F L Y I N G T O : N O R T H C A R O L I N A
composites training
lab on site. There are
some other aviation
and logistics companies
at Kinston Regional
Jetport including a charter
jet service, a flight training
operation and several state
organizations including the Forest
Service aviation unit. Kinston Jet Center
is the FBO.
Near Charlotte, one of the airports serving business
aviation is Concord Padgett Regional Airport, which is
owned by the city of Concord. It has a single 7,400ft runway
and is home to the aircraft operated by several National
Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) teams.
The teams at the airport include award winning
Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing and Stuart Hass
Racing teams, among others. Concord Aviation deputy
director Dirk Vanderleest said the NASCAR teams fly rather
than drive any time a race is more than a five hour drive
from Charlotte.
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The airport also has eight corporate hangars, five
community hangars and 67 T hangars on the field. The
city of Concord-operated FBO employs about 40 people,
is part of the Air Elite network and belongs to the World
Fuel Services Network with Phillips 66. The airport handles
everything from Boeing 737s to the largest business jets. A
recent US$1.4 million state grant was matched with federal
funds recently to strengthen the runway and taxiways. The
airport has a control tower and its rescue and fire department
is on 24 hour standby. The airport already has a US$1 billion
impact on the local economy and this figure is expected to
grow as the airport develops.
Future drone operations
North Carolina is also participating in the FAA’s Drone
Integration Pilot Program, which is designed to fit drone
operations into the national airspace system. NCDOT has
been running drone deliveries for medical and food package
delivery as well as infrastructure inspection and used this
capability to assist in the emergency response to the deadly
and destructive Hurricane Florence, the wettest storm on
record to hit the state.
PrecisionHawk, a small company with 150 employees
that provides drones, flight services and remote pilots to
other corporations and governments, is located in Raleigh.
Michael Chasen, the chief executive officer, was chosen
earlier this year by the FAA to lead its Drone Advisory
Committee (DAC) as its chairman.
“Drones are typically associated with technology
startups in San Francisco but Robert Young, the chairman
of the board of our company, founded Red Hat here in
North Carolina,” said Tyler Collins who is vice president of
airspace services. Software company Red Hat, which was
acquired by IBM for US$34 billion last year, is also based in
Raleigh and Young was the chief executive officer from 2015
to 2017. Such industries attract corporate jets and charters.
North Carolina has made it from Wright Brother’s gliders
in 1902 to HondaJets, F-35s, Boeing 777s, Airbus A350s,
commercial drones and lots of aircraft in between. The
future looks bright and the wind over the beach in the state
is rising.
“If there is a large,
multimillion-dollar site
selection going on, the
principals won’t drive in
they will fly in”
Andrew Shorter, airport director at Coastal
Carolina Regional Airport
Top: Kinston Regional Airport
has a relatively long runway
for a general aviation airport
of 11,480ft
Above: The airport hosts the
Kinston Jet Centre and several
state organizations including
the Forest Service