Meet the Vance Brand Airport Advisory Board & Staff
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Meet the Vance Brand Airport Advisory Board & Staff Harrison Earl, Chair Harrison is the Senior Consultant, Air Service Development at Crawford, Murphy and Tilly, Inc. and former Director of Commercial Innovation at Denver International Airport. He has over 10 years of aviation experience Our Mission focused on airline and airport commercial strategy. Harrison also has a private pilot certificate. Vance Brand Airport exists to provide access Melinda Jordan, Vice-Chair to high-quality, safe air Melinda settled in Longmont with her family in 1993 and became deeply travel services for the involved in the community as a parent and business owner. She has enjoyed citizens of Longmont. all aspects of aviation for over 30 years including operations management at Through its air travel and the West Houston Airport in Katy, TX. related facilities, to serve Russell Robison, Board Member as the catalyst for Russell is an air traffic controller at Denver Center in Longmont. He has economic development worked as a controller for eight years and has commercial pilot and flight of the region. instructor certificates. Russell is an aircraft owner and enjoys the experimental side of aviation in his powered parachute. Kent Jakobsen, Board Member Our Vision Kent has over 30 years of experience in commercial real estate as a California licensed real estate broker. Kent specialized in commercial leases in close As the primary business proximity to LAX and Santa Monica Airports and has a keen interest in transportation hub for aviation. Boulder County, Vance Orion Wiseman, Board Member Brand Airport will Orion is the Vice-President of Information Services at Sales Partnerships, continue to increase its Incorporated, and brings his business experience and technical knowledge economic development to the board. Orion is also a student pilot pursuing his private pilot vitality for the City of certificate. Longmont through continued development, Steve Bliss, Board Member Steve has been flying airplanes since he was 16 years old. Born and raised in maintaining Los Angeles, Steve started his airline career in the 70s and retired from United infrastructure, Airlines after many years as an international B-777 captain. Five years ago, community involvement, Steve and his wife, moved to Longmont to be closer to their children. He and marketing continues to fly private airplanes from the Vance Brand Airport. strategies. Mick White, Board Member Mick retired from the U.S. Air Force as Lieutenant Colonel where he served as a pilot. He holds a civil commercial pilot certificate with an instrument rating for both single and multi-engine aircraft. Mick owns his own aircraft, which is hangared at Vance Brand Airport. David Slayter, C.M., Airport Manager David has served as Airport Manager since 2015. He is a commercial- instrument rated pilot and holds a degree in Professional Aviation with concentration in Aviation Management from Louisiana Tech University. David’s aviation experience spans over 30 years. Goal: Provide community service/protection CAMERON PEAK WILDFIRE In April 2020, the Airport was used for a few days as a staging location for a CH-47 twin-rotor helicopter owned and operated by Billings Flying Service who provides services as an aerial firefighting company to fight the Cameron Peak fire. Vance Brand Airport served as a staging area for Billings Flying Service until an operations area could be established closer to the fire’s location. Goal: Develop partnerships with surrounding public agencies WILDFIRE TRAINING EXCERCISES In April 2020, the National Guard, along with Boulder County and Longmont Fire Department personnel used the airport for wildfire training exercises. This is an annual training event to prepare firefighting crews to protect our community from wildfires. This helped prepare for actual use for wildfire response whereby the Airport continued to be used as a public utility. Additionally, they contribute to the economy through the purchase of fuel from the local Fixed Base Operator (FBO), Elite Aviation, and enjoy meals from Flight Deck Grill, which is locally owned and operated. Goal: Attract additional airport use and development AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT PLANNING During Calendar Year 2020, the Airport Manager worked with two separate developers who began construction on a total of eight (8) hangars. Seven of the hangars are for private aircraft storage and one will be an aircraft maintenance facility for an established business and will initially bring 4 – 5 new jobs to Longmont, as well as additional business and tax revenue. Goal: Maintain airport in safe and efficient operating environment RUNWAY SAFETY AREA PROJECT November – December 2020, the airport received