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Employee Spotlight
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SAA photo.
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Executive
Assistant Kasey Windhorst and Administrative Assistant Gretchen Engstrom
have been an instrumental part of the Salina Airport for years but
neither had flown in a small airplane in that time. So when
coworker Manager of Operations David "Gunner" Wiles offered to
fly them to lunch at one of his favorite aviation hot spots, they were
excited and curious.
"I
wanted them to have the experience of seeing the airport from the
air," Wiles explained. "They handle calls every day and I
wanted them to be able to better relate. I also wanted to treat
them for all the hard work they put into the airport. Breakfasts
and lunches are something I love most about flying so I took them to the
restaurant in Benton."
Windhorst,
who deals with the airport's self-fueling station on a regular basis,
said it was interesting to see the procedures pilots go through when they
fuel up for a trip. For Engstrom the most interesting part was
seeing the airport they way general aviation pilots see it.
"I
see aerial pictures all the time," she said. "But to
actually see the Guard and the tower as we were taking off and once we
were in the air was really cool. I also didn't realize there was so
much procedure involved."
But
the best part of the trip was "biting into one of those Stearman
burgers! They were delicious."
"It
was excellent and there was a ton of food," said Windhorst.
"It was a fun time and exciting to see the potential for what we
could do in Salina with a restaurant."
Overseeing
the whole trip was certified flight instructor and Salina Airport
Authority intern Grant Swinehart. Wiles is studying for his written
exam and will take his check ride in February.
"I
judged Gunner's flying on Grant's reactions and from what I could tell he
did very well," Engstrom said.
The
girls came away from the trip with a delicious lunch and a new
understanding of general aviation. So if you're ever looking for a
place to fly and grab a lunch check out the Stearman Field Bar and Grill
in Benton, Kans. The nachos come highly
recommended.
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Tower Updates
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We
enjoyed seeing the CF-18 and Alpha Jet operations from mid November
through mid December. Hope they will come back soon.
This
is the time of year where we see daily flow programs for all of the
Colorado ski airports. We see quite a few aircraft stopping for
fuel going into and coming out of these airports. Pilots can expect
departure delays or re-routes. So far, we here in Salina have been
fortunate not to have seen any inclement, winter flying conditions.
The
FAA plans to begin work on installing the Fort Riley radar feed in the
tower early next year. The operational date is scheduled for
March. This new radar feed will greatly increase our capability to
see aircraft at lower altitudes in the Salina area. Also, Kansas
City Center will have access to the radar feed. This will give the
center controllers, who work the SLN airspace, much improved radar
coverage.
Just
a reminder to pilots, if you need to re-position or taxi in a
non-movement area, you are not required to call Ground Control. A
clearance is only required if you will enter the movement area.
If
you received a comment form to fill out concerning the tower services,
please complete it and send it in. Thank you for taking the time to
give us your feedback.
Merry
Christmas and have a great 2011 from tower crew.
Bruce,
Jerry, Joseph, Jo, Sam, Jay, and Craig.
Bruce
Boyle
Manager,
KSLN Federal Contract Tower
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SeaPort Airlines
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At comparable prices, if
you could cut your travel time in half, and not have the general hassles
of the full airport experience, wouldn't you do it? Hassle free,
convenient, affordable, and most importantly-FAST. This is a new option
in business and leisure travel.
SeaPort offers daily
scheduled flights in the Northwest and Mid-South like the old airlines,
but with a notable absence of what makes flying today slow and miserable.
How?
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No TSA
hassles at any of our locations.
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Affordable
fares.
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Our own
private terminals.
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Arrive 15
minutes before your flight, even with check-in bags.
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Free
airport parking. (Mandatory Valet in Portland)
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Complimentary
shuttle service to and from the main terminal in Portland, Memphis
& Kansas City.
Commercial air travel in
today's climate is difficult at best. The airports are becoming more
crowded, have longer lines and with the tighter budgets, speed and
convenience seem like a thing of the past. Until now.
The way travel was meant
to be, with all the conveniences of private air travel, but without the
big price tag. Isn't it about time?
