Over 400 people attended the 14th Annual Texas Airport Operators Conference, including airport managers, sponsors, consultants, speakers, Aviation Division, and TxDOT district staff.
The conference kicked off Wednesday afternoon with a get acquainted reception hosted by a record number of 49 companies exhibiting their latest products and services for the aviation industry.
Thursday night, almost 200 conference attendees enjoyed the Fire Hall Fling. Buses were provided for transport to and from the social for those who chose not to drive. The all-you-can-eat catfish dinner with peach cobbler was delicious! And the Chisholm Hill Band provided some great music for listening and dancing.
Conference workshops were especially helpful and informative this year. Workshop topics included record retention requirements, construction safety, an overview of the new Routine Airport Maintenance Program, the value of general aviation airports to a community, and an update on the State Block Grant Program.
The TxDOT/DOT-FAA “Listening Session” that is scheduled each year at the conference went very well. David Fulton, TxDOT’s Director of Aviation; and Otis Welch, Manager of FAA’s Texas Airport Development Office, conducted an hour long session fielding questions and accepting suggestions from conference attendees on how TxDOT and FAA can better serve them.
Friday morning sessions included a thorough overview of small airport master planning, a session on the business perspective on the importance of general aviation, and a presentation on the plans for expansion in the Mexico market with the anticipated NAFT A-generated business.
Attendance was exceptional, a great time was had, excellent information was exchanged. If you weren’t there, you should have been! Hope to see you next year!
Lloyd Shoppa, President of Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc., was the keynote speaker at the Awards Banquet. A native of Wharton, Texas, Shop pa joined Bell in 1964 and has held positions of increasing responsibility, culminating in his appointment as president last December. While on special assignment in 1988-1989 at Bell’s Flight Research Center in Arlington, Texas, Shoppa expedited the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft through its assembly, functional checkout, and first flight.
Tiltrotors– can takeoff and land vertically like helicopters. By tilting their rotor systems forward, they can fly like an airplane at a cruise speed of 300 mph. Tiltrotors have the speed, range and fuel efficiency capabilities of turboprop airplanes. Because the aircraft does not require a runway for takeoff, it will be particularly useful in highly congested metropolitan areas.
To provide proper service to the traveling public, civil tiltrotors will use “Vertiports,” especially designed facilities that will provide efficient passenger services and amenities.
The city of Dallas opened a Vertiport in early 1994. Part of the city’s convention center, the 3.1 acre facility will be expanded by 1999 to encompass 3.6 acres and include a 900-foot landing area, making itthe nation’s largest Vertiport.