a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration in excess of $500,000 to relocate the Peck Ditch outside the Runway Safety Area (RSA), and regrade the area for a safer operational environment. This also improved the drainage of this operational area as well. Goal: Increase revenue generation for Airport to become as self-sustaining as possible NEW LEASES The eight new leases for the newly constructed hangars increased the airport’s annual revenue by approximately $19,992. Other new leases and lease renewals account for an additional annual increase of approximately $2,100 between 2019 and 2020 for a total annual increase of approximately $22,000. CARES ACT During 2020, the world experienced a health pandemic due to a novel corona virus known as COVID-19. The impact was felt by the Airport in reduced fuel sales, fees, and activity. However, the Federal Aviation Administration was able to offset this in two ways. First, the Runway Safety Area (RSA) grant was covered at 100 percent, which was a savings of approximately $26,000 in local match that came from the CARES Act and did not have to be used from the Airport Fund. Second, the FAA administered a grant to the City’s Airport from funding available from the CARES Act in the amount of $69,000 to help offset the operations and maintenance cost of the airport. Between the savings of the local match for the RSA project and the additional grant, the Airport Fund realized a benefit of approximately $95,000. --- REPORT CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE --- Several Longmont pilots volunteer their time and airplanes in the Pilots N Paws (pilotsnpaws.org) program where rescued animals and those scheduled to be euthanized are flown to other parts of the country where they are adopted. Eleven Longmont pilots are registered with the program and continue to save lives of animals. James Hickman and his father, Mike, made numerous flights in 2020 to rescue a total of 56 dogs and 11 cats from Texas and Oklahoma. Flying a Glasair, their largest haul to date is a load of 15 puppies! They coordinate their rescue flights through Pilots N Paws and James is taking advantage of these opportunities to build hours toward his commercial pilot certificate. Dan Taylor, founder of Harley’s Dream (harleysdream.org) flies his Cessna as far as California and many of the western states in between to rescue a variety of breeds of dogs and an occasional cat as well. Dan is very active in the fight against puppy mills and rescuing abused animals. --- REPORT CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE --- AeroAngel (aeroangel.org): volunteer pilot Wade Tagg, is based in Longmont and flies all over the country leaving from Vance Brand Municipal Airport. Tagg has flown around a dozen flights for AeroAngel. AeroAngel’s particular focus is on children who can’t safely travel on a commercial airline flight. The Embraer Phenom 300 jet is owned by Longmont businessman Dale Katechis. Katechis donates the plane, while Tagg donates his time and AeroAngel provides the fuel. Tagg discusses how all the flights he’s done for AeroAngel has had an impact on his life but said there is one “triple” flight that took him from the aircraft’s base at Longmont’s airport (KLMO) to California, then out to the East Coast before returning to Longmont. In the process, the flight served one teen and two younger children over the course of two days. “It’s so nice to have the right equipment to get the job done,” Tagg says. Link to article in Longmont Leader: https://www.longmontleader.com/local-news/longmont-pilot- part-of-colorado-nonprofits-efforts-to-help-sick-kids-get-the- care-they-need-3258156 Link to article in Flying Magazine: https://www.flyingmag.com/story/news/business-aviation-charity- lift/?utm_source=the%20longmont%20leader&utm_campaign=the%2 0longmont%20leader&utm_medium=referral Longmont pilots also volunteer for other organizations which include: LightHawk: “We Fly to Save the Earth”: Pilots volunteer for conservation efforts which include tracking endangered wildlife, environmental data collection, and scientific aerial image collection. Angel Flight: “People Flying People in Need”: Pilots donate their aircraft, piloting skills, and all flying costs to help families in need, enabling them to receive vital treatment that might otherwise be inaccessible because of financial, medical, or geographic limitations. Boulder County Sherriff: A Longmont helicopter pilot frequently assists with search and rescue missions for the Sherriff’s office and has in the past received a Letter of Commendation for his assistance. Vance Brand Cadet Squadron: The Civil Airport Patrol is the official auxillary of the US Air Force and a 501 ©3 non-profit organization that has helped on many occassions with conducting aircraft search and rescue missions, as well as providing assistance at civic events such as the Longmont Airport