Business|October 15, 2009 4:26 am

Flying High at Indy Exec Airport

Inside the Indianapolis Executive Airport with (left to right) Ted Moran, Andi Montgomery, Dan Montgomery.

While Hamilton County certainly has its share of jewelry stores, one of its brightest gems won’t be found in a velvet-lined case, but nestled in a setting of farm fields just over the line in Boone County: Indianapolis Executive Airport. Commonly called Indy Exec, long-standing citizens of Hamilton County may recognize it by its previous moniker of Terry Airport.

Indy Exec bears little resemblance to the Terry Airport of recent memory. In 2003, Terry Airport was offered for sale by private owner Ray Van Sickle to Boone County. The County turned down the offer, so Van Sickle approached Hamilton County. “The county council in their wisdom decided to purchase it,” said Ted Moran, board member of the Hamilton County Airport Authority. Hamilton County brought aboard fixed base operator Montgomery Aviation to manage the airport, and work began in earnest to repair and improve the airport to make it the hub of activity that it is today.

Indy Exec currently services over 100 based aircraft, of which about 30 percent are corporate owned and 70 percent privately owned. The airport caters to aircraft that can land on a 5,500-ft. runway, not exceeding 60,000 pounds. Technically speaking, this means Indy Exec can accommodate private jets on a dry surface with no crosswind. For those customers without access to a private or corporate jet, Indy Exec also offers the option of chartered flights.

Montgomery Aviation President and VP-Operations Dan and Andi Montgomery see the airport as a support and service for the community. “We’re a partner in the community,” said Andi. “We’re much more than people just flying around privately.” Montgomery Aviation and Indy Exec are collaboratively involved with Down Syndrome Indiana and The Jackson Center for Conductive Education.

(Left to right) Shirley Davis of Indianapolis; David Shroyer of Boca Raton, FL; Judy Ryder of Fishers; cocker spaniel Sarah Dora await their flight at Indy Exec.

Indeed, since Montgomery Aviation has taken over the fixed based operations of Indy Exec, the airport has seen an increase in operations from 23,000 incoming and outgoing flights a year to 45,000. “The economic impact to this economy realized $88,000,000 in 2009 from this operation,” said Moran. That is up from $44,000,000 in 2005—an impressive jump by any standards.

In fact, Moran says that Indy Exec has become a popular jetport for continental flights. Location has a lot to do with it. Many people who fly or who own an airplane live north of I-465, and Indy Exec is ideally situated between I-465, I-69 and I-65. “Corporations looking to relocate to Indianapolis, generally look in that area … they tend to locate along the 31 corridor,” said Moran. He points out that when executives fly into and out of Indy Exec, they avoid the traffic hassles of traveling to Indianapolis International, as well as the actual congestion of that airport.

Indy Exec is able to offer luxury services and benefits that make it a convenient stop for pilots. The airport boasts the only all-weather aircraft canopy in the Midwest, accommodating aircraft up to Gulfstream V. Passengers can embark and disembark protected from the weather.

Montgomery Aviation staff are available to assist with car rentals, courtesy cars and hotel reservations. The airport has conference rooms with wireless internet access and offers pilot lounges for relaxation between flights. Gourmet catering is also available.

Additionally, Indy Exec has an aircraft maintenance facility for any maintenance issues and refueling. Should a plane need a part not normally carried, it can usually be obtained within 24 hours.

Indy Exec accommodates pilots who fly by visual flight rules and those who fly by instrument flight rules. Consequently, they have full-instrument landing system capability (ILS). At the moment their minimums are a 200-foot ceiling and one-half mile visibility. Their remote receiver at the airport connects into the Indy Approach Control at Indianapolis International. Pilots using Indy Exec ILS can talk directly to the controller at Indianapolis International, who then releases the pilot for takeoff and landing when the air traffic is clear.

A crowning achievement for Indy Exec was being named the recipient of the prestigious Airport of the Year award for 2009 by the Aviation Association of Indiana.
Moran feels that several of the airport’s recent improvements helped them capture the award. “We were the first airport in the country to complete a stimulus project,” said Dan Montgomery. The $4.3 million grant was used to redo Runway 13. The project took 43 days and came in under budget at 3.7 million; the excess was returned.

Indy Exec has also rebuilt the instrument landing system and torn down several old hangars. They currently have 75 individual hangars and two large hangars that can house 10-12 aircraft each.

Moran points out that future plans for continued improvement are in the works. As the airport is not yet operating at full capacity, one of the planned improvements is to extend the current runway from its 5,500 feet to 7,000 feet so that it can can handle existing aircraft safely under adverse runway conditions relative to FAA safety guidelines. They also need a crosswind runway for the safety of aircraft landing and departing into the wind.

It’s obvious that Hamilton County’s plan to purchase the airport has paid off. Besides doubling the value in just four years, they have been able to accomplish that without any local tax money, even though they have the legal authority to do so. “So far we have not done that and hope not to,” said Moran. The airport is busy readying for the 2012 Super Bowl by adding a new parking ramp to handle the extra traffic. They also saw increased traffic from the Senior Open, which Carmel hosted this past summer. And, they remain busy with the Eagle Flyers Club, a program for those wanting to earn a private pilot’s certificate.

Moran is excited about the future of Indy Exec. “As of June we made our last payment. We are debt free and operating in the black. I term this a diamond asset to Hamilton County,” he said.