Porterville Aviation hangar opens BY JENNA CHANDLER for The Porterville Recorder | 29-Dec-2009
Porterville Aviation hangar opens BY JENNA CHANDLER 2009-12-18 21:11:06
The Tule River Indian Tribe expanded its aerospace industry Friday with the opening of a new hangar at the Porterville Municipal Airport. Porterville Aviation's new 20,000 square-feet facility will house five general aviation airplanes for private charter flights and air attacks on forest fires. Officials with the Tule River Economic Development Corporation, which oversees the tribe's non-gaming economic development, designed the $1.2 million structure with enough room for additional aviation ventures. "At this point, the aero industry is just a small facet of what the tribe does," said Earl Parks, who sits as a member of the Board of Directors of the Tule River Economic Development Corporation. "Within a few years, it could expand." After years of "eying" Porterville Aviation, the tribe purchased it in 2007 from its original owner Ed Wood, who founded it in 1969, according to Dave Nenna, TREDC chief executive officer. According to Nenna, the purchase was made to supplement the tribe's pre-existing aviation industry. In 2000, it opened Tule River Aero-Industries, a Federal Aviation Administration major engine and airframe repair station. "We want to help keep Tule alive. That's our specialty," Nenna said. Aero-Industries, now next door to the new Porterville Aviation hangar, is one of several non-gaming industries developed by TREDC after the Eagle Mountain Casino opened in 1996. "The tribe remains committed to economic development. The casino is not enough," Tribal Administrator Sam Cohen told the pilots, tribe and community members and dignitaries who gathered. "The tribe needs to diversify into another endeavor," he said, calling Porterville Aviation "an excellent example." On Friday morning, about 50 people gathered in the hangar, located at 2021 S. wildcat Way, in celebration of the grand opening. Duane Garfield represented the Tule River Tribal Council at the event. He called the opening of the hangar a "turning point," after what he said were several years of convincing the Tribal Council of the financial viability and importance of the tribe's aviation interests. Ground broke in 2008. Its construction was funded with a mix of local, tribe and federal dollars. "The existence of charters and fixed based operators are essential to the airport," Airport Manager John Longley said. "[Porterville Aviation] is the major charter operation. This is it, this is the major one." In the new hangar, contracted pilots have a lounge to relax in between flights. There is also a room for flight instructors to conduct ground training for Forest Service pilots who undergo yearly education classes. Nenna has big plans for the hangar, but the funding to develop them has run out. some potential ventures include paint and upholstery stations. He recalled an airplane built at Aero-Industries that had to be sent to Arizona to be painted, and was placed on an extensive wait list. He also sees an opportunity to store a medivac helicopter that could service the entire county. Porterville, and the rest of the county, currently relies on medically-equipped helicopters from Kern and Fresno counties. There's plenty of space in the hangar for the future operations, including a already built living quarters for future medevac helicopter pilots. "There area a lot of [tribe members] that are out of work," he said. "I want to see some entrepreneurs step up to the plate. This could be a lucrative business." Nenna, however, expressed doubt about whether any grant money will come through to fund the operations. "With this depressed economy, who knows?" he asked. "We have to be tenacious, we'll apply for 20 and maybe get one." The city of Porterville funneled some of its own resources into the project by relocating a utility pole and lines, which cost less than $20,000, according to City Manager John Lollis. "This is a critical component of the city's efforts in economic development," he said, noting a relatively new Southern California Edison plant and the forthcoming relocation of the Porterville fairgrounds adjacent to the airport.
--Contact Jenna Chandler at 784-5000, Ext. 1050, or jchandler@portervillerecorder.com