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Donate
Today
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Click to Print
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Contact Info
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Melissa McCoy
Public Affairs & Communications
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From the XD's
desk:
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year
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On behalf of the Airport Authority's board of
directors and staff, we wish all of our readers a Merry Christmas and a
Happy New Year. We ask that you keep our nation's soldiers,
sailors, Marines, airmen and their families in your prayers during the
holiday season. It is their commitment to serve our nation that
keeps us free from our country's enemies. During the holidays
take time to thank a member of our military for their service to our
country. You will honor both the serviceman or woman and yourself.
Best wishes for joyous Christmas,
Tim Rogers, A.A.E.
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Candy Canes &
Airplanes
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More than 300 people gathered at the Salina
Municipal Airport's Hangar 600 on Dec 4 to welcome Ol' St. Nick to
Salina and vie for their spot on the Nice List.
Among
the candy canes and Christmas folk aircraft displays including a
Blackhawk, Hornet, Pilatus, Husky, Luscombe and Skyhawk were available
for good girls and boys to try out how it feels to sit in the pilot's
seat. Aviators from the area flew in to check out the event as
well, with easy parking right outside the hangar doors.
Santa's
reindeer were resting up for the big day, so Santa arrived in true
fashion in his Christmas plane a shiny red and silver Luscombe,
"Santa One," piloted by Capt. Elvin T. Elf. Children of
all ages enjoyed free milk, cookies and cocoa before greeting the Jolly
Old Elf and getting their photos with him next to a K-State
Skyhawk. Christmas came early for
four luckily winners of round trip flights on SeaPort Airlines.
Mark your calendars for Dec. 3
next year as Santa intends to visit Salina the first Saturday of every
December, so long as there are more Salinans on his Nice List than his
Naughty one!
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Bunting to retire as adjutant general
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When he took over as Kansas
adjutant general seven years ago, Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting said he already
knew of the can-do attitude of the Salina and Saline County community.
"The lean-forward, can-do attitude of this
community is not something everyone has," Bunting said.
"Sometimes you wonder whether being that lean-forward and adaptive
is the right thing to do. Absolutely -- and we have proven that
approach gets more results than anything."
On Tuesday, Bunting, who will retire in January, was
honored at a lunch for his attitude and the work that was accomplished
here during his tenure with the adjutant general's office. During his
time as adjutant general, Bunting oversaw the development of the Great
Plains Joint Training Facility.
Being from Kansas, Bunting said he knew that Salina,
Saline County and the airport authority, along with Kansas State
University at Salina and the Smoky Hill Weapons Range, could create a
great facility for training military personnel and first responders.
"We have a world-class training center that will
serve us for decades to come," Bunting said. "The final
piece, Crisis City, is one of only two multi-agency training centers in
the nation for public safety. Every day, someone calls and wants to
train or build a venue there."
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Read on...
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CAV Aerospace
converting first Caravan to TKS Ice Protection
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CAV Aerospace, Inc., headquartered at the Salina
Aviation Service Center began single-engine turboprop Cessna Caravan
TKS™ ice protection installation this week.
Standing in front of the first
Caravan installation underway, CAV Aerospace President Kevin Hawley
explained a little of what it took to get to this point.
"We originally developed
and installed the system in this very hangar basically in the same
spot," he said over the buzzing of power tools.
Read
on...
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Aircraft venue coming to Crisis City
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Crisis
City is partnering with the Salina Airport Authority on a trailer
mounted jet fuselage. This venue will be for training firefighters,
airport rescue and firefighting personnel, search and rescue personnel,
K-9 and Civil Air Patrol on wide area search techniques, aircraft fire
fighting and passenger extraction from a downed aircraft.
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Crisis City ramping up to new heights
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Crisis City is a 156-acre
training complex approximately eight miles southwest of Salina. Crisis
City's primary mission is to provide Kansas first responders, emergency
managers, National Guard and private industry responders with a state
of the art training facility for multi-agency, multi-discipline,
integrated exercises and drills. Crisis City is operated
and managed by the Kansas Division of Emergency Management.
Currently there are nine
active training venues available for scheduling at Crisis City,
including a full size train with locomotive, an urban village,
technical rescue tower, two collapsed structures, pipeline, wide-area
search, Salamander Technologies Inter Trax Suite, and the MILO
System. Future training venues are under development, which may
include an on- and off-road driving track, a trailer park, shoot house,
and swift water rescue venues.
This year has been particularly busy for Crisis
City. KDEM accepted the property from the contractor in May 2010.
