Welcome to Lakeland, FL (LAL)

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What a great way to spend your summer!

Local Stearman pilot, Sarah Wilson, participated in the American Barnstormers Tour recently, view the stories at www.generalaviationnews.com

Sky King to Consolidate and Relocate Its Principal Operating Base

SACRAMENTO, CA (April 30, 2010) - SKY KING, INC. announced today it has reached a formal agreement with the City of Lakeland, Florida to lease 50,000 sq. ft. of aircraft hangar and office space for its headquarters. This transaction will become official with a vote by the Lakeland City Commission. Sky King’s business model has evolved over the last 20 years from a Sacramento, California based operation to nearly all flight operations now departing from airports east of the Mississippi River, making a California base of operations costly. With its move from Sacramento to Lakeland Sky King will be consolidating its heavy maintenance, operations and administration functions into a single facility. This will enable Sky King to reduce its overhead with more efficient communications and operations coordination, and will dramatically reduce cross country heavy maintenance ferry flights and related aircraft repositioning expenses. Sky King is in the process of expanding the number of east coast markets it serves, while upgrading its fleet of aircraft.

Of its imminent relocation to Lakeland, Sky King Founder and President, Mr. Gregg Lukenbill, said “Our move to Lakeland is a significant step in our restructuring and will allow us to better align our services to the specific geographic market needs of our customers. Sky King looks forward to partnering with the city of Lakeland, the Lakeland Linder Regional Airport and all of Polk County as we relocate over 50 jobs to the central Florida region with an estimated annual economic impact of over 7 million dollars.”

Mr. Eugene Conrad, Lakeland Linder Regional Airport’s Director added “What a great day for the airport, the City of Lakeland and Polk County. The full impact of this move won’t be truly understood for years to come, but the potential opportunities for Sky King, the airport and the region are tremendous.”

Sky King, a privately held corporation, is a FAA certificated part 121 supplemental air carrier. Founded in 1990, Sky King operates a fleet of B737 and B767 aircraft on behalf of tour operators, sports organizations, corporations, and the U.S. and foreign governments. For more information, go to www.flyskyking.net.

***Lakeland's In the News***

To read the article go to GeneralAviationNews.com

Congratulations to National Flight Services, they are celebrating their 50th Anniversary.

We would also like to congratulate Gulf Coast Avionics, they are celebrating their 25th Anniversary.

For Immediate Release:

Lakeland Linder Regional Airport awarded
$2.4 million FAA grant

Lakeland, FL (March 26, 2010)—Lakeland Linder Regional Airport has been awarded a $2,407,300 grant from the FAA. This grant will provide Federal Funding for taxiway construction at the Lakeland Linder Regional Airport. The taxiway improvements will alleviate complex geometric intersections and improve the safety of taxiing aircraft at the airport. Construction is scheduled to begin this summer with a completion date of spring 2011.

“We are extremely excited about this grant award and what it means for our airport”, said Gene Conrad, Airport Director for the Lakeland Linder Regional Airport. “This award is the culmination of the dedication and efforts of the FAA’s Orlando Airport District Office, the Florida Department of Transportation and the Lakeland Airport Team. This grant highlights the transportation and economic importance of Lakeland Linder Regional Airport to the region and the national aviation system.”

Things You Need to Know

General Aviation Industry Prepares for an Unleaded Future

April 21, 2010 — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has formally begun the regulatory process required by the Clean Air Act that may ultimately result in standards mandating the industry’s transition to unleaded aviation gasoline (avgas). The EPA has issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) which is a key opportunity for the general aviation (GA) community to provide comment regarding this possible new environmental standard and into the development of a plan for identifying, evaluating, and ultimately transitioning to an unleaded fuel. This is particularly important given the technical complexity and safety implications of removing lead from aviation gasoline since there is not a high-octane replacement unleaded avgas available today that meets the requirements of the entire GA fleet.

In the ANPR, the EPA recognized the complexity involved in identifying and safely transitioning to an alternative gasoline, stating, “Converting in-use aircraft/engines to operate on unleaded aviation gasoline would be a significant logistical challenge, and in some cases a technical challenge as well.”

The agency also acknowledged that a joint effort will be critical in the likely case that engine modifications will need to be developed and certified. The EPA continued, “Given the potentially large number of affected aircraft and the potential complexities involved, a program affecting in-use aircraft engines would need careful consideration by both EPA and FAA and the two agencies would need to work together in considering any potential program affecting the in-use fleet.”

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), the Experimental Aviation Association (EAA), the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), the National Air Transportation Association (NATA), and the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) have devoted more than 20 years of research and development to identifying a viable alternative to the 100 “low lead” avgas formulation used today by most piston-powered aircraft. The industry stakeholders look forward to continuing their work with the EPA and the FAA on establishing a realistic standard to reduce lead emissions from GA aircraft along a transition timeline which balances environmental benefit with aviation safety, technical feasibility and economic impact upon the GA industry.

View the ANPR at: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/aviation.htm