The Aero Experience Week In Review: Mild Winter Provides Favorable Climate for General Aviation Activity

By The Aero Experience Team

The Aero Experience looks back on a week of activity as we enter another spell of mild winter weather. While we continue to provide regular feature stories for our sponsors, we also make regular observations of the aviation industry in action along the way. Here we include a brief review of our visits to two St. Louis area airports.

Creve Coeur Airport, Maryland Heights, MO

The third session of the Intro to Flight program was held at the Gateway Youth Aeronautical Foundation on Saturday, February 4. Each class (morning and afternoon) began with a motivational talk by Jim Hunt, former fighter pilot with the Missouri Air National Guard who also flew with Ozark Airlines and American Airlines. He currently flies general aviation aircraft with a club at Creve Coeur Airport. The students went on to another fun lesson in aeronautics and flew patterns in a Cessna 150 on the V/R flight simulators. After each class, the students got to sit in a real Cessna 150 on static display outside of the hangar thanks to owner/pilot Jill Rempala. Special thanks to ground school instructor Dave Kleinschmidt and simulator instructor Sebastian Valenzuela, a CFI with Piston Aviation, for providing their expertise. 

  

Also on Saturday, the signature sound of the Bell UH-1H Huey from the Gateway Chapter of the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation rang out as the crew performed an engine run-up on the apron. The chapter reports that the Huey has completed winter maintenance and is ready for the 2023 flying season. The chapter's AH-1F Cobra is receiving a transmission change and will be flying again by the end of the month, and the OH-58A Kiowa is undergoing bi-annual inspection and should be ready to fly in May. Here we have some views of the Huey run-up and return to the hangar along with the other aircraft. 

St. Louis Downtown Airport, Cahokia Heights, IL

The Aero Experience visited St. Louis Downtown Airport this week as part of our regular coverage of two sponsors based there. We checked in with Big River Aviation, the aircraft maintenance facility on the west ramp, and found the hangar full of aircraft. Big River Aviation provides comprehensive maintenance services for general aviation aircraft and is known for taking on challenging rebuild projects. On a given day, you can find anything from a Piper Cub to a Cessna 400 series twin and everything in between. Below is a sample of the current lineup featuring Beechcraft Bonanzas and Lancairs among other types. 

We also met with Corey Tomczak of Gateway Jets for a photo shoot of their newest acquisition, a Cessna Citation CJ2+ that is now available for fractional ownership. Gateway Jets is the largest aircraft management company in St. Louis and continues to add to their managed fleet due to high demand for business travel and their proven excellent customer care. Check their web site for a complete listing of services and more information about this aircraft. 

Recent Stories and Future Events

The Aero Experience remains active during this unusually warm winter to bring feature stories and event coverage to our growing audience. We recently posted Part 1 of the Gateway Flight Training Cessna 172RG panel upgrade project and a listing of Midwest Aviation events that span a wide range of the aviation industry. Also, check out The Aero Experience YouTube Channel for regular content updates!

Gateway Flight Training Provides Avionics Upgrades for Complex Trainer, Part 1

The Aero Experience 2023 Sponsored and Featured Events