Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

This is the time of the year when we give thanks for the many blessings that we have received during the year. I hope that your family has been blessed this wonderful year.

1. The proposed site is a poor location. If you fly over the area like I do every single week you know that the area is foggy or flooded a good portion of the time. According to Twig Satterfield, a member of the levy commission, the levy has not been upgraded nor raised as some reports have indicated.

2. Cantrell Field has not been studied sufficiently enough to determine if it can be improved. A recent conversation with the engineers who performed the study revealed that they were not even aware that the warehouses that Virco once occupied on the west side of the airport are now vacant. Cantrell Field could be dramatically improved for a fraction of the cost of the proposed new site

3. The cost to the taxpayer. The quote was once again expressed in the Log Cabin. The federal government will pay for most of the airport relocation! Where does the federal government get its money? The truth of the matter is that the relocation of the airport will cost the taxpayers 100% of the cost of the project. Of those funds 5% will be paid with local tax funds and 5% will be paid for with state funds, BUT WE the taxpayers will pay for the entire cost of this relocation, including streets and utilities.

It is my opinion that the recent failure of the sales tax proposal should change the mind set of our City Council. There was a quote in the paper by one of our most respected council members that the residents of the city must not see the traffic problems and the flooding of our neighborhoods. That’s not the problem. The failure of the sales tax proposal should tell our elected officials that we, the taxpayers, don’t approve of the way they handle our money. We think that our money is sometimes not properly spent. This of course brings us full circle back to the proposal to relocate the airport rather than upgrade the existing facility.

AIRPORT CUSTOMER SURVEY

Another nugget from the recent media frenzy surrounding the airport was the quote that the opinion that the airport should remain at the present location was that of the minority. I would remind everyone that the customer survey that we performed earlier this year OVERWHEMINGLY supported the airport remaining at the present site. That survey was answered by the people who use the airport. The survey respondents were people who own and operate aircraft from this airport on a regular basis not by some engineering firm whose sole function is building airports.

HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

The airport will have the following hours during the holidays:

THANKSGIVING DAY CLOSED

CHRISTMAS EVE DAY OPEN (closing early in the afternoon)

CHRISTMAS DAY CLOSED

NEW YEARS EVE DAY OPEN

NEW YEARS DAY OPEN

PUBLIC HEARING

There will be a public hearing this Thursday, December 4^th at the McGee Center from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. I encourage you to attend and voice your views either for or against the movement of the airport. Remember please that emotions will carry little weight in this matter. Facts and funding will carry much more weight in the final analysis. I will not be able to attend the meeting due to a prior commitment. I am sending a letter to the council that expresses my personal opinion. I would suggest that you not only attend the meeting but also write your council members with your thoughts on this matter.

NEW WEBSITE

We have a new website in development. It’s just in the beginning stages but hopefully in the next few weeks you’ll be able to go to the Internet and obtain updates on aviation related matters and get information about your airport. www.conwayairport.com is the new site.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
May you have clear skies and a favoring tailwind

Conway Aviation Services, established as Cope's Aircraft Services, Inc. in 1993, celebrated our 4th Anniversary of ownership of the Conway Municipal Airport Fixed Base Operation (FBO) in October of 2003.

Conway Aircraft Flying Club
Fly well... share the cost!!!
Contact Jeff, 501-908-8600,
or Gary 501-679-4366.
New Members Welcome!