Visitors from Ft. Wayne

New USCG MH 60 and Piper

For the first time in 22 years, an MH-60T Jayhawk assigned to U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City lifts off on an area familiarization flight.

Throughout the summer, Air Station Traverse City will be transitioning the -60 to better serve the Great Lakes. A more capable aircraft for this large Area of Responsibilty, the -60 flies faster, farther and carries more cargo than the current MH-65D.

Piper was able to meet the crew and send them off in style for their first flight.

North Flight Aero Med

USCG New MH-60T

Air Station Traverse City now joins Air Stations Kodiak, Sitka, San Diego, Clearwater, Cape Cod, Elizabeth City and Astoria in operating the MH-60T. The MH-60T is an all weather helicopter similar to the Navy MH-60S Seahawk and the Army H-60 Blackhawk.

Traverse City's new Costco could generate $12M for airport

By Shandra Martinez | smartinez@mlive.com
on April 12, 2017 at 11:37 PM, updated April 12, 2017 at 11:53 PM

TRAVERSE CITY, MI -- Traverse City's new Costco isn't just good news for shoppers but for the regional airport.

The retailer's long-term lease for the 18.5 acre site could generate up to $12.3 million for the Cherry Capital Airport, a public airport overseen by the Northwest Regional Airport Commission.

Costco looked at several sites before deciding on the airport property, said Kevin Klein, the airport director since 2011.

"They like that it was near a major landmark," said Klein, adding that some shoppers are expected to drive in from the Upper Peninsula.

The 18.5 acres Costco is leasing is part of 65 acres the airport set aside for development.

The property is part of the original airport which opened in the late 1930s for commercial service. The facility was turned over to the U.S. Navy during World War II.

The 65 acres was initially used as a runway protection zone for a runway that was decommissioned near the end of the war.

During the 1970s and 1980s, local officials began turning the property's northeast corner into an industrial park to generate money for the airport's operations.

Costco will pay nearly $170,000 a year for 20 years for the property. The retailer also has the option to extend the lease for another 40 years. With each 5-year extension, Costco's annual fee goes up 7.5 percent.

If Costco leases the property for the full 60 years, the airport will collect $12.3 million, Klein said.

Last month, the retailer began construction on the new 156,000-square-foot store, which is on track to open in November.

"The community is thrilled," Klein said. "One of the reason Costco chose to build in Traverse City is because there is already a strong membership."

Most of those members currently shop at Costcos in Grand Rapids or Metro Detroit, he was told.

The popular tourist destination is home to several retailers including two Meijer stores and a recently opened Lucky's Market.

"I think they will only strengthen that offering," said Klein, noting that Costco plans to carry locally-grown produce and wines from the Traverse City vineyards.

Klein has already heard from interest from retailers, hotels and even a solar farm interested in leasing the remaining acres.

He says the airport is fortunate to have options for raising money to subsidize its costs, since the facility doesn't receive state, local or federal funding for operations.

Like many other airports, revenues from operations only cover about two-thirds of the costs of operating the facility, Klein said.

Currently, the Cherry Capital Airport has direct flights to New York City, Newark, Atlanta, Denver, Minneapolis during the summer, and year-around to Chicago and Detroit.

The flights are important to Traverse City's tourism industry, Klein said.

Cherry Capital Airport Shares New Summer Flight Options

Cherry Capital Airport Shares New Summer Flight Options: With the summer season on the horizon, many people may be thinking about travel plans.

Mid week weather

Scattered showers across the area today with snow mixing in over part of E Upper MI before ending this evening. Pleasant weather Wednesday.

Spring weather always changing

Keep an eye to the sky today as severe weather is possible across portions of northern Michigan today into this evening.

Spring into the weekend!

Spring-like temps today turning much warmer this weekend! Dry weather is expected through Saturday with a chance for a few showers/storms Sunday into early next week.

Cherry Capital Airport gears up for busy vacation season

BY DAN NIELSEN dnielsen@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — Commercial passenger traffic at Cherry Capital Airport nearly triples in summer compared to winter.

The seasonal difference will get even larger this year. A new daily direct flight between Traverse City and Dallas/Fort Worth will begin June 2 and run through Aug. 21. It is just the latest several direct flights Cherry Capital has added in recent years.

"It’s been, really, like one new flight a year," said airport director Kevin Klein. "It's just a little at a time."

What had been a weekend-only jaunt between Traverse City and Newark, New Jersey, last year became a daily trip last summer. All three major airlines that serve Traverse City will add extra non-stop flights to faraway destinations this summer. The extra connections peak during July and August.

Cherry Capital handles about 24,000 passengers in January, Klein said. About 72,000 either boarded or disembarked on a commercial flight there in July 2016.

American Airlines offers daily flights from Cherry Capital to and from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. American this year will add seasonal daily flights to and from Dallas/Fort Worth between June 2 and Aug. 21.

