While Airport Manager Bill Sheley didn’t speak at Monday’s Board of Public Works and Safety meeting, he did present members with a report from the airport.
At last month’s meeting he discussed the new High School Aviation program that will open at the airport next school year. There were 38 kids that applied to the program, 2 were not accepted and the plan was to accept 30 and wait-list the remaining students. He said the numbers have dropped to 32 so the decision was made to accept all 32. The majority of students are from Plymouth with some of the other students coming from the 6 schools from the coop and one additional student from Bremen. Classes start on August 7th with afternoon classes from 12:30 to 3 p.m.
The airport will be renovating the last of their available office space this coming winter for the additional of the second high school class in the 2020-2021 school year. Sheley said, “We need more property and or buildings to continue to grow.”
In his report Sheley told the Board of Works in June of 2017 there were 17 aircraft based at the Plymouth Airport and this year there are 32, the highest in history. He said with the construction of hangers we could be over 40 aircraft in the next 12 months.
Michiana Aircraft Service will be moving into corporate hangar “B” in the next 45 days and having a major service facility will increase the traffic at the airport.
Culver Academies Summer Aviation program will kick off the 17th of June with Discovery Flights for camp staff/counselors. The Campers start flying the 24th. During the summer of 2018 they flew 247 hours which created the largest fuel sales month in the last 20 years. 2019 they are scheduled to fly over 3 times the hours they did in 2018. Sheley said fuel sales should increase proportionately.
The Airport Director’s report said he is still in negotiations with Ivy Tech to base a college level Aviation program at the Plymouth Airport. He said, “They have expressed great interest to be here within the next 2 years.”
