Aviation View | April 2021

58 AVIATION VIEW APRIL 2021 The airport has made the most of the island, however. La Crosse Regional covers 1300 acres of land, a large portion of French Island. It has three runways, the longest of which is a little over 8700 feet and can handle just about any airplane in the world. A total full-time equivalent of 21 employees, 16 full-time and the remainder being seasonal part-time employees, keep the airport operations running smoothly. The terminal building has 3 gates with jet bridges and one ground loading gate with the capability of handling aircraft up to the size of a Boeing 757. “We just completed a substantial remodel of the terminal in 2016,” Turner notes, “so we’ve got a very, very modern terminal even though the bones of it were first constructed in the mid- 1980s. We recently opened a car wash which is open to the public although its primary purpose is to assist our car rental agencies in being able to quickly turn rental cars around and get them back out on the street. We have an excellent FBO here in Colgan Air Services who can handle just about any business aircraft that may want to come to La Crosse or may need to stop for fuel. La Crosse is conveniently located in the middle of the country, so if you are flying from the east coast to the west and you need to stop for fuel or servicing, this is the place to do it. In addition to that we have a half dozen or so private hangar tenants who operate their business aircraft, and somewhere in the neighborhood of 60 private aircraft are housed in the airport’s T hangars on the Eastside. We also have the interesting situation of having a public beach on airport property.” Turner goes on to talk about how the vast majority of users are business travellers. The La Crosse region has one of the most diversified economies around. The medical industry has the Mayo Clinic hospital in La Crosse, and Gunderson Health Systems that operate hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and labs in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, are headquartered there as well. Then there is Trane Industries that sell air conditioning LEADER IN ASPHALT PAVING Our asphalt mixes are the most economical pavement of choice for all custom pavement solutions! Plus many other personal and commercial uses! Contact us about your next project today. Driveways Parking Lots Recreational Paths Streets Roads www.mathy.com (608) 783-6411