Training began the following week and use of the facility has
been steady throughout the year. The training schedule
continues to fill, with first responders from Kansas, as well as out of
state organizations, desiring use of the facility as far out as May
2012. Some areas of significant growth include the development of
the pipeline venue, the Inter Trax Suit, and MILO.
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Read on...
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K-State Corner:
K-State Flight Team heads to national competition
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Kansas
State University's Flight Team is headed to the National
Intercollegiate Flight Association's SAFECON competition in May 2011
after taking second at the Region VI
competition, Oct. 18-22, held on K-State's Salina campus.
K-State's
awards include the Safety Award, which is given to one team that
demonstrates safety in all aspects of the competition. The Flight
Team also placed first overall in
flying events and fifth overall in ground events.
SAFECON competitions feature flight events and
ground events that test the teams' abilities in all aspects of
flight. Contestants placing in the top 20 in each event earn
points for their team. The results of each event contribute to the
teams' overall scores. Region VI includes teams from Kansas,
Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas.
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Students,
faculty in K-State's avionics program earn industry certification
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Four Kansas State University at Salina avionics students
and two instructors have earned industry certifications from the
National Center for Aerospace and Transportation Technology, Ft. Worth,
Texas.
NCATT certifications are an industry-defined mechanism to
identify professionals who demonstrate their knowledge through testing
and commit themselves to the aerospace industry. These aviation
certifications recognize qualified and competent individuals throughout
the industry and demonstrate an integrity, safety and professionalism
in the work force.
Read
on...
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SeaPort changes
flight schedule
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SeaPort Airlines will change the
flight schedule of its Midwest and Mid-South operations effective Nov.
29. The new schedule will better accommodate the needs of Salina
passengers.
The new departure
times will offer more variety and a later option for customers
returning to Kansas City, allowing longer day trips for the briefcase
traveler or shorter layovers for leisure and business travelers
catching late afternoon or evening connections out of Kansas
City. Customers flying from Kansas City to Salina will have more
options as well, with the new schedule facilitating an afternoon flight
in addition to a morning and evening flight.
Read on...
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Lift: FAA
Certifies Santa's NextGen-Equipped Sleigh for Christmas Eve
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Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) safety inspectors at the North Pole
certified Santa One, the reindeer-powered sleigh piloted by Santa
Claus, for its Christmas Eve round-the-world delivery mission.
Santa One, led by Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,
is outfitted with new satellite-based NextGen technology, which will
allow Santa to deliver more toys to more children with improved safety
and efficiency.
"Children around the world will get their
gifts on time, regardless of the weather, thanks to NextGen," said
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "We're proud to say
NextGen is bringing Santa Claus to town."
Rudolph's red nose has been outfitted with
avionics that will broadcast Santa One's position via satellites to air
traffic controllers around the world with improved accuracy, integrity
and reliability.
"Santa's cockpit display will help improve
his situational awareness by showing him and his reindeer flight crew
their precise location in relation to other aircraft, bad weather and
terrain," said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. "NextGen will
help make this an extra-safe Christmas Eve."
Read
on...
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Zimmer lands
deal at Salina Airport
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 Zimmer has
landed another big deal, this time with the Salina, Kan., Airport
Authority, which has chosen Zimmer Real Estate Services, L.C. to assist
with marketing available buildings and development sites surrounding
the Salina Airport.
"This is a great opportunity for us to market a
large industrial portfolio, which includes aviation and non-aviation
related properties," said Tracey Mann, CCIM, LEED AP, who along
with Mark Long, SIOR, CCIM, LEED AP, will lead Zimmer's marketing
efforts. "It's also an opportunity for us to play a big part in
recruiting businesses to create and retain jobs in Salina and central
Kansas."
The airport has more than 10 buildings currently, or
soon-to-be, available, and has more than 100 acres of developed and
greenfield sites available for sale, or build-to-suit for lease.
Several factors make the airport a good choice for
businesses operating in the aviation industry, or who rely heavily on
air freight services, Mann and Long said.
Read
on...
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Donate, Search,
Shop for Wings Over Salina
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What if the Wings Over Salina Air Museum earned a
donation every time you searched the Internet? Or how about if a
percentage of every purchase you made online went to support the
celebration of Salina area military and civilian aviation? Well,
now it can!
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