Aviation still plays vital role for community

Organizers were gratified and excited to see the turnout for Thursday night's Family Fun Night at the McCook Regional Airport.

Estimates put the turnout as high as a thousand people, with visitors lined up clear to the parking lot as they worked their way past McCook's new fire truck, into the Red Willow Aviation hangar and picked up hors d'oeuvres and refreshments before checking out Pawnee Aviation's current kit helicopter prototype and the MedStar air ambulance.

Perhaps they shouldn't have been surprised.

From the time Slim Lindbergh landed in what is now west McCook, through the time the Gazette was delivered via airplane, thousands of bomber crews trained at the World War II Army Air Force Base north of town, and later, when McCook hosted national soaring competitions and the current High Plains Freedom Flights, McCookites have been fascinated with all things aerial.

It seems only fitting that aviation is poised to play an important part in McCook's economy again.

Kit manufacturer Ron Willocks pointed out that the prototype dubbed "Miss McCook" at Thursday night's festivities was no "hangar queen." The handcrafted helicopter has been flown about 300 hours and put to the test in nearly every way imaginable. The skid was bent and replaced, and the bubble nose has been broken several times, he quipped.

When Pawnee Aviation kits start rolling off the assembly line, owners will benefit from the yellow aircraft's hard-won experiences.

The finished products will look much more refined, with rounded composite bodies, a built-up truss in place of the prototypes tail boom, and a de-tuned 300-hp. V-8 motor in place of "Miss McCook's" V-6.

While they are working hard to get the kits on the market, Pawnee Aviation's five employees are spending much of their time preparing the fixtures and other equipment necessary for speeding production.

But getting the kits rolling down the production line won't be the end of it, according to Willocks. There will soon be exciting news about new products and employment opportunities, he hinted Thursday night.

And when those, and other opportunities arise, the McCook Regional Airport will be ready. Thanks to steady improvement projects over the years, the airport remains one of McCook's most important assets for time-sensitive travel such as important business meetings or medical purposes.

Whether prospective businesses are aviation related or not, a well-equipped airport is an important drawing card.

It will become even more valuable this summer, as construction begins on the new, $1.5 million instrument landing system, which will allow safe landings in more marginal weather. Already a popular stop for cross-country general aviation pilots who don't want to contend with more congested stopping points, MCK's role as a popular refueling spot should be enhanced even more.