CAA: GA News, "Excitement builds for Ohio airport's party"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@cwnet.com>]

Thursday, June 1, 2000

Excitement builds for airport's party
The Toledo (OH) Blade


FREMONT - Though planes have been flying in and out of the Sandusky County
Regional Airport since last summer, the facility's opening passed with
little fanfare.

Airport officials plan to make up for that with a celebration next month
that will include plenty of pomp, circumstance, and airplane flights.

At its grand opening on June 10, visitors will watch an Air National Guard
F-16 fly-by, hear the Clyde High School marching band, and have the chance
to fly in a B-17 bomber or a Cessna 172.

Glen Steele, airport manager, said yesterday that officials waited to
celebrate out of necessity. Although the airport opened for flights July 10,
"We didn't have anything to show anybody. It was just a strip."

The airport's fixed-base operation building was not completed until
December. In the meantime, Mr. Steele said, the airport was operated from an
officer trailer on the 450-acre site in Green Creek Township.

The festivities, which are scheduled for 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., will include
remarks from members of the airport board of directors and Phil Boyer,
president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. State Rep. Rex
Damschroder (R., Fremont), a pilot, said he might attend the ceremony if he
can resolve a scheduling conflict.

"This is a big deal, the grand opening, and I'd like to be there for it," he
said.

>From 9 a.m. to noon, flights aboard the Yankee Air Force B-17 will be
offered for $400 a person, and rides on one of five new Cessna 172 planes
will be provided for $20 each, Mr. Steele said.

When not airborne, the B-17 will be open for free tours, as will a Life
Flight helicopter from St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center in Toledo.

Mr. Steele said business has picked up at the airport after a slow start.
Nearly all of the flights involve private planes, he said, which range from
small twin-engine planes to Gulfstream jets.

Construction of the airport began in June, 1997, after a battle of more than
10 years to secure federal funding for the project and overcome some local
opposition. The facility includes a 5,500-foot runway, a 2,000-square-foot
office building, and an 8,000-square-foot, 10-plane hangar that is to be
completed next month.

Mr. Steele said 90 per cent of the airport's $8 million construction cost
was underwritten through user and fuel fees. The state and local businesses
each contributed 5 per cent.

The airport's fixed-base operator, Avion Management Services of Troy, Mich.,
has invested $1.5 million, including construction of the office building and
hangar, Mr. Steele said.

Attached Photo: Construction of the Sandusky County Regional Airport near
Fremont began in June, 1997; it opened July 10, 1999.

sundusky.jpg