Page 5 - Aerotech News and Review, January 21, 2022

Outlook for county general aviation airports is good

by Larry Grooms for Fox Field is now under way following
special to Aerotech News “Team Edwards is very excited to move forward last year’s completion of a nine-month-long,
$14-million runway rehabilitation project
Nestled in the shadows of the High Desert with our LACAS partners to bring an air show Already on the to-do list since late August
and mountain region’s aerospace industry and 2021 is County Airports Advisory Commission
military giants are hardy general aviation air- back to Edwards Air Force Base — the center of recommendations for creation of a marketing
ports that survive and even thrive in ever more plan intended to improve quality and sustain-
complex and crowded skies. the aerospace testing universe.” ability of all five county airports.
Coming off two years of pandemic-driven As a starting point, Arthur Vander Vis,
regulatory and economic headwinds that can- Brig. Gen. E. John Teichert, 412th Test Wing commander newly appointed head of the DPW Aviation
celled public events, cut revenues, and disrupt- Division, suggested consulting “A Marketing
ed or closed businesses, some general aviation Guide for Small Airports,” and defining at the
fields and operators are seeing signs of better change or cancellation on short notice. And in Valley Airport, followed by California City outset, “What are the goals? Who are the tar-
times in the year just beginning. the wake of enormous financial hits taken by Airport, Mojave Air and Space Port, and pri- get audiences? What are the messages and the
After disappointing back-to-back cancella- annual air shows nationwide, a key topic for vately owned but publicly available Rosamond methods to communicate? What kind of budget
tions of the annual Antelope Valley Air Show discussion at the ICAS conference in Decem- Skypark. will it take, and how will the airports measure
at Fox Field in Lancaster, the region’s premiere ber was future scheduling of air shows every Perhaps ironically, the most heavily popu- success?
aerospace visitor attraction is tentatively on other year in hopes of drawing a larger gate for lated Los Angeles County portion of region has Vander Vis outlined examples of goals in
track for a resurgence at Edwards Air Force half the work and exposure to financial losses the fewest general aviation fields at three, rang- creating a marketing plan, first defining intend-
Base the weekend of Oct. 15-16, 2022. from events where most of the costs are paid ing from privately-owned Agua Dulce Air Park ed outcomes, followed by a SWOT analysis, ex-
The somewhat redundantly retitled Aero- up-front. south of Acton, to southeastern valley glider amining Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities
space Valley Air and Space Show is among 10 Depending on construction timing, one major and ultra-light field Crystalaire, to Fox Field in and Threats to the airports. Using the foregoing
major California air shows to emerge from the coming attraction expecting a boost in visibility Lancaster, the county’s only general aviation information, he said planners would need to re-
International Council of Air shows (ICAS) Con- from the Edwards Air show is the non-profit airport north of the San Fernando Valley, and vise goals to reach target audiences, select the
vention in Las Vegas. The Edwards Air Show Flight Test Historical Foundation’s new Flight the only one of the county’s five airports certi- tools to reach them, execute the plan, and then
is a great grandaddy of aerospace festivals in Test Museum rising from the desert floor just fied for scheduled airline service. monitor and evaluate results.
Southern California, traditionally free of charge outside the Rosamond Boulevard Main Gate. Paul Maselbas, a licensed pilot and assis- Currently, Maselbas reports the marketing
and drawing historical crowd numbers in six According to foundation reports, visitor center tant deputy director for the aviation division of
figures. walls are likely to be up prior to the air show. the County Department of Public Works, is a planners are preparing a series of hearings and
meetings with airport stakeholders at each field,
“Team Edwards is very excited to move for- Excluding the two military airbases at Ed- 39-year employee in the department that only
ward with our LACAS partners to bring an air wards and China Lake, Eastern Kern County undertook airports operational management a intended to include any individual or organiza-
show back to Edwards Air Force Base — the has seven airports that fall at least partly under year ago when the county terminated a decades tion in the community with an opinion.
center of the aerospace testing universe,’” Brig. the heading of general aviation fields. old contract for airfield management and op- The 10-member county airports advisory
Gen. E. John Teichert, 412th Test Wing com- Counting down from Kernville and Inyokern erations. commission, with two members appointed by
mander stated in a news release. airports on the north end to the L.A. County With most of 2021 spent in transition, re- each county Supervisor, expect to hold public
Under constantly changing pandemic rules, line, are California City Airport, Tehachapi organization and responding to the pandemic, (but virtually conducted) hearing at each airport
air shows have been subject to crowd-thinning Municipal and nearby glider base Mountain Maselbas said setting the long-term agenda See COUNTY, Page 6

Expecting?
A Love Like Let us help you greet the new love of your life!

No Other

In this new year, Palmdale Regional Medical Center is
feeling the love. Since The Birth Place opened in early

fall of 2021, we’ve had the honor of celebrating Our First Baby Our Labor Day Baby
more than 115 new babies.

Discover the Difference at The Birth Place. Our Halloween Baby Our Thanksgiving Babies
Visit palmdaleregional.com/maternity

38600 Medical Center Drive
Palmdale, CA 93551

© William Edwards Photography
Paid Advertisement. No Federal endorsement of advertiser(s) intended. Physicians are independent practitioners who are not employees
or agents of Palmdale Regional Medical Center. The hospital shall not be liable for actions or treatments provided by physicians. Our Christmas Eve Baby Our New Year’s Day Baby
For language assistance, disability accommodations and the nondiscrimination notice, visit our website. 22601521-623929 1/22

January 21, 2022 Aerotech News and Review 5
www.aerotechnews.com ........ facebook.com/aerotechnewsandreview