NAFI moves to Air Zoo in Michigan
September 12, 2012, 03:44 pm
The National Association of Flight Instructors recently moved its headquarters into the Air Zoo aviation and space museum in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The new partnership with Air Zoo will help the NAFI increase events and services to the aviation community.
“The office space we are renting from the Air Zoo places NAFI in a world-class aviation facility, allowing us to host events, seminars, and provide better access to visitors,” said Jason Blair, NAFI executive director. “This move is a marked improvement over the space we rented for the past two years since NAFI moved from EAA headquarters to independent facilities."
Blair added that they are taking full advantage of the opportunity they've been given as direct ramp access for visitors, FBO services on the field and large spaces within the facility allow for an expansionof seminars, events and further offers provided by NAFI.
“Over the past few years, the Air Zoo has undergone significant expansion, growth, and revitalization,” said Bob Ellis, CEO and president of Air Zoo. “We see partnerships with aviation organizations such as NAFI as ways our organization can promote aviation to visitors from around the country and continue our growth of participation in the overall aviation community.”
A separate facility announcement made recently also improves the efficiency of the general aviation community. The new terminal at the Augusta Regional Airport in Georgia opened on September 11, including renovations to the main runway, expanding the parking lots and renovations to the terminal, the Augusta Chronicle reported.
The original plan was set to cost $5.05 million but construction orders caused the project to cost 5 percent of the budget. Diane Johnston, the airport's marketing director, told the source that more than $50 million has been invested in the airport since 2005, in an effort to revamp the infrastructure and facilities that date back to the 1950s. She added that the main runway was rebuilt in 2011, receiving renovations for the first time in half a century.
The source reported that passenger traffic in the airport has been all over the board but is expected to remain high with the recent updates. Outbound traffic decreased from 250,000 passengers each year to less than 140,000, from 1992 to 2006. Since 2006, the outbound traffic has nearly doubled to 270,000 passengers.
For pilots meeting the high passenger demand that's projected to increase at the important, pilot life insurance is encouraged before take off.
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