what’s happening out there.”
Now, after a year of main-
tenance upgrades and im-
provements, the aviation
board has started thinking
beyond brick-and-mortar
developments to more out-
side-the-box ideas. They’ve
started thinking about the
future.
“Where do we want to go
with this place?” Clary said.
“We’re having a lot of fun
with that discussion, and we
have a lot of big ideas.”
Maybe the most aggres-
sive idea is trying to attract
small businesses to build on
some open acreage near the
airstrip. Clary said there’s
real potential for a small
aviation company to stay
busy and do well at the site.
“We see ourselves as an
economic development part-
ner with this community,
and this could be a good
spot for that development,”
he said.
Wolf said on a good day,
up to 10 planes will use the
airstrip. But an even busier
airport would make it even
more attractive to a business
looking to build, and the
aviation board has some
ideas on increasing traffic
landing at the facility.
The best way to do that,
Clary said, is to just let peo-
ple know that there actually
is an airport near Peru. A
marketing campaign could
help do that, he said.
“We want folks to know
that we do, indeed, have an
airport. We want them to
know where we’re at and
what’s going on out here,”
Clary said.
By getting the word out
about the facility, he said,
they could drum up some
interest about flying into it
during the Circus City Festi-
val or other big events in the
area.
“Maybe there’s some fami-
lies who want to fly into
town to take in the festival,
or fly in and head to the
Grissom Air Museum,” he
said. “We probably wouldn’t
get hundreds of flights for
that type of thing every year,
but if we get half a dozen,
that’s a good starting point.”
There’s also been talk of
creating a ground or in-flight
pilot school at the airport to
keep a steady stream of
planes coming and going at
the facility. Another idea is
creating a skydiving club or
attracting families by offer-
ing hot air balloon rides.
“Some of these ideas will
stick and some of them
won’t,” Clar y said. “But
whatever happens, we want
it to be a community asset
and something that’s con-
tributing to the area.”
And who knows, he said.
If the airport starts taking
off, it might even start pay-
ing for itself.
“I’d go out on a limb and
say that in maybe 15 years,
if we can get the right steps
in place, the airport could
b ecome self-sufficient,”
Clary said. “That’s a pretty
bold statement, but I don’t
think it’s totally impossible.”
•
Carson Gerber
can be
reached at 765-854-6739, carson.
or on
Twitter @carsongerber1.
MC WEEKLY
Week of September 17, 2014
11
r rs
TM
HRS: MON.-THURS. 9AM-6PM
FRI. 9AM-7PM
SAT. 9AM-5PM
5th & BROADWAY • DOWNTOWN LOGANSPORT
(574) 722-2215 • 1-800-886-2215
Sofas Starting at $699
IN YOU
GO
: Pete
Speth puts
away his
1962
Cessna 182
at the Peru
Municipal
Airport.
Photos by
Tim Bath
MC Weekly
FLIGHT SITE:
Signs advertise the Peru Municipal Airport.
GOOD GIRL:
Jim Clary and his 1980 Piper Archer II at the Peru Municipal Airport.
<<
CONTINUED
from Page
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