Aviation View | Volume 2, Issue 2

81 AVIATION VIEW VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2 ANDERSON MUNI C I PAL A I RPORT Anderson Municipal Airport. “They were heavily embedded with General Motors, as we had 14 General Motors plants here in the ’80s. We used to have commercial aviation during those days as well – two commercial flights a day that went to Detroit. They were mostly for General Motors employees and executives coming to work but it was still commercial service.” Anderson Municipal Airport (AID) is a general aviation facility these days, covering 619 acres with two runways; 12/30 is 5,400 by 100 feet and 18/36 is 3,400 by 75 feet. The airport is owned and managed by the City of Anderson and operates as its own FBO providing service and fuel sales. AID has an air traffic control tower, 105 based aircraft, and serves as the primary base of operations for much of Anderson’s growing industrial base. The AID team works hand in hand with the Madison County Visitor’s Bureau to promote economic development and tourism in the region and tout the benefits of Anderson Municipal Airport. “The Mayor’s Office and the Economic Development folks have been working diligently to try and promote the town,” explains McMillen. “They brought in Nestle which has become one of the bigger employers here. The biggest employer is the Community Hospital. In the last 20 years, the town has started having an upswing and is poised to be the bedroom community of choice for Indianapolis. Anderson is a safe quiet place compared to Indianapolis and it is attracting a lot of people. Our airport is also more economical than others in the area, with cheaper fuel prices, and so it makes it more attractive for businesses to fly out of here. Most of the jet traffic that comes here is people starting businesses here or checking on their businesses. All of our jet traffic is business traffic.” McMillen gives the example of Glynn Barber, who has a Cessna 310 based at AID and is an Air Force veteran and F16 Fighter Pilot. “Glynn developed this idea of pharmaceutical-grade vegetables with his company FARMacy,” says