Airport grows as area asset
Jefferson County Airpark expands facilities, flight training
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STEUBENVILLE -- From offering a landing spot for general aviation to preparing the next generation of pilots, the Jefferson County Airpark continues to experience growth.
For the better part of the last decade, Brian Thaxton has been the person who’s helping to keep the facility under control.
“We’ve got four employees, and we maintain almost 600 acres of grass, which means we are always doing something,” Thaxton told members of the Steubenville Kiwanis Club during Tuesday’s meeting. “We plow the snow ourselves, and the guys are busy. There’s not many of us, but I am truly blessed to have the crew that I have. They do a great job and they take a lot of pride in it.”
From a complete reconstruction of the airport’s taxiway to the installation of an automated weather monitoring system to the building of new hangars, there have been a lot of improvements made at the facility since Thaxton was hired in 2019. The Cadiz native said the decision to accept the job came after some discussion with his wife and a lot of thought. He has not looked back.
“They’d gone through nine managers in five years,” he explained. “I thought this was going to be a rocky road at first, and it was, but it has really been a joy to take over the airport. I’ve had a really good board to work with, and the Jefferson County commissioners have been more than supportive of the airport. When we need something, they have been there to help.”
The commissioners purchased the airport, which traces its beginning to the early 1950s, in 1985, and in 1992, the county’s airport authority was formed to oversee the facility.
“They are one of the best entities we deal with,” said Eric Timmons, president of the local Kiwanis Club and a Jefferson County commissioner. “They really have it going on. You guys do well with your finances, and there are big things to come from this. Brian is a top-notch manager, and there’s a great board out there.”
In 2022, Thaxton said, the airport’s lone taxiway was completely dug up, stabilized and rebuilt to the point that it can support airplanes that the runways can’t handle. That’s looking toward further growth, he added.
An issue with the taxiway, Thaxton continued, is that it was originally built to service the original runway, which was about 3,000 feet long. The runway has since been expanded to 5,000 feet, which has allowed the facility to handle larger aircraft but forces pilots to taxi on a portion of the active runway.
That’s going to be changing in the coming year, when work will begin that will see the taxiway extended to run completely parallel with the runway.
He added they want to increase ramp space to better accommodate the larger planes that are using the facility.
“On Monday, we had two large business jets, and when you get jets that size and consider that our ramps were built 40 years ago for Cessna 172s, they get real small real fast,” Thaxton said. “Thanks to the Franciscan University of Steubenville mainly, our jet traffic is constantly increasing. Parents are dropping their kids off for college or visiting them, and donors from other countries are flying in. It’s incredible, and I’m glad we’re there to assist with that.”
A 2001 graduate of Harrison Central High School, Thaxton said he studied at the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics and earned airframe and powerplant licenses. He said while he spent the early part of his career working on airplanes in different parts of the country, most of that time was spent at the Akron-Canton Airport. He said customers there encouraged him to apply when the manager’s job came open in Jefferson County.
Other projects completed at the airport include the installation of the automated weather observation system, which allows pilots to access up-to-the-minute readings that include temperature, wind direction, rainfall, cloud cover and ceiling heights, vital information for completing their flights.
All of the taxiway and runway lights have been replaced with LEDs, which save on the power bill and are more visible. In 2019, he added, the airport’s precision approach system was upgraded to LEDs.
Six new fully insulated box hangars with electric door openers were constructed in 2021, an amenity Thaxton said has been well-received by pilots. There’s a waiting list for a spot, he added, and plans are in the works for a new hangar to be built.
Last year, a full perimeter wildlife fence was built around the airport to help keep deer and other animals out. It extends 4 feet into the ground, which keeps burrowing animals from getting inside. And, a new fuel tank is coming in the fall.
Thaxton said the majority of the funding for most of those projects has come from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Ohio Department of Transportation, adding Michael Baker Engineering has been very successful at writing grants. That has left a local match of between 5% and 10%, he added.
ODOT money, he explained, tends to go toward maintaining infrastructure, while the FAA is big into building infrastructure.
Another important addition has been Volare Aviation, which is offering a new flight school based at the airport. It’s been so successful that the owners are expanding their operation beyond the one plane they currently have. New planes are scheduled for October and January deliveries.
That training helps to add to operations that range between 30 and 100 a day.
The complex is home to more than the airport. It houses the Jefferson County 911 Center, the Jefferson County Animal Shelter, the Jefferson County Youth Soccer fields and Bates Brothers Amusements, among other businesses.
And, the airport is the site of a STAT MedEvac base.
That growth has made the airport an important asset.
“Looking at Monday, it was pretty impressive to see an airplane that can fly intercontinentally at our airport,” Thaxton said.