Delta Air Lines offers daily connections to Detroit Metro Airport. Delta's service to Minneapolis St. Paul will be daily between May 1 and Sept. 3 in 2017. Delta will offer weekend-only service, on Saturday and Sunday, to Atlanta between June 17 and Aug. 20. And it will offer weekend-only service, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, to La Guardia Airport in New York City between June 16 and Sept. 3.

United Airlines offers daily flights to Chicago. It will offer seasonal daily flights to Newark Liberty International Airport between July 1 and Sept. 5. United also will offer seasonal Saturday-only flights to Denver between July 1 and Aug. 12.

"The biggest growth has been Newark and Atlanta," Klein said. "Now that we add Dallas, the opportunity to go south, to South America, is just great."

He believes the future holds potential for more passenger growth at the airport.

"The word is just really getting out," he said, about Traverse City's breweries, wineries, festivals and recreational opportunities.

"People vacation with us, then they start thinking second home ownership," Klein said.

North Flight Aero Med Hangar Demolition

https://www.facebook.com/NorthFlightEMSAirDivision/videos/1386987294692415/

Today is demolition day for the old North Flight hangar. The old site will make room for the new North Flight Aero Med fixed wing hangar. Below is a history of how it all started over thirty years ago.

THIRTY YEARS AND COUNTING…

It was the winter of 1986, and the seed was planted for an air transport company which would eventually become North Flight EMS Air Division. Starting that summer and for 30 years afterward North Flight EMS transported patients from accident scenes and from hospital to hospital with a perfect safety record.

The first aircraft was an Alouette III SA 316 B. It was a tiny craft in which the crew rode sitting sideways adjacent to the patient. Fortunately, this was just a temporary craft until the Aerospatiale A-Star 350 was ready. The first patient flight took place on June 11th, 1986, and was an inter-facility transfer from Paul Oliver Memorial Hospital to Munson Medical Center. Our first scene flight was at the corner of Four Mile Road and Hammond. We look back and marvel now at some of the “close-in” calls that were done by helicopter! Obviously, it was a HUGE learning curve!

In 1988, just 2 years into our operation, it was decided that a fixed wing aircraft would enhance the ability of North Flight to serve the people of northern Michigan by expanding our service area to out-of-state health care facilities such as the Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic. A small Cessna 401 was the first aircraft used for long distance and cross country transfers. Many a LONG transfer took place in that little fixed wing! In 1998, North Flight purchased a Mitsubishi MU-2. In the year 2005, we upgraded our fixed wing service again with the purchase of a Beechcraft King Air B200, which is still in service today.

In the meantime, numerous changes were taking place in the helicopter program. Based at Munson Hospital initially, the air program moved in 1993 to Cherry Capital Airport. The type of missions flown by the service gradually changed over these years. Initially, North Flight was the only ALS agency in large parts of northern Michigan, so 75-80% of the flights were scene work, with only 20-25% being inter-facility transfers. With the advancement of so many outlying areas into ALS service, the balance shifted to 90% inter-facility work, with very high acuity patients.

In July of 1990, North Flight added a dedicated Ground Mobile Intensive Care Unit to its fleet in Grayling. In September of 1993, Grand Traverse EMS joined North Flight, Inc. The Ground Division has added other sites and changed configurations several times in the years since then.

Big changes came in 2016, when North Flight Rotor Wing Air Division became part of a new company, North Flight Aero Med (NFAM). The new company is owned by Munson and by Spectrum as a 50/50 joint venture. North Flight Aero Med is operated by Spectrum Health Hospitals, and the clinical and rotor wing staff are now employed by Spectrum. The AStar has been retired and the staff are thrilled with the beautiful Sikorsky S76 aircraft operated by Spectrum. North Flight EMS Air Division still operates the King Air B200, which will eventually transition to Spectrum as well, while the ground operations will remain under the North Flight EMS umbrella.

In February 2017, North Flight Aero Med moved from the hangar at 1840 Stultz Drive to a brand new facility at the same address. The Sikorsky S-76 has a new home in a beautiful new space.

All in all, it’s been a very interesting and exciting 30 plus years of service, and North Flight Aero Med is now positioned to serve the needs of northern Michigan for many years to come.

Inside USCG Helicopter

Do you ever wonder what some of the components look like on our helicopters that keep them flying?
Here we have a picture of a main gearbox with the main rotor system attached. The main gearbox is similar to a transmission on a car and it is powered by two engines (not pictured). The main gearbox drives the main rotor head by a shaft that connects at the lower end of the main rotor head. The main rotor head, which rotates clockwise, is the center hub with four arms which are flexible in the flapping (up/down) axis, but rigid in the lead/lag axis (left/right). The rotor blades (not pictured) are connected to the center hub. You can also see red lines which will provide hydraulic fluid to the flight control system allowing us to control the helicopter. As you can see this main gearbox and main rotor head was in the process of being lifted by an overhead bridge crane to be installed in an MH65D.

Rain today

A storm today will move into the Mid-Mississippi valley and spread rain through the Upper Great Lakes. Heaviest rain near Saginaw Bay.

Happy Birthday Piper!

https://www.facebook.com/airportk9/videos/1373937395997683/

A great day for flying!