Thursday, April 3, 2025

Winter Windup: Change of Season Spurs Fleet Availability for St. Louis Area Aviation Service Providers

By Carmelo Turdo
The Aero Experience regularly visits our sponsors at St. Louis area airports to gather feature story material about these great aviation companies for use in future posts. While on site, we often capture some behind the scenes views of the essential maintenance and flight operations that make our aviation community function. As winter turns to spring, long-term maintenance projects are concluding, and fleet expansions are reaching the flightlines. Here we include some examples from Creve Coeur Airport and Spirit of St. Louis Airport.

Creve Coeur Airport, Maryland Heights, MO


The Gateway Youth Aeronautical Foundation took advantage of the poor weather this week to accomplish a 300-hour/12-month inspection on their Bell Helicopter 206B (TH-67) in preparation for the upcoming summer flying season. The aircraft supports the Foundation's STEM outreach program at events around the region. Here we show Faith Ortega, A&P/IA, inspecting the tail rotor assembly assisted by Foundation President Joe Steimann and Pilot/CFI Nick Hisserich.





















Gateway Flight Training has recently added a Cessna 310 multi-engine trainer and cross-country rental aircraft to their fleet. During our visit, the aircraft was undergoing a thorough inspection prior to entering service. The Aero Experience will have more coverage of this aircraft, and a flight review of their Cessna 182 Skylane, coming soon!



































Piston Aviation continues to grow at Creve Coeur Airport, offering a mix of modern LSA trainers along with a selection of legacy Cessna and Piper aircraft. Here we feature our visit to the PistonLive online ground school studio and lounge after a Cherokee flight recovers to the fuel pumps. PistonLive offers a free trial and a wide selection of topics covered through interactive, online sessions with Piston Aviation CFIs. Their Bristell and Tomark Viper LSAs are some of the most modern training aircraft in the area.
























Spirit of St. Louis Airport, Chesterfield, MO

Wings of Hope World Headquarters is home to the administrative staff, Medical Relief and Air Transport (MAT) fleet and the maintenance services essential to aircraft operations. Our recent story featured a more detailed tour of the Wings of Hope hangar, and here we include another look at the MAT fleet - Piper Navajo and Piper Senecas - and Cessna 206 utility aircraft. Also included here are aircraft donated to Wings of Hope to raise funds through sales and raffles. Spring raffle: Socata TB10 Tobago; sale aircraft: 415C Ercoupe and Cessna 150.























Elite Aviation, the area's premier flight school and maintenance service, offers an expansive fleet of late model Cessna 172 Skyhawks on the airport's north apron. Our brief visit shows the morning flightline and launch of the first two flights of the day. Along with the selection of Skyhawks (conventional and G1000-equipped), Elite Aviation offers a Piper Turbo Saratoga high-performance/complex trainer and cross-country cruiser and the Tecnam P2006T multi-engine trainer. We will have more coverage of the Tecnam multi-engine training program coming soon!


























Wednesday, April 2, 2025

News Release: New General Aviation Facility Taking Shape at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport

New General Aviation Facility Taking Shape at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport
The facility, being constructed in two phases, will pave the way for international service


MASCOUTAH, Ill. (April 2, 2025) – MidAmerica St. Louis Airport (BLV) is pleased to announce that work is progressing on a 25,277-square-foot facility, currently under construction, that will enable the airport to process international commercial flights and attract additional aircraft and airlines. The facility, which will house U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a General Aviation Facility, and a Federal Inspection Station, represents the fourth phase of terminal modifications made by MidAmerica St. Louis Airport to accommodate future passenger growth.

The new facility is being built in two phases. Construction on Phase 4a began in late summer 2024 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2025. The $18.2 million project addresses the documented infrastructure needs of Customs and Border Protection and will include the General Aviation Facility and the exterior of the Federal Inspection Station. Work on Phase 4b, expected to cost approximately $10.9 million, will focus on the interior of the Federal Inspection Station and will complete the 25,277-square-foot facility. The project will feature accessibility improvements, including accommodations for families and companion care. Once complete, the facility will give BLV the ability to process international commercial flights, in addition to general aviation activity.






The construction timeline for Phase 4b is currently being finalized but work is expected to ramp up on that portion of the project while work on Phase 4a is still underway. Funding sources for both phases include FAA grants, community project funding, state funding, passenger facility charges and required local match. Holland Construction Services is serving as the general contractor for both phases.

“This expansion project marks a significant milestone in our plans to continue to grow the number of passengers flying out of MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, while simultaneously working to increase the number of destinations and flights available for travelers in the future,” said St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern. “It is providing good-paying jobs for the community and economic benefits for St. Clair County, as we work to help meet the demand for expanded international commercial air service for underserved areas throughout the Metro East and the broader St. Louis region.”

Darren James, Director of MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, added, “The project will expand service offerings and increase airline competition by facilitating new international entrants into the regional marketWe have worked closely with the CBP to ensure the facility is designed to meet existing requirements and anticipated needs.”

Work on Phase 4 of the airport’s terminal expansion plan is advancing as passenger enplanements on flights into and out of BLV, via Allegiant, continue to grow. The airport offers nonstop flights year-round or on a seasonal basis to a variety of popular destinations served by Allegiant, including Destin/Ft. Walton Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Myers/Punta Gorda, Gulf Shores, Jacksonville, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Myrtle Beach, Orlando/Sanford, Sarasota/Bradenton, Savannah, and Tampa Bay/St. Pete.

Phase 4a and 4b are the latest developments in a series of expansion and modification projects made at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport over the past few years to accommodate continuing passenger growth. In June 2023, MidAmerica St. Louis Airport completed work on a $34 million terminal expansion project and opened it for use. The 42,000-square-foot expansion nearly doubled the size of the existing terminal and includes a variety of amenities that are enhancing the experience for those traveling through MidAmerica St. Louis Airport. Phase 3 of the terminal project, which included additional renovations to the existing terminal and enhancements to the curbside drop off area outside the terminal, was completed in spring 2024. Additionally, a $37.7 million investment to add nearly 3,100 linear feet of new Taxiway Lima pavement and a new Taxiway Bridge over Crooked Creek was completed in the summer of 2023. The project provides airfield access to an aviation business park on the south side of MidAmerica St. Louis Airport that is anchored by Boeing’s $200 million, 300,000-square-foot production facility where the company will build the MQ-25 Stingray, the Navy’s first operational, carrier-based, unmanned, aerial refueling aircraft.

To learn more about MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, visit flymidamerica.com.

About MidAmerica St. Louis Airport 

MidAmerica St. Louis Airport is located in Mascoutah, Illinois, in the eastern portion of the St. Louis metropolitan area. Passenger service to a variety of popular destinations is offered by Allegiant. Major multimodal rail and inland port centers are located within 22 miles of the airport, which also enjoys easy access to five interstate highways via I-64.  With parallel runways of 8,000 and 10,000 feet, the airport can handle simultaneous take-offs and landings in all conditions, minimizing delays. It has an annual capacity of 200,000 operations. Tenants include Boeing, which has a manufacturing facility at the airport and North Bay Produce, an international, grower-owned, year-round, fresh produce marketing and distribution cooperative headquartered in Traverse City, Mich. MidAmerica is a Joint Use Airport partnering with Scott AFB, the home to US Transportation Command, a multi service organization, and Air Mobility Command, the USAF’s component command for airlift. MidAmerica and the 375th Air Mobility Wing operate Scott AFB/MidAmerica St. Louis Airport.    

Spring Safety Highlight: