Aviation View Magazine | Volume 1, Issue 4

140 AVIATION VIEW VOLUME 1, ISSUE 4 Didgette McCracken who liaises on behalf of Oregon State University,” explains Walker. “They partner with us to put on an aviation field day where we have all the students who are in the sixth grade in Grant County come to the airport for a day. We bring in ten different aviation career experts from engineering, to drones, pilots, search and rescue, and they also go through a program with a local educator who talks to them about the range of possibilities that career paths in aviation can provide, as well as scholarships, grants, and loans.” Then, with Eastern Oregon University, the airport offers a yearly summer internship which typically runs from July 1st through the month of September and provides an excellent opportunity for students to learn, while also helping the airport find seasonal employees. The successful candidate has a summer job and earns up to five credits in the university’s business program. runs its own FBO and provides both AV-Gas and Jet Fuel. The Forest Service has exclusive use of some parts of the terminal, and the rest of the facility houses a pilots’ lounge, administration, as well as a passenger area and all the related amenities. There are 18 aircraft based at Grant County Regional, and 17 hangars – all but one of which are privately owned with land lease agreements. “There is, of course, a waiting list,” says Walker, “and we do have a designated hangar development area but that has to be privately funded. The county simply does not have the funds to build new hangars, however, we do have a couple of folks who are interested in building and we are working through that process now.” When it comes to engaging with the wider community and reaching out to youth, the airport has important partnerships with two universities. “I work with a local partner named