A Year In Review From The Fayette Regional Air Center

Revenues for the airport included $75,737 from hangar rents, $4,011 from fuel flowage fees, $5,488 from land leases and $1,500 from the hay lease. Fuel sales increased from just under 67,000 gallons sold in 2023 to over 80,000 gallons sold in 2024.

All county hangars have been occupied during the entire year with several individuals still on the waiting list.

Repair for the runway hump was completed in April 2024. The runway was closed and milling began onApril 1 to remove 2” of asphalt for 100’ on either side of the hump. The millings were used by Precinct 1 for local road work. Paving began and finished on April 2 and the runway markings were repainted on April 3. During this time a crew from Precinct 2 worked on filling minor cracks in the remaining section of the runway. After the work was complete, the entire runway was “swept” to remove any loose debris and the runway was reopened April 5.

Now that the runway repair is completed, we are in the process of updating our Airport Layout Plan. This document depicts existing structures and planned development on the airport property. It has not been updated since our 2007 hangars were constructed.

On September 17, a flight tracking system was installed at the airport. The equipment was supplied at no charge while the subscription to the online reporting/tracking software has a net cost or $10 per month after grant reimbursement. This system tracks aircraft operations at the airport. Each takeoff and each landing is recorded as one operation and can be itemized by type of aircraft (jet, turbo prop, piston, etc) and type of operation (general aviation, air taxi, military). Operations for the partial month of September were 331. October had 707 operations and November had 550. Fluctuations in operation counts are typically due to seasonal factors such as Antique Week and weather conditions. This information is used by TxDOT to aid in determining the need for future projects at the airport.

For the third year in a row, the Forestry Service based their Air Attack platform, a Turbo Aero Commander and then a King Air 90, at the airport. The Air Attack platform performs aerial supervision of air and ground resources during wildfire events. Being centrally located and having fuel and hangar space and FBO services available, Fayette Regional Air Center provides a good base for their operations.

The Fayette Regional Flying club continues to be an asset to the airport by providing shared airplane “ownership” to its members. Our local Thunderbird Pilot and club member, Rusty Keen, has introduced several teenagers to the joy of flying and one young man is on his way to becoming an airline pilot through United Aviate Academy in Goodyear Arizona.

During the year, there were two precautionary landings made without incident.