Aviation View | Volume 1, Issue 2

90 AVIATION VIEW VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2 T he Indianapolis Executive Airport lies on the northern outskirts of the City of Indianapolis – set in the suburbs but actually at the heart of the region’s expansion. Think of it as the little airport that is becoming a big deal. Developed by Campbell Aviation in 1957, it was originally known as the Terry Airport and had two runways that were just over 3,000 feet; one on a north-south approach and the other east-west. In 1965, the Campbells sold the airport to the Van Sickles and a decade later the north-south runway (Runway 18-36) was lengthened to 5,160 feet. Three aircraft turnarounds were also constructed. “And that was it,” explains Samuel Sachs, Airport Director. “It was a small general aviation airport, designated as a reliever airport for Indianapolis International. But it was, and is, in an interesting location. It straddles the line between two counties: Hamilton County which is who we are owned by, and Boone County where we are technically located. What is even more interesting is that both of those counties are the fastest growing in the state, as well as the two wealthiest counties. That makes a really good combination for an executive airport. We have a fast-growing area and a lot of money, so we’ve seen a huge shift from what the airport used to be to what we are now. Basically, we’ve grown up over the years as the two counties have grown up, and now we see ourselves shifting to LIS RT Courting business travel