March declared “General Aviation Appreciation Month” in Indiana

Here is a link to how our airport has evolved over the years.

Governor Daniels declared March as “General Aviation Appreciation Month” by recognizing the economic impact General Aviation Airports, such as Huntingburg, has to the local and state economies.

By making this declaration Governor Daniels clearly recognizes the importance airports across the state play into the bottom line for Hoosier businesses.

“Regionally, local business such as OFS Brands, MasterBrand, AK Steel and Jasper Engines would not have access to the world markets from Dubois County, without the Huntingburg Airport” stated Steve Wagner, manager at Dubois County Flight Services.

“The economic impact in excess of $17 million indicates the importance the airport is as a tool for business to use” Wagner continued, “Dubois County would not continue to lead the state in unemployment and the businesses here could not remain without a fully functioning General Aviation airport.”

“We are proud to be a participate this March celebration, embracing the economic impact aviation plays in retaining local business to our region and state” commented Mike Cummings, president of the Dubois County Airport Authority.

The Huntingburg Airport (HNB) founded in 1937 serves the needs of local base industry including: Kimball International, MasterBrand Cabinets, Fortune Brand, Jasper Engines and Transmissions, Best Home Furnishings, OFS Brands, Dubois County Flight Services, AK Steel, Omni Co., and HNB Hangar, LLC.

Additional background:

March is “General Aviation Appreciation Month”

· Governor Mitch Daniels has declared March to be “General Aviation Appreciation Month” in Indiana. This makes Indiana the 37th state to recognize this important industry.

· According to the Indiana Department of Transportation, general aviation contributes over $4.9 billion in economic activity to the state, supporting over 18,000 jobs.

· Huntingburg Airport has an economic impact of $17,183,900 a year in the local economy.

· Nationally, general aviation contributes $150 billion to the economy every year and supports 1.2 million jobs.

· Over 100 mayors recently sent a letter to President Obama expressing the importance of general aviation and community airports. The letter also specifically addresses user fees, a per-flight tax that would devastate the general aviation industry.

· On March 12, 28 Senators sent a letter to President Obama protect the general aviation industry against user fees.

· Shortly before that, 195 Representatives sent a letter To President Obama to the same affect.

· Recently, Governor John Lynch of New Hampshire and Governor Mary Fallin of Oklahoma, representing a bipartisan pair, sent a similar letters to President Obama expressing the need to protect general aviation.

· The President’s proposed budget, released on Monday, February 13, included an aviation user fee. This would impose a $100 per-flight user fee on those who rely on general aviation. The measure would still need to be approved by Congress.

· Of the businesses that use general aviation, 85% are small to mid-sized businesses that rely on these aircraft to reach far-off plants and customers, serve rural markets without access to commercial aviation, or deliver medical care and other services. These are the organizations that would be affected by user fees.

· These taxes would mean not only an additional tax burden, but a huge administrative burden on businesses, farms and organizations that use general aviation and that would have to literally keep track of invoices for fees for thousands of take-offs and landings.

· In addition, at a time when our government is supposed to be finding ways to reduce government spending, we do not understand why some in Congress seek to create huge, new bureaucracy within the FAA to administer these new taxes.

· If asked- all piston aircraft, military aircraft, public aircraft, air ambulances, aircraft operating under controlled airspace, and Canada-to-Canada flights would be exempt.

· The world’s leading air cargo and package services operate major facilities in Indiana, including Federal Express and Kitty Hawk.

· Additionally, engine manufacturer Rolls Royce, with facilities in Indiana, produces engines for general aviation aircraft.

· There are 107 public access airports in Indiana, serving 10,621 pilots and 6,035 general aviation aircraft.

· Indiana is home to 26 charter flight companies, 67 repair stations, and 4 flight schools operating 16 aircraft and providing 36 jobs. In addition, there are 68 fixed-based operators in the state. Members of the University Aviation Association include Indiana State University Terre in Haute, IN, Purdue West in Lafayette, IN, and Vincennes University in Vincennes, IN.

· Angel Flight Central serves Indiana along with Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Kansas. Since August 1995, Angel Flight Central (then Wings Over Mid-America) with the help of over 1000 volunteer pilots, have flown over seven million miles and have helped transport over 12,000 passengers.

Huntingburg Airport Specific Facts:

· Airport is pivotal transportation infrastructure asset in retaining current jobs and attracting any new business

· Airport is one of other transportation infrastructure assets South West Region of Indiana has; highway infrastructure is another; future plans for I-67 would set the Huntingburg Airport at a crossroads of two Interstate Highways (I-65 & I-67) making it a hot-bed for economic development

· Private capital invested into the Airport, today would equate to $50 million to replace hangars, aircraft and infrastructure

· In last 10 years, private capital invested in aviation assets at the Airport are in excess of $10 million

· The Huntingburg Airport provides local business access to a global economy and is used as a business tool to access global markets

· Six largest employers in Dubois/Spencer counties utilize the Huntingburg Airport for transportation needs (OFS Brands, Jasper Engines, Kimball, AK Steel, Best Home Furnishings and MasterBrand); all except AK Steel have invested into hangars at the Huntingburg Airport

· Remember: with one mile of investment into roads business moves another mile, but with one mile of investment into an airport, business can have global mobility; both are important and cannot function without the other and require vision/planning to be successful