Aviation View Magazine | Volume 1, Issue 4

53 AVIATION VIEW VOLUME 1, ISSUE 4 WESTOVER A I RPORT induced) in Hampden County.” But it is so much more than that. The pre- COVID 2019 numbers showed the civilian side of Westover Airport to be responsible for 4571 employees, with $173 million in total payroll, and output into the local economy of $245 million. It’s undeniable that CEF is an impressive revenue generator for the community. The earlier downsizing also meant that this large military facility could be revamped as a joint Air Reserve Base and civilian airport. The United States Air Force Reserve Command’s 439th Airlift Wing is still based there, while the civilian side takes advantage of an airport built to an impressive scale. Westover Airport has two intersecting runways, the longest of which is 11,598 feet by 301 feet wide, the longest runway in New England, which means the airport can accommodate a full range of general aviation, commercial, and military aircraft. They handle recreational ying, military operations, and corporate business traffic. Regular charters fly out for sports teams and gambling charters to Atlantic City, and the Massachusetts State Police Wing operations are also based out of Westover. In addition, the airport houses three solar farms. “A big part of our success has to do with location,” explains Andy Widor, Airport Manager. “We are just two miles away from Interstate 90 which runs east to west, and only six miles away from Interstate 91 running north to south. You have direct highway access to any destination in the U.S. We are also only 90 miles from Boston, 85 miles from Albany, and about 150 miles to New York City. The region includes a lot of major metropolitan areas.” Westover airport, which is FAA Part 139 certified, features a full ILS approach on both runways, an air traffic control tower, and operates as an FBO. They currently have 11 hangars ranging from 25,000 square feet to about 32,000 square feet with a total of 310,000 square feet of hangar space. “It has been interesting to take this military base that ran bombing and supply missions from World War II right through Vietnam and beyond, and repurpose it,” says Bolton. “There was a facility called a Mole Hole, where we had eight fully armed nuclear bombers sitting in a Christmas Tree shaped parking apron – they were fueled up and could be launched within 12 minutes. Well, we took that part of the base and renovated it, adding 14,000 square feet to create a passenger terminal. We have ticket counters, baggage handling areas, we provide passenger check-in for charter flights and we have a TSA checkpoint. From 2007 to 2008, we had a short-lived commercial service by Skybus, but when oil prices rose, they were forced out of business. We can even coordinate to have customs on-site and make international flights possible.” There are also attempts to reach out beyond