Aviation View - Oct 2023

58 AVIATION VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3 our clients coming and going and for safety reasons. The next project involves our runway lights by upgrading the old technology of High Definition lights to LED lighting, and after this is complete we plan to do a seal coat on our airport and restripe it so it looks brand new again.” Zietz notes that although these upgrades will be their primary focus for the next little while, long-term upgrades will include the addition of a parallel runway fueled by a commitment to make any necessary upgrades to maintain the best safety standards for those taking off and landing at the airport. As for Eastland Municipals’ terminal, Zietz is satisfied that recent changes are more than sufficient to carry the airport forward. “We built the terminal in 2015 and we built it big enough to begin with so we don’t have to modify a whole lot to the terminal building,” he determines. “About six years ago we built an FAA approved eight foot galvanized game fence around the airport as another upgrade to maintain our safety standards,” he adds. Flight Training and the Airport’s Future flight plan One area that is of particular concern for Zietz remains the ongoing pilot shortages across the US in addition to the continuing need for highly trained flight mechanics with the expertise to meet imposed stringent safety standards. “I am a mechanic, so what I have done is to encourage young people to come through the airport and work part-time with me with the hopes to excite them about aviation,” he begins. “We need these young people to show an interest in aviation. Because the numbers of people leaving the military and pursuing aviation are not as big as it once was, we need more civilians and young people to come in and discover a love of flight and a love of what an aviation mechanic does.” “We also have the Young Eagles here at the airport to encourage a love of flying and last year we had 40 young people take their first flight in an airplane last year,” Zietz describes.