Aviation International News featured Montgomery Aviation as their FBO profile for the month of December.  This is a great honor and wonderful exposure for the FBO and the Montgomery's.  The article covers the long history of the airport and how Dan and Andi have dedicated their lives to the growth and success of the FBO and airport.  You can read below the entire article or click this link to go to AIN website: http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2012-12-02/fbo-profile-montgomery-aviation

FBO Profile: Montgomery Aviation

AVIATION INTERNATIONAL NEWS » DECEMBER 2012

by  CURT EPSTEIN

While the operators of some FBOs may feel as if they live at the airport, Dan and Andi Montgomery of Indianapolis Executive Airport’s (TYQ) Montgomery Aviation actually do. Dan, who has been at the northern Indianapolis airport (formerly known as Terry Field) since 1989, is currently the airport manager. He and his wife, Andi, also own and operate the lone aviation services provider on the field. The couple also manages the FBOs at two other Indiana locations: Frankfurt Municipal Airport and Grissom Airbase, a joint-use military-civil facility.

Dan had served at the airport as its maintenance provider, and in 2000 the couple offered to take over management of the ramshackle FBO run by the private airport’s owner as well. They moved their family onto the field and began to offer service whenever it was required. When they took over, there were 40 aircraft based at the airport, half of them gliders and the remainder a mix of flyable and un-flyable piston-engine airplanes. That first year, the couple sold 50,000 gallons of fuel. In 2001 the FBO welcomed its first based business jet, owned by someone who is still with them and now owns a Learjet 45XR and a helicopter.

Opportunities for Growth

In 2003, when the original owner of the airport retired, Hamilton County purchased and renamed the field. That same year Montgomery completed its first 18,000-sq-ft corporate hangar and office building, which quickly filled to capacity. The new structure allowed the FBO to vacate the old terminal, referred to as “the shack.” The number of based aircraft continued to climb, and three years later the Montgomerys added an 8,000-sq-ft terminal and another 18,000-sq-ft hangar as part of a nearly $2 million upgrade. They also added an 18,000-sq-ft canopy.

Today the nontower airport, which sees some 60,000 operations a year, is home to approximately 100 aircraft, including 22 business jets, a GIII among them, and the Avfuel-branded location will pump more than 700,000 gallons of fuel this year, according to Andi Montgomery. The FBO occupies a footprint of eight acres and can accommodate aircraft the size of a Boeing BBJ. The location also offers a flight school and a Part 145 maintenance station that can handle engine changes and Phase I to IV inspections on Cessna Citations. The business is also half owner of charter provider SolutionsAir, which operates a Citation I as well as a pair of King Airs and a Pilatus PC-12.

The FBO’s fuel farm can store 24,000 gallons of jet-A dispensed from either a 5,000-gallon tanker or a renovated military truck that can hold 8,000 gallons. For avgas the location offers a self-fueling option or the services of a 4,000-gallon tanker.

The FBO is open generally from 5:30 a.m. until 9 p.m., but having its operators living on the airport provides benefits for customers. “We post those hours, but I tell people just tell me when you are coming and we’ll be there,” Andi Montgomery told AIN. Among the amenities offered are free Wi-Fi throughout the terminal, crew cars, WSI weather and a computer-equipped pilot lounge/snooze room with showers. The FBO also has two conference rooms that can seat 12 and eight people respectively, and onsite car rental.

The Montgomerys believe in community involvement and the need to show the best face of general aviation to the neighborhood. To that end, the company has provided its light- and sound-equipped canopy as the venue for many local events, including an annual Downs Syndrome Indiana fundraiser, aero club dinners and concerts. Once a year, a local church even celebrates Mass under the shelter, followed by a pot-luck picnic. Around Halloween, part of one of the FBO’s hangars hosts a safe “trick or treating” party for local children, who are treated to such fun and games as a candy drop and taxiway rides on the FBO’s World War II-vintage truck. Andi Montgomery sees exposing guests to aviation as a side benefit: “Those kids come in and play in half the hangar, but they are looking at the jets and the helicopter.”

