "The summit reinforced that our strategic plan for the development of the SLN Aviation Service Center is right on target," said Rogers, who is a Governor's Aviation Summit Roundtable member. "Much of what we are doing will be reflected in the state's plan. Our efforts to support K-State aviation programs puts Salina and Saline County in a desirable location for aviation and aerospace growth in the areas of maintenance, repair and overhaul work and unmanned aerial systems." Almost one in five Kansans are currently employed in the aviation or aerospace industry, however interest in those jobs seems to be dwindling which raises concerns over the workforce's future generations. Dr. Kurt Barnhart, director of K-State's Applied Aviation Research Center, provided the more than 160 attendees a glimpse into the future of remotely piloted aircraft and the research and development being conducted by K-State's UAS program. K-State Salina is a Top 5 aviation school that continues to keep the pipeline full of trained and certificated aviation and aerospace workers. All firms that attended the conference expressed a willingness to support programs and incentives to increase interest in aerospace jobs. Local programs such as the Kansas StarBase Program are even more important now to steer youths toward aerospace jobs. The Airport Authority is in the design phase of the Wings Over Salina Air Museum, which will promote the past, present and perhaps most importantly the future of Salina area aviation. "The museum will have a profound effect on this community's ability to be actively involved in encouraging Kansas youth to consider aviation as a career choice," explained Rogers. "Once the facility is constructed, it will work with K-State and other partners to provide youth programs allowing young people to see the benefit of a career in aviation." Once pointed in the right direction those future employees will need training and education. From the entry-level sheet worker to the PhD engineer, institutions of higher learning plan to coordinate better to provide education for all skill levels. K-State Salina provides a multitude of training opportunities for students interested in any aspect of aviation including professional pilot, aviation maintenance, unmanned aircraft systems, avionics and helicopter training. "I expect even more industry support for programs and projects that steer youth to aerospace jobs," said Rogers. "Salina is strategically located to be a big part of that." SeaPort has best month ever at Salina In the midst of Congressional debate over the U.S. Department of Transportation subsidized essential air service program, Salina EAS provider SeaPort Airlines saw its best month yet since beginning service in April 2010. SeaPort Airlines. During the month of March, SeaPort had 205 Salina enplanements. That is more than 200 people flew out of Salina to Kansas City. Some of those passengers caught outbound flights on other airlines that offer service out of Kansas City International Airport or conducted business in Kansas City and returned to Salina. "I've flown SeaPort at least four times in the last six months. I love using them. They are very affordable and cheaper than driving," said president and owner of Salina-based Triplett, Inc. Mark Augstine. "I've used them for one-way flights and connecting flights. Most recently, my wife and I hit a delay coming into Kansas City from Chicago. I called Scott at the SeaPort terminal and let him know what was going on. He talked to the other passengers and they all agreed to hold the flight. They picked us up at the curb and shuttled us back to SeaPort's terminal and we were able to be on the last flight out on Sunday night. It saved us a vehicle rental." Great customer service and satisfaction has come to be expected from our hometown airline. "I am thrilled but not surprised that passenger numbers for Salina continue to climb," said SeaPort Airlines President and CEO Rob McKinney. "We at SeaPort have found that if we stay focused on providing the best possible customer service experience for guests, we are rewarded with increased demand." While some passengers caught connections or made a quick turnaround back to Salina, others continued on the comfortable Pilatus PC-12 to other mid-south locations like Memphis, Tenn. or Harrison, Ark. "Over the past few months Salina-based IntelliFinishing has been working with a company in Memphis on the development of a new paint system for their manufacturing facility," explained IntelliFishing Vice President Doug Oliphant. "The development process required several trips to Memphis. Seaport was a real time-saver for my busy schedule. The flights were always on time, the staff courteous, and service was exceptional." CAV Aerospace, Inc. has received amended Supplemental Type Certification approval from the FAA to install the TKS Flight Into Known Icing protection system in Bonanza G36 aircraft. The company is scheduling installation of the proprietary TKS system in Bonanza G36s for a base price of $47,500. Aviation professor continues military service by commissioning students Splichal Jimmy Splichal spent 22 years in the U.S. Army. Now he's serving his country another way. An aviation professor at Kansas State University Salina, Splichal has commissioned four students into officer training programs for the Air Force and the Navy. "Many students who are interested in a military career have always asked me about my experiences and what my advice would be about a military career for them," he said. "Those personal relationships lead to them asking me to take part in their commissioning ceremonies." Splichal's first commissioning ceremony was for Wyeth Lindeke in 2006. Upon Lindeke's graduation from K-State Salina's professional pilot program and completion of the Air Force ROTC program, Splichal administered the oath of office for commissioning into active duty Air Force. He commissioned three students in 2010. When Matthew Pianalto graduated from K-State Salina's professional pilot program and completed the Air Force ROTC program, Splichal administered the oath of office for commissioning into active duty Air Force. He administered the oath of office for active duty Navy for Officer Candidate School with follow-on flight training to Eric Scott, a graduate of K-State Salina's professional pilot program. He also administered the oath of enlistment for active duty into the Navy for the bachelor degree completion program for Bryan Valliere, junior in professional pilot, Wichita. Valliere is on active duty and stationed at K-State Salina until he completes his bachelor's degree in 2012. "It's always been a great honor to serve my country, and it's a great honor to be asked to take part in the beginning of a young person's military career and share the pride of patriotism," Splichal said. "Those who serve hold a special bond." Seventeen months of training and preparation has paid off for 12 Kansas State University Air Force ROTC cadets with their selection for a special U.S. Air Force training program. The K-State students, from both the Manhattan and Salina campuses, were chosen from among 3,338 college sophomores nationwide to attend the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps' one-month field training summer program. The selection board was at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. The board chose 1,994 students from 144 different Air Force ROTC detachments to attend the summer training. The program is a demanding, 28-day leadership course and a prerequisite before any cadet may enter the Professional Officer Course to be commissioned a second lieutenant in the Air Force. The course is conducted with two weeks each in Montgomery, Ala., and Hattiesburg, Miss. During this training, cadets are challenged mentally and physically to demonstrate their leadership, followership, communications, self-discipline, physical fitness and teamwork talents. K-State's Wildcat Warrior AFROTC cadet wing had a 60-percent selection rate for the training program. Cadets, all sophomores, selected to attend include two K-State Salina students, Brycen Scholz, professional pilot, Atchison; and Scott Mall, professional pilot, Clay Center. Piper Aircraft's single-engine Altaire jet mockup along with a dozen other aircraft will be on display at the Great Plains Air Expo May 11 at America Jet at SLN located at 2010 Rogers Ct. from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The mockup of the high performance very light business jet has been making its way around North America. At the end of the year it will have stopped in 16 states and Canada. "We are pleased to see a major airplane manufacturer like Piper Aircraft bring its newest product to the Salina Airport. It is further recognition of our area's important role in the aviation marketplace," said Tim Rogers, A.A.E., executive director of the Salina Airport Authority. A young and foolish pilot wanted to sound cool on the aviation frequencies. This was his first time approaching a field during the nighttime, and instead of making any official requests to the tower, he said, "Guess who?" The controller switched the field lights off and replied, "Guess where!"
April 2011 In the Spotlight 
Tower Updates 
On the Flightline 
Salina to Memphis 
Click to Print 
Click to Print SeaPort Airlines 
Quick Links 
Salina Airport Authority Contact Info 
Melissa McCoy
Salina ready to support aviation jobs
XD attends Kansas Aviation Summit 
TKS Flight Into Known Icing approved for Bonanza G36s
"We've been working towards obtaining FIKI approval for the G36 for a while and with more than 300 other Bonanza aircraft previously flying the TKS system, we have already integrated the work into our routine installation schedules," said CAV Aerospace President Kevin Hawley.
Wildcat Warriors: Air Force ROTC cadets earn spot in select training program Altaire mockup to visit Salina during Great Plains Air Expo 
Lift: Guess Who 
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Source: Salina Airport Authority
