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Sunday, April 4, 2004
Airports: What’s up?
Municipal, Massey grounds for pilots
By LYNN BULMAHN
NEWS-JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
NEW SMYRNA BEACH — Before World War II, pilots wanting to land at New Smyrna Beach had to dodge golf balls and orange trees.
The city had but one dirt landing strip near an orange grove. A golf course was nearby and planes landed on its fairway.
That changed with the war. During the 1940s, the Navy constructed an airfield on the site of that sleepy little airstrip.
World War II pilots training at DeLand Naval Air Station could come in off the ocean, where they had practiced gunnery skills, and reload and refuel their military aircraft in New Smyrna Beach. Its field had very few buildings, and only two remain today.
Fast forwarding to the new millennium, and that field, now called New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport, is growing as quickly as Central Florida overall. The city estimates about 143,000 takeoffs and landings a year, said Ron Wilsbach, city public works director and airport manager.
He said a study conducted by Daytona Beach International Airport estimated New Smyrna Beach’s airport had between 180,000 and 190,000 operations — either a takeoff, landing or an instrument approach — annually.
But, the municipal airport is not the only game in Southeast Volusia.
In Edgewater, Massey Ranch Airpark is a privately owned airport that also is taking wing. It was established in 1981 on 1,000 acres once owned by the late J. Max Massey.
After his death, J. Max Massey’s son, John Massey, and widow, Doris Massey, became the managing partners of Massey Enterprises. Doris Massey is an area Realtor. Despite numerous attempts to reach them, the Masseys did not return phone calls for this article.
“This airport is kind of unique,” said tenant Arnold Holmes, who owns and operates Semloh Aviation from a hangar condo unit at Massey. “It’s a privately held airstrip but it has a lighted, paved runway.”
His is one of about 20 businesses based at Massey.
Next to the air park are several homes. A taxiway allows pilots to taxi their aircraft to houses built along two residential roadways — Flying M Court and 12th Street.
CHANGING TIMES
The forecast is for even more airport activity in the near future.
This fall, New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport’s entire appearance will change with the construction of an air traffic control tower.
“I’m kind of excited about that,” Wilsbach said. “When you come down U.S. 1, the first thing you’re going to see is the tower. It’s going to be from 75 to 80 foot tall.”
In anticipation, the city is putting in signs along runways and taxiways. Most airports have signs that light up and are very expensive.
“We’re making ours in-house, in the Public Works Department’s building and maintenance division,” he said.
The city also is taking bids on runway lights. Runway 11-29, which runs southeast to northwest, has been a lit runway, but its lighting is about 25 years old. Runway 6-24, the secondary runway going in an east-west direction, never has been lighted. Besides the runways, the city is asking for additional money for lighting on the taxiways.
The local tower is one of two being built in the area. Ormond Beach will get its tower sometime in July, and New Smryna Beach’s tower is scheduled to be ready by about the first of October, he said.
“It will add a fair amount of safety to the airport,” Wilsbach said.
It may also bring in new business. “A lot of commercial operators and corporate (aircraft owners) don’t like to come into airports without air traffic control towers,” he said.
If corporate and commercial aircraft begin frequenting the airfield, it will mean money to local businesses.
“The fix-based operators could sell anywhere from 200 to 300 gallons of jet fuel at a whack,” he said.
The airport official said the city is in the process of putting together a master plan for the airport. It will focus on what facilities are needed not only in 2004-05, but also in 2020.
“It basically gives you a road map you can follow.”
The plan will go through the Airport Advisory Committee to the City Commission for approval. Then, it will be forwarded to the Federal Aviation Administration and Florida Department of Transportation.
Already, the municipal airport has a bustling business community in and around it.
Wilsbach estimates there are several hundred workers employed on and near the airport in companies such as Epic Aviation, Four Winds Aircraft and Vintage Props and Jets.
A SMALLER SCALE
Three miles to the south, near Edgewater’s ParkTowne Industrial Complex, is Massey Ranch Airpark.
Some neighbors, over the years, have protested the noise since the airpark paved its runway. But supporters say Massey Ranch’s presence has added to Edgewater’s tax base.
Although the majority of Massey tenants are aircraft owners who store their planes on the field, the airport also has a growing number of businesses and new hangars under construction.
Van Wagner Aerial Media, a company that flies banner advertising over the beach and other areas, is based at Massey, said its head of operations, Peter Hurley.
“It’s not as busy as Daytona Beach International or New Smyrna Beach,” he said. “That’s advantageous to us. It’s a very nice airport to work out of.”
Estimates are that Massey has about 27 aircraft operations each day and 19 aircraft are based on the field.
Semloh maintains and modifies aircraft, chiefly the Lancair airplanes that are built from kits, Holmes said. About a half-dozen aircraft may be worked on at a time, he said.
“In the last year, we’ve seen our business increase,” he said. “People are having more things done and are spending more money on their airplanes.”
Ironically, the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, have had a positive impact on some aspects of general aviation, according to Holmes.
Due to increased airport security, many business people are opting to fly their own planes.
“This is an easier, faster mode of transportation,” as compared to airline travel, Holmes said. (Private aircraft) can get you anywhere in the country in one day.”
Holmes points to a Lancair IV-P in his hangar. He said the owner has flown it from Detroit — a trip that took four hours and 20 minutes.
Chuck Presley of Vintage Props and Jets at New Smyrna Beach Municipal said he doesn’t think the national disaster had a great impact on his commuter airline business.
“Our business had a steady growth — 30 percent a year — before 9-11 and it’s had that after 9-11,” he said. “That’s true of (charter aircraft businesses) in general.
OTHER USES
The military trained hundreds of pilots in Florida during World War II, and the tradition has come full circle. The Sunshine State’s year-round mild climate is ideal for flight instruction. Both airports are home to pilot instruction schools.
“One of the real growth industries in Florida is flight training,” Wilsbach said. “A lot of foreign visitors come here for flight training and while they’re in Florida, use the recreational facilities, visit the tourist attractions, stay in motels and eat in our restaurants.”
“It’s so much more expensive to learn to fly in Europe,” Holmes said. “It’s cheaper for those kids to come over here, rent a place to live and take flight training in Florida.”
DID YOU KNOW?
New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport has a certified archaeologist and environmentalist on its consultant staff.
It is possible that the airport property may be on land once settled by the Turnbull Colony in the 1760s.
If so, an archaeological dig to uncover valuable historical artifacts would need to precede any further development.
SOURCE: Airport Manager Ron Wilsbach
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