During last year’s Super Bowl, the facility found itself swamped with more than 60 business jets and the Montgomerys were forced to turn away business, including one well known pilot/actor. When one potential customer was told beforehand that there was no more parking space for a large jet, the customer said he would fly his King Air to the game instead. The location scrambled for equipment such as chocks to accommodate the surge, and more than 100 volunteers turned out to help. Local restaurants were on hand greeting arriving guests with appetizers, as others steered them to the Super Bowl desk and then out to the 100 rental cars and 30 limousines at the terminal’s front entrance. On Super Bowl Sunday Indianapolis Executive was the second busiest airport behind Indianapolis International. That day Montgomery Aviation recorded 92 operations, including 30 jets that landed, unloaded their passengers and returned later to pick them up after the game. A bonus, according to Montgomery, was the evening temperature, which dipped just low enough for all those parked aircraft to require de-icing before departure.

Montgomery Aviation's own, Andi Montgomery sits down for an interview with Inside Indiana Business' Gerry Dick.  She discusses the important economic impact of Indiana's airports around the state.   See the link below and find her interview which is titled, "Airports Boost Economy, Air Fares Continue to Rise."  

http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/video.asp

Congrats are in order for NATA President, Jim Coyne.  He is retiring after a wonderful 18 years as President.  Dan and Andi Montgomery are very involved in NATA and wish him a happy retirement and they will miss him!  Pictured here is Dan with Jim and his wife Holly at the AvFuel party at NBAA.  

Again, congratulations on your retirement, Jim!!

Montgomery Aviation hosted the 4th Annual Safe Trick-or-Treat at Indy Exec and it was a whole lot of fun for the whole family!  Activities included; a haunted house bouncy house, bowling, fishing for candy, target bean bag toss, pin the nose on the pumpkin, an aircraft candy drop and much, much more!  The 100+ kids costumes were all so unique and creative and some adults got into the fun, Halloween spirit too!  Even the dogs came out with their best costumes on ranging from pumpkins, pigs and cows and even an airplane!  Here are some pictures from the spooky fun night and a big thanks to Kaleena White for taking these great photos!

Spooky bouncy house!  This was a very popular activity!

Lauren handing out the loads of candy to the kids

View from above!

Andi Montgomery on candy duty and looking fabulous as a 1920's flapper girl!

Lily the Dino helping the kids play the pumpkin bean bag toss

Dan as a Pirate.  Nice earring Dan!

Mack, the other airport dog dressed appropriately as a plane!

Little monkey waiting on the aircraft candy drop.  It was a beautiful evening!

Here they come, get ready!!

737 Sunset...thanks again Kaleena!

Our VP, Andi Montgomery took part in the annual Indiana Logistics Summit yesterday at the Indiana Convention Center.  She was honored to be a guest speaker on 'How to Fund Transportation Infrastructure on Pace with Projected Growth.'  She was really nervous about speaking in front of prominent Indiana business men and women but she was a huge success!!  This Summit focuses on Indiana logistics to foster more businesses to locate in Indiana, a lot of focus was put on how Indiana is in the center of the U.S., when measured by our nations population. This makes Indiana a smart move for many businesses.  Topics included; supply chains, education, internships and future logistics professionals, critical infrastructures and transportation infrastructures.  Successful general aviation airports play a vital role for businesses success here in Indiana, which Andi touched on during her speech.  The three major players in this iniatiative are:  Purdue University, Ports of Indiana and Conexus Indiana.  Please visit their websites to learn more info about Indiana Logistics and what it can do for our state.

Aviation Associate of Indiana held their annual conference at Swan Lake Golf Resort in Plymouth, IN last week.  The conference was well attended and a huge success!  Airport owners, aircraft owners and Airport Authority members all came to learn about the latest news and trends in the aviation industry. Andi Montgomery, was a wonderful host/moderator and a big thanks to her and the AAI Board members for putting this wonderful event together.

A big focus was on the importance of aviation in business and community growth.  Airports bring millions of dollars a year to their local economies, Maria Muia from Woolpert touched on this topic on Wednesday of the conference.  She outlined what airports need to do locally to highlight their impact and the importance of the airport to their community.  This is very important, because many locals may not even know your airport exist and if they do, they are probably not aware of how much economic impact the airport really has.  

On Thursday of the conference, Martha Lunken, the contributing editor from Flying spoke about general aviation trends.  She was a hoot!  She spoke "Off the Cuff" about her many years in aviation and working for the FAA.  She also stressed the importance of getting the younger generations interested in aviation because it plays a vital role in the future of our communities and businesses here in Indiana.  We all need to experience once again, the thrill and romanticism of aviation so the industry can once again thrive.  

Also, on Thursday, Lois Kramer from Kramer Aerotek, based in Colorado spoke on "Marketing your GA Airport."  She discussed how to create a low cost public relations and marketing plan for your airport and how to effectively create and deliver your message.  She stressed the importance of developing some sort of plan, so that you can outline your yearly goals, set a budget, define your audience, develop a message, execute a plan and then monitor and evaluate your results.  This way you can measure your successes and change things for the next year and continue to market your airport to it's fullest potential.  If you are interested in more info you can visit her website at:  www.krameraerotek.com.  

This years conference was a huge success with many airports in the region joining, with a very large presence from the Indianapolis Airport Authority.  We hope next year more airports will attend and learn about the latest trends in Indiana Aviation, as well as the national trends.  

Here is a link to AAI website for upcoming events and other aviation news: http://www.aviationindiana.org/  

Bring your kiddos to Indy Exec for Montgomery Aviation's 4th Annual Safe-or-Treat night!  The entire family can enjoy fun Halloween themed games, prizes, costume contest, and of course CANDY!!  We are also going to have the famed aircraft candy drop (if weather permits).  And as always, this fun event is FREE!  So bring your whole family to the airport on October 27th from 6-8pm to experience a spooooky night at the airport!  

Once again, our Eagle Flyers got together for a fun fly-out, this time to the  historical Grimes Field in Urbana, OH.  14 members went in 5 planes for lunch and a tour of the Champaigne Aviation Musuem, home of the B-17 Champaigne Lady.  

Grimes field is a small airport but has a deep rooted history in aviation.  Warren G. Grimes, known as the 'Father of the Aviation Lighting Industry'' purchased the airport land in the late 1930's to build his home and a small 3,200 ft runway for his aviation lighting company. Every American made plane flown in WWII was equipped with Grimes lights.  The Grimes Company used the airport extensively to test Grimes lights for aircraft, but the airport also offered charter service to area industries, people in distress, instruction, and certified federally approved Aircraft and Engine service. Grimes Field was a center for civilian flying and played an integral role in making Urbana one of the most air-minded communities in the country and the model for other cities planning municipal airports. 

Nowadays, Grimes Field is home of the Champaigne Lady B-17  restoration project.  The Champaigne Aviation Museum is hoping to have the flying fortress airborne once again  in a few years.  Their rebuilding efforts are done so through donations and community support.  To check out their website for more info and see how you can support the effort, click on this link: http://www.champaignaviationmuseum.org/HOME.php You can also stop in for lunch at the Airport Cafe and Restaurant.

Grimes Airfield has a lot to offer for a fun weekend day trip.  Looks like Eagle Flyers had a great trip once again!  If you would like to come along on a fly-out contact Pat Gaston at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more info!

Indianapolis hosted another successful sporting event this weekend and all our staff and wonderful volunteers made Indy Exec and Montgomery Aviation shine once again!  We had a total of 150 operations for the event and sold approximately 10,000 gallons of Jet-A for the BMW Championship players and spectators!  Indy Exec was the closest airport to the Crooked Stick Golf Club so we saw most of the players come through our facilities to compete in the tournament.  Each player received a BMW 7 Series to drive for the week,  all of which were staged at the airport.  It was a fun, busy weekend for us.  Thanks again to all our volunteers and wonderful staff for your hard work!

 Here are some pictures from the weekend!

Thank you AvFuel for your support during this event!!

Line Service Crew-good job guys!!

BMW Row

Marcus Edwards, dreaming big!