Start Skydiving/Team Fastrax now calls Middletown Regional Airport its home. Moving from the Warren County Airport, the business is expected to attract up to 40,000 people each year for tandem skydiving, skydiving lessons and skydiving team training. In addition, the group has a government contract to train military special forces troops.
Economic impact to the local community is likely to reach $13 million per year. The group’s three airplanes will use about 60,000 gallons of fuel and customers are expected to rent up to 3,000 hotel rooms in the area. To accommodate the expanded operation, an 8,000 square feet hangar will be growing to 18,000 square feet within the next few months.
Team Fastrax has been a special attraction at the annual MidFirst Ohio Challenge Hot Air Balloon Festival for the past several years.
The Middletown Regional Airport, under the direction of Airport Manager Rich Bevis, has been growing in popularity with pilots of small private planes as well as large cargo planes, corporate jets and even the occasional airliner bringing sports teams to play at Miami University Oxford. Outside of Cincinnati and Dayton, Middletown has the only runway in SW Ohio long enough to accommodate such planes, so the Middletown site has become home base for cargo planes serving SW Ohio for UPS as well as many others. All hangar space is full with 110 planes housed at the airport.
Airport costs are paid 90% by the Federal Government, with another 5% from State of Ohio funds and only 5% from City of Middletown funds. Funding is based on the number of operations at an airport. Middletown now averages 150 take offs and landings each day or about 54,000 each year. With the addition of Start Skydiving, that number will jump by approximately 10,000 per year. Federal dollars are used to upgrade and repair the airport – paving, striping, fencing, etc. The City of Middletown receives a percentage of each sale of aircraft fuel. Manager Bevis has found many creative ways to cut costs and improve the airport facility. Instead of paying approximately $10,000 annually for grass cutting services, he has contracted with a local farmer who has adapted the grounds to hay fields. He cuts and bales the hay in exchange for keeping the grounds trimmed.
Besides the many aircraft coming and going each day, the airport is home to several other operations: Empower Flight School will expand. Students will now be able to learn all levels of aircraft flying, including commercial airliner licensing training.
Higher Ground Helicopter School training pilots for medivac, news, oil rigs or sightseeing operations.
Harvey Gilman Aircraft Sales
Safe Flight Aviation
Skyport Services
Royal Air Freight
U-Save Car Rental
B&B Aero Services
B& B Hobby Shop in the passenger terminal sells supplies and kits to aircraft and car modeling hobbyists.
Williams Aviation Group
Air Cargo Carriers
Chapter 1393 Experimental Aircraft Association
Middletown Aviation Club
Middletown Aviation Foundation
#288 Pathfinder Civil Air Patrol
Specialized aircraft firefighting training for local fire units is held at the airport
Butler County EMA emergency units are housed at Middletown airport.
During 2010, the Middletown Regional Airport will also be the site for several aviation-related events:
June 17-20 Aeronca Fly In with 100-150 of the small planes returning to their factory for a reunion of owners
June 20-27 Short Wing Piper Group reunion
