As we reach the end of 2019, it is amazing how quickly this year has gone by and the many positive changes we have at the airport to be very thankful for. For those of us who love aviation, there have been numerous areas of growth and more than a few challenges that have come from that growth.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University brought in the largest class of aviation students ever at the university. ERAU also has new aircraft to help train all these additional students. The jet service at Prescott continues to fly with high load factors and has been embraced by the community. Construction has also started on the new terminal to help modernize Prescott’s aviation doorstep. For the flight schools, I must believe that everyone has seen increased operations. Leighnor Aircraft, in addition to having a record-setting year, has expanded its air fleet in the past two months from two aircraft to six, with possibly one more aircraft on the way before year’s end. These new aircraft allow us to offer additional types of flight instruction and rent aircraft to people looking to use the aircraft to travel. In addition, Eviation has moved in with its impressive electrical airplane prototype.
In 2020, there will be challenges, not the least of which is the upcoming elections. The results of these elections will undoubtably affect aviation and general aviation for years to come. But that’s a discussion for another article! In the short term, 2020 will see a continuation of what we’re seeing right now in 2019, and the airport and flight training operations will continue to be very busy.
With the increase in flight operations and the continual building of new homes in and around the airport traffic patterns, there will unfortunately be friction with homeowners not realizing that “close to an airport” meant an airport with as many flight operations as Oakland International or Portland International airports. Prescott airport is deceptive, in that we’re a small town with only limited jet service, so how busy can it be? The answer, with all the flight training going on, is “quite busy.”
Likewise, there will be opportunities in 2020 as well. Its quite possible our jet service will continue to improve and expand next year. Flight training operations will continue to run at a very high level with the number of flight students in town. Operators, such as Leighnor Aircraft, will be looking at how to manage growth without being overly risky. There are also a lot of construction projects being done around the airport, so all of us who use the airport will have to work around those projects.
Leighnor Aircraft does have a Christmas present to announce for the extreme aviation lover. One of our flight instructors has bought a Super Decathlon, which is a high-wing tail wheel aerobatic aircraft. By the time you’re reading this article, we will be offering spin training, tail wheel endorsements, upset training as well as basic aerobatic training. Details about the new aircraft and service will be on our website and social media very soon.
I also want to take a moment here and thank all the readers of my column. Several of you have reached out to me in the past year and I’ve appreciated the interactions. This column will continue through 2020, and it’s my goal to continue to provide relevant aviation information to the Quad Cities communities.
As this is a December article, I want to wish all our readers a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! QCBN
By Lance Leighnor
Lance Leighnor has four decades of experience in general aviation aircraft, and active management of rental aircraft since 2011. Lance is the managing member of Leighnor Aircraft. He can be reached by phone at 928-499-3080, by email at lance@LeighnorAircraft.com or via the Leighnor Aircraft website at
LeighnorAircraft.com.