Aviation View | Volume 2, Issue 1

161 AVIATION VIEW VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1 could be breaking ground this year. Near the middle of the south side of the runway there is room to build additional box hangars for corporate aviation while they would similarly build new T-hangars on the north side. “Our goal here,” explains Tempesco, “is to develop the south side of the airport as the corporate side because of its proximity to all the amenities, rental cars, and hospitality, while the north side would be more of our smaller general aviation aircraft and maintenance.” When it comes to commercial travel, the numbers are still small but they are significant and will increase as pandemic fears abate. For example, Southwest Charter, through Boscov Travel, does direct flights to Disney World, which are right now averaging 1200 per year. Reading Regional is well served by two Fixed Base Operators: Reading Jet Center operates out of both the west and the north aprons, following a similar plan to the airport – in that jet services are found in the west, while it is mostly Avgas in the North. The other FBO is Millennium Aviation, and they too may be looking to expand and put in more corporate hangars. Also onsite is a flight school, Fly Elite, which operates out of Millennium. “Our airport also participates in an internship program with Wilson High to help promote aviation,” says Tempesco. “It is students in the honors courses who, if they maintain their grades, come to the airport twice a week for a couple of hours a day. We will take them around to the different leaseholders or tenants on the field and show them the different aspects of aviation, from maintenance to pilots and everything in between. One of the projects that we end up giving them is a journal where they keep track of each of the jobs that they come across. Then they write about whether they think it would be right for them, fit their lifestyle and that sort of thing. Quest Diagnostics, which has a maintenance and medical transport facility here READING REGIONAL A I RPORT