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| Waukesha County Airport Newsletter | October 2010
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| 250 airport tenants and their families celebrated the 75th anniversary of Crites Field on August 21 with a tenant flyover, a variety of aircraft on display, a video on the history of the airport, and great food and music. Rachel Crites, granddaughter of Dale Crites, represented the Crites family at the event. |
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New Airport Website to Offer Improved Communication and Free Advertising for Tenants
We are currently developing a new and improved public website for the airport, which will offer some great new features for tenants, visitors and aviation enthusiast groups. The new site is expected to go live in December.
For tenants, you will find a new section of the site that allows you to communicate with other pilots to plan fly-outs and other events, ask questions and learn what is happening in the local aviation community. You will also be able to post classified advertisements for airplanes, hangars and aviation-related merchandise free of charge as a benefit of your relationship with the airport. If you would like to place an ad that will be live on the website as soon as it is launched, just send a description of what you're aiming to buy, sell, rent or find a partner to invest in (up to 250 words) and one or two photos by October 25 to Place an Ad.
Aviation enthusiast groups like the Waukesha Aviation Club, the Commemorative Air Force and the Civil Air Patrol will be able to promote membership and events, and request volunteers free of charge. If you manage a group based at Crites Field and would like to have your information included on the site, please contact us at: Aviation Groups.
If you have any questions about the new website, please Email Kurt.
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Beechcraft Everywhere!
If you were at the airport during the weekend of September 18th, you couldn't help but notice the 60 Beechcraft airplanes on the field. Pilots from Crites Field and the surrounding area brought their Bonanzas, Barons, Travel Airs and Dukes out for the Beechcraft Pilot Proficiency Program that is held annually. The program offers pilots the opportunity to refresh their skills and ensure they are flying safely. If you'd like to find out how to participate in a BPPP event, please go to the BPPP website. Photos from the event are on Flickr.
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Airport Commission Schedule
In response to tenant requests, the Airport Operations Commission has revised its remaining 2010 meeting schedule to hold half of its meetings in the mornings and half in the evenings so that it will be easier for more people to participate. The new meeting schedule is as follows:
October 13 at 6:00 p.m.November 10th at 8:00 a.m.December 8 at 6:00 p.m.All meetings are held in the Waukesha County Airport terminal conference room, 2525 Aviation Drive.
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Greetings!
We would like to thank everyone who joined us for the 75th anniversary event, and especially those who helped to make it happen incuding Atlantic Aviation for hosting us in their hangar, the tenants who flew and displayed their aircraft to entertain everyone, Bob Whitehouse and Scott Dennison who provided the music, Andy Groth who coordinated food and beverages and the Civil Air Patrol and Waukesha Aviation Club who donated their time and resources to make the event possible. We also want to thank Rachel Crites for joining us and reminding everyone of the Crites Brothers efforts to make the airport a reality, and Dan Vrakas, Waukesha County Executive, for attending the event, and for his steadfast support of our current and future growth. You can see more photos from the event on our new Flickr page. The URL to view all of the photos noted in this newsletter is: http://www.flickr.com/photos/critesfield/. We would welcome any photos of your aircraft or events that are held on the airport grounds or with your aircraft at an event elsewhere in the area. Please either email them to me or contact me and we'll get them posted on Flickr ASAP. Enjoy reading this month's newsletter, and if you have any ideas for articles that we should include in an upcoming issue, please let me know.
Fly Safe,
Kurt Stanich
Waukesha County Airport Operations
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Bob O'Connor Receives Master Pilot Award
Long-time tenant Bob O'Connor was recently awarded the 2010 FAA Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award for his service in aviation safety. He has logged more than 36,000 hours and has never had an accident, incident, violation or reprimand, and has never failed an oral or flight test. Over his 54 years of flying, O'Connor flew for North Central Airlines in DC-3's, Convairs and DC-9's, and he has owned 47 different aircraft, restoring several of them.
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Tower Chief Groth Promoted to Kansas City Role
Tower Chief Andy Groth was recently promoted to Manager of the Central Region for Midwest ATC Services, Inc. Home Office in Kansas City. We will still see Andy occasionally as he provides oversight to the tower crews within this region, but he will no longer be a regular fixture at Crites Field where he has been a well-liked member of the aviation community since 1998. Although Andy will be missed, and we truly appreciate his many years of outstanding service, we will soon be welcoming a new Tower Chief to Crites Field. Midwest ATC has informed us that Ken Witt will be arriving in November to take over the tower duties. Until then, Rachel Haskett is serving as Interim Tower Chief.
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Honoring the "Greatest Generation"
Thirty retired Air Force veterans from the 86th Fighter/Bomber Group who flew missions in World War II across Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Italy, Germany and France, enjoyed a Warbird display at Crites Field on September 18 as part of their annual reunion. Tenant and P-51 owner Tony Buechler recruited Warbird owners from around the airport and the area to participate in the event, which was hosted on the Plane Safe ramp. The pilot/owners were entertained with wonderful stories of the veterans' daring WWII flying exploits when many of them were still teenagers. It was an inspiring event for both the veterans and those who came to display their airplanes.You can see photos of the event on Flickr.
That same weekend, Crites Field tenants Vic Stottlemyer, Stan Markus and Vanessa Jago flew their Harvard's and T-6's in a formation escort for an Honor Flight of World War II veterans as they departed Mitchell International Airport for the trip of a lifetime to the World War II Memorial in Washington D.C.
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Walker-Christie Bring an Entourage to Crites Field
On October 4, Crites Field was selected as the location for a press conference when New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker were in Waukesha for a fundraiser to benefit Walker's bid for Wisconsin Governor. We frequently see celebrities, politicians and professional athletes passing through the airport, as they recognize the convenience that we offer to corporate aircraft, which helps them to efficiently get to and from their scheduled events. Ordinarily, we protect their privacy and no one knows about their arrivals, but this visit was a little different since they brought the media to us for their campaign purposes. Photos of the event are on Flickr. |
Security Gate Re-design: Progress Report
As we informed you in our last newsletter, our security gate system was in need of redesign to align with federal security requirements and address airport access issues. This project is in progress, with gate 11 along Northview Road currently being replaced. We expect this gate to be completed by October 31st, and the replacement of gate 9 will commence immediately thereafter. There are also pavement repairs in progress in 13 areas all over the airport that should be completed this week. The entire project should be completed, including replacement of gate 10, by November 30th.
If you have any questions or concerns about this project, or if you know of anyone who needs an airport access badge, please ask them to Email Kurt or call 262-521-5250.
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Let it Snow, But Not Quite Yet
As the leaves are turning, and the weather is in the classic schizophrenic Wisconsin pattern ranging from 30 to 80 degrees on any given day, we realize that winter is just around the corner. Snow Patrol, Inc., will once again be plowing snow at the airport this season and helping us to maintain our strong track record of keeping the airport open regardless what Mother Nature sends our way. Our first priority is always keeping the runways clear for aircraft, but if you notice a problem area that is not being cleared properly anywhere on the airport, please contact the airport management office and let us know.
If you want to hire Snow Patrol to plow snow on your hangar ramp, you are welcome to contact them at 262-507-0201. And, if you'd like a refresher on winter aviation safety, please go to the following link for tips from AOPA: Winter Flight Safety.
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The Waukesha County Airport/Crites Field Newsletter is intended to inform airport tenants, visitors and other interested individuals about the latest events, news and services available to them at the airport. If you would like to see a topic featured in the next newsletter, please contact Kurt Stanich in airport operations at kstanich@waukeshacounty.gov or call 262-521-5250. |
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