Business can take off at the airport

BY BETH BENDEL / PHOTO BY BILL GNADE

hat? Keene has an airport?” “ W It’s one of the most common responses I get when I tell people that I own a business at Keene’s Dillant-Hopkins Airport.

The reality is that Keene has a fantastic airport. In fact, it offers the third longest runway in New Hampshire. Our airport, and those like ours around the country, is used daily for flight instruction, business and personal travel, applications in law enforcement, MedEvac flights, agriculture, fire patrols, forestry observations, disaster relief, power line observations and leisure activities. The airport offered commercial airline service for more than 50 years.

The Dillant-Hopkins Airport was dedicated in 1943 and has served the region continually since then. The airport was named in honor of Thomas David Dillant, of Keene, and Edwin Chester Hopkins, of Swanzey, who both died in service during World War II.

Dillant-Hopkins is a very capable airport that could be the solution to your business transportation needs – whether it’s people or product. More than 1,000 acres of land, much of it developable, four runways, a well-maintained facility, easy access and a mile from downtown – what’s not to like?

What’s Monadnock Aviation?

I’ll start with the answer to another question I hear regularly, “No, I do not own the airport.” The City of Keene is the owner of the airport, located largely in the Town of Swanzey. (It is not unusual for an airport to span a couple of municipal boundaries.) My business, Monadnock Aviation, provides a multitude of services to users of the airport.

In the aviation industry we are known as a Fixed Base Operator (FBO). We provide flight lessons, fuel to all types of aircraft, photography flights, aircraft rental and management services, aircraft maintenance, aircraft storage and AVIS rental cars. We also provide a computerized testing center with certified proctors for professional

TAKE OFF CONTINUED ON PAGE 18 16 BUSINESS MONADNOCK JULY 2014