New aviation business beginning in Cassville
Pictured above are Danny Henricks (left) and Doug Rands (right) in front of a plane brought in for maintenance in their current hangar.
October 22, 2014
Charlea Mills
Around Cassville, people have been abuzz about the number of planes flying overhead recently. The reason behind all of the extra air traffic are the happenings at hangar nine at the Cassville Municipal Airport.
Doug Rands, a retired mechanic for Boeing, moved into the hangar around a year and a half ago with his friend, Danny Hendricks, joining him a few months ago to build a new business. Rands hailed from Wichita while Hendricks came from Arkansas, and the duo came together in Barry County to start Southwest Missouri Aviation, a business dedicated to airplane maintenance.
Maintenance on airplanes is much different from that of a car. Each year, there are five inspections that a personal airplane has to undergo, and additional if you have a for-hire plane. Hendricks is already certified for all of those inspections, and between his talents and Rands’ mechanic experience, they will offer a full service for airplane-owners.
In addition to the maintenance aspect, which will be opened in full on March 21, 2015, they also have a flight school and flying club based out of the hangar. With so much going on, the men decided to approach the city about building an additional 60’ by 60’ hangar to make room for their business growth.
Steve Walensky, City of Cassville Public Works Director, said that the fuel sales at the airport have doubled since the pair began their efforts. He stated, “We’ve exceeded our budget allotment for fuel at the airport for the year, and we don’t want to run out. So we are ordering more than anticipated.” Fuel is a revenue-generating source for the city.
The move to this area was mostly due to the cooperation with the city in working on their business. “We both are connected to the area because this is where we want to retire. It’s a small airport, and the city is willing to help us out. We appreciate that. It is a big plus,” Rands said. Rands lives in Golden, and Hendricks plans to move here soon.
“Sometimes smaller communities aren’t willing to bring in more planes and business to their small airports, but Cassville has welcomed them with open arms, said Hendricks.
“Everyday day we’re increasing the number of planes here at the airport. We’re redoing this hangar with new paint, remodelling the bathroom and repainting the floor so that by March, things will look good, and we’ll be ready to do for our official opening,” Hendricks said.
“We like Cassville, that’s why we are here. We want a slow, small growth. We’re not here to change anything, just a slow, incremental growth,” Hendricks explained at last month’s city council meeting.
Even with small changes, it does mean changes for the way they run their business. Rand stated, “We will be bringing in a new mechanic soon. If we get to the level we want to be, we’ll need the extra help. It’s been really busy.”
“In five years, we think that we’ll have 75-100 planes in the maintenance part of our business. We’ll open with 20 planes in our maintenance program and will probably go to 25 soon after that,” Hendricks said.
Hendricks went on, “When an owner trusts someone, they tend to come back and spread the word. It doesn’t take much to get more business once you’ve proven yourself.”
Rands said, “Our maintenance business will focus on three different areas. There will be the maintenance, but also maintenance planning and education. We want to manage them from the beginning to the end. We want to be exclusive for people who use us all the time, and eventually we won’t be open to the public.”
The new hangar being constructed by the pair will be purchased by Southwest Missouri Aviation on a 30 year lease. At the end of that, it will belong to the city.
Charlea Mills
Around Cassville, people have been abuzz about the number of planes flying overhead recently. The reason behind all of the extra air traffic are the happenings at hangar nine at the Cassville Municipal Airport.
Doug Rands, a retired mechanic for Boeing, moved into the hangar around a year and a half ago with his friend, Danny Hendricks, joining him a few months ago to build a new business. Rands hailed from Wichita while Hendricks came from Arkansas, and the duo came together in Barry County to start Southwest Missouri Aviation, a business dedicated to airplane maintenance.
Maintenance on airplanes is much different from that of a car. Each year, there are five inspections that a personal airplane has to undergo, and additional if you have a for-hire plane. Hendricks is already certified for all of those inspections, and between his talents and Rands’ mechanic experience, they will offer a full service for airplane-owners.
In addition to the maintenance aspect, which will be opened in full on March 21, 2015, they also have a flight school and flying club based out of the hangar. With so much going on, the men decided to approach the city about building an additional 60’ by 60’ hangar to make room for their business growth.
Steve Walensky, City of Cassville Public Works Director, said that the fuel sales at the airport have doubled since the pair began their efforts. He stated, “We’ve exceeded our budget allotment for fuel at the airport for the year, and we don’t want to run out. So we are ordering more than anticipated.” Fuel is a revenue-generating source for the city.
The move to this area was mostly due to the cooperation with the city in working on their business. “We both are connected to the area because this is where we want to retire. It’s a small airport, and the city is willing to help us out. We appreciate that. It is a big plus,” Rands said. Rands lives in Golden, and Hendricks plans to move here soon.
“Sometimes smaller communities aren’t willing to bring in more planes and business to their small airports, but Cassville has welcomed them with open arms, said Hendricks.
“Everyday day we’re increasing the number of planes here at the airport. We’re redoing this hangar with new paint, remodelling the bathroom and repainting the floor so that by March, things will look good, and we’ll be ready to do for our official opening,” Hendricks said.
“We like Cassville, that’s why we are here. We want a slow, small growth. We’re not here to change anything, just a slow, incremental growth,” Hendricks explained at last month’s city council meeting.
Even with small changes, it does mean changes for the way they run their business. Rand stated, “We will be bringing in a new mechanic soon. If we get to the level we want to be, we’ll need the extra help. It’s been really busy.”
“In five years, we think that we’ll have 75-100 planes in the maintenance part of our business. We’ll open with 20 planes in our maintenance program and will probably go to 25 soon after that,” Hendricks said.
Hendricks went on, “When an owner trusts someone, they tend to come back and spread the word. It doesn’t take much to get more business once you’ve proven yourself.”
Rands said, “Our maintenance business will focus on three different areas. There will be the maintenance, but also maintenance planning and education. We want to manage them from the beginning to the end. We want to be exclusive for people who use us all the time, and eventually we won’t be open to the public.”
The new hangar being constructed by the pair will be purchased by Southwest Missouri Aviation on a 30 year lease. At the end of that, it will belong to the city.