With the sound of small aircraft in the background and a corporate jet parked nearby, local officials gathered Monday morning for a groundbreaking ceremony to kick off a water line extension project at the Henderson-Oxford Airport.
Or, to borrow Airport Manager Amanda Welsh’s term: Hotel November Zulu. HNZ – the airport’s official 3-letter code.
Welsh and husband Chris established flyHNZ in 2018. The couple, along with Chris’s father, handled everything at first, but Welsh told those gathered at the airport to officially kick off the $1 million-plus project on Monday that it now takes a full-time staff of 8 to manage the operation.
Granville County Economic Development Director Charla Duncan said the project involves less than a mile of water line, but it represents a critical infrastructure investment that is needed to keep up with growth and support economic development.
The whirr of plane engines at times drowned out the speaker at the podium, but as Golden Leaf Foundation representative Scott Hamilton noted, “That’s the sound of money.” The airport got a $600,000 grant from the Golden Leaf Foundation for the project to go along with the initial state appropriation of $500,000. Then-N.C. Rep. Frank Sossamon was instrumental in securing that funding, but the airport authority learned pretty early in the process that it would need at least that much again, if not more, to complete the project.
Granville County Commissioner Rob Williford represents District 2, where the airport is situated. He told those in attendance that he learned a lot about the airport from Airport Board Vice Chair jon Carver.
To see growth, there needed to be infrastructure, Williford said. For the airport to grow and be able to provide hangar space for corporate jets, there needed to be adequate fire suppression. And that meant having public water.
Williford, a Democrat, said he and fellow commissioner Russ May, a Republican, worked together to seek additional funds. “We went to see them all together,” Williford said, referring to state legislators of both parties. “They all listened. They all understood. And they all said, ‘We can’t get you the money.’”
But the Granville County Board of Commissioners voted 7-0 to provide up to $300,000 for the project and then the Golden Leaf grant came through, so the project is set to begin.
With dozens on the wait list for hangar space, Duncan said there’s a focus on promoting the concept of a regional airport.
She said as RDU looks to move away from general aviation services, HNZ could be a good option for businesses and individuals for hangar space, flight training and more.
“We want to be able to say that our transportation facilities – whether it be highways or whether it be general aviation resources – can compete with the Piedmont Triad, with the Sandhills as well,” Duncan said.
Welsh said the aviation industry continues to grow, but there’s a pilot shortage and a support personnel shortage.
And flyHNZ is poised to train and bring up the next generation of aviation professionals.
“Once the water service is in place, our business in and of itself hopes to add additional services,” she said, from flight school and training options to the heavier restoration of older aircraft.