Anniston Aviation: Location! Location! Location! - AutoPILOT Magazine


Anniston Aviation: Location! Location! Location! Publish Date: May/June 2007	Region: AL
Look around the state of Alabama for an airport that offers first class customer care, a runway capable of handling both small and large aircraft, and an ideal location to facilitate most any business need, and you will quickly find one of the best kept secrets in aviation. But the secret is getting out, which is just what Earlon McWhorter and Patrick Cushman are hoping for. The new owners of Anniston Aviation, the full-service FBO operating at Anniston Metropolitan Airport (ANB), McWhorter and Cushman are not only committed to running a first class FBO, but they are also seeking to work hand-in-hand with local community and government leaders to spread the word that Anniston, Alabama might possibly be one of the best locations in the state for an existing business to expand or for a new business to plant its roots and start to grow. What is so special about Anniston Airport? Ask the head of most any business what is often required to be successful, and you will probably get the tried but true adage: “Location! Location! Location!” When it comes to location, the people at Anniston Aviation feel they have a lot of offer. With highways, byways, rail systems and skyways, Anniston Airport is conveniently located 90 miles west of Atlanta, 60 miles east of Birmingham, 85 miles south of Huntsville and 100 miles north of Montgomery. The slogan coined by the staff is “We’re on the way to everywhere.” If a company needs to use a trucking system, Interstate 20 runs just beside the airport; if a company needs box cars for shipping, a railroad system is also located nearby; and of course, should the need for air transportation arise, ANB is suited to land most any aircraft from a single-engine Cessna to a Boeing 747. A major advantage to using ANB for an aviation stop-over point is the non-controlled field. Often, a plane can approach, land, take on fuel and depart at ANB all in the time it would normally take to land at a controlled field. This fact alone offers aircraft operators a significant reduction in plane operating time and costs, as well as a great deal of personal time saved. Also, do not worry about being out of touch with Air Traffic Control (ATC) at this uncontrolled field; a Remote Communication Outlet (RCO) located onsite keeps pilots in direct contact with Birmingham Approach/Departure or flight service while in the air or on the ground. Take a flight to Anniston and you will be pleased with Runway 5/23, which stretches an impressive length of 7,002 feet from end to end, representing one of the longest public use airports in Alabama. Pilots also find a complete precision instrument landing system (ILS) to Runway 5 for those not-so-sunny days or for instrument training. Other instrument approaches include GPS, RNAV and NDB. The approach to either runway provides highly visible Precision Approach Path Indicators (PAPI), ensuring one of the safest and most accurate approach paths to the field. Once clear of the active runway, head to the northeast corner of the airfield and taxi into good hands as the team at Anniston Aviation is ready to serve you. If you have not had the opportunity to stop and visit ANB recently, now is a great time to meet the new management team, see the improvements they have made and hear about their future plans for both the FBO and field. By placing Southern hospitality and first class customer service at the top of the list of priorities at the FBO, the group is dedicated to making your visit, whether a quick turn or an overnight stay, one of the best aviation experiences during your business or personal air travels. In order to achieve this type of quality service and know-how, McWhorter and Cushman have enlisted the help of retired Delta Airlines pilot Joe Escue to serve as FBO manager. Coupling 26 years of professional airline service with 13 years of general aviation flying, Escue is just the man to help continue the vision many people have sought for Anniston Airport. In addition to Escue, Anniston Aviation’s Rodney Findley, Bruce Merrell and David Otwell have worked in the aviation industry for many years and have backgrounds in military, corporate and general aviation. The regular visiting aircraft are not only local training aircraft and commuting business jets but also larger Boeing 727 and 737s. The runway and taxiways are certified to handle any aircraft up to 620,000 pounds. The airport has even played host to the U.S. Air Force’s largest transport plane, the mammoth C-5A Galaxy. When it comes to handling and caring for this diverse group of aircraft, the group’s broad background in commercial and general aviation allows them to provide impeccable and safety conscious customer service to each aircraft, large or small. Escue offers many levels of flight training to those who want to experience the magnificent wonders of flight. Whether a first time flyer who has never left the ground or a private pilot seeking to add additional flight ratings, Escue, an FAA-certified flight instructor, uses his years of commercial and general aviation experience to get students to the level they want to obtain. Flight training starts at the student level and continues through the Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) rating for those seeking to obtain the more advanced FAA ratings and possibly continue in the field of commercial or corporate aviation. ANB’s vast ramp space and ground teams are put to the test at least twice a year when a host of Boeings, Citations and Saabs arrive with race teams and race fans seeking to immerse themselves into the NASCAR festivities at the nearby Talladega Superspeedway. As race teams and fans set out on their journey to the track, their multi-million dollar aircraft are left in the capable hands of the Anniston Aviation staff for servicing, fueling, securing and later, catering for their return flights home. As a safety concern when servicing small piston engine or larger jet engine aircraft, ANB, a part-139 airport, offers a manned fire engine located on the field that provides Class B or C fire fighting capabilities using state-of-the-art foam fire suppression techniques. This is the same technology used at most all major commercial airports around the country in order to decrease fire suppression times in an emergency. As for visiting the FBO on your next trip through the area, expect a great deal of amenities. Retrieving up-to-date weather radar and weather conditions is easy on the WSI Weather system provided for pilots. Want to use your laptop to access your own weather program or flight planning software? No problem: simply log into the free wireless Internet connection for full web access throughout the facility. Should the need for a rental car arise, Rental Express is onsite to help with those needs; Avis and Enterprise rental agencies also operate offices nearby. The FBO also offers aircraft crews the use of their courtesy car for shorter trips into town. And, if it’s just a meal run you need to make, the area around the airport has fast food and sit-down food chains, as well as locally owned southern cuisine and BBQ style restaurants. Anniston Aviation also offers contract fuel for corporate flight operation. The FBO currently provides fuel to military aircraft under a government contract for refueling operations. Various military aircraft visit the field at all hours of the day and night for service and use the field for flight training and field training exercises. “It’s not uncommon,” says Escue, “to see military helicopters use the field at night while performing training exercises. They drop off and retrieve soldiers as if they were in the battlefield in the cover of darkness, all while making themselves known to any area aircraft traffic via radio Unicom calls in order to keep their locations known for safe aircraft separation.” As for the new owners of Anniston Aviation, McWhorter and Cushman had good reasons to get more involved with the airport when the opportunity presented itself last year. As the owner of McWhorter & Co., Inc., a general contracting firm specializing in the construction of Lowe’s Home Center stores, McWhorter had two aircraft based at ANB for corporate use. Knowing the previous airport manager well, and knowing he was leaving, they wanted to ensure the airport continued on the right path. “Our goal is to work with the city and county leaders; take advantage of the vast space we have; and make room for new industry at the airport, as well as become a tool for the county and region to utilize in many areas of business,” says McWhorter. Cushman adds, “Although our hangars are currently full, we have plans to add additional hangars in the near future. We also have the right to use the former terminal building for future business operations. With nearly 700 acres of land on the field, there is adequate room for growth should a potential business require building space that is not currently available.” Should you decide Anniston Metropolitan Airport is the place for your next expansion or business venture, you will not only have the privilege of working with the new owners and the management team at the FBO, but you may also get to work with Anniston City Manager, George Monk. “We’re happy to have Earlon and Patrick involved with the airport, and we are looking forward to working with them because they are not only connected to the aviation community but also the local and statewide business community,” states Monk. He continues, “Working in concert with them, it’s our hope we can bring in more aviators and aviation-dependent businesses, possibly have a restaurant onsite and maybe even have classroom facilities for training in the future, as well as a maintenance facility.” A plan to increase freight operations to and from the airport is also being developed. So, the next time you are on your way across the state or to another part of the region, the professional team at Anniston Aviation invites you to stop in to visit. Whether you need 100LL or JetA with or without prist, they will meet your needs with great customer loyalty and quality service. Who knows, you may look around and see a location that might just suit your business needs, prompting you to stay a while. They’d be glad to have you. To learn more about Anniston Aviation or to contact them, please visit www.AnnistonAviation.com or call 256-831-4410.
Written by Blake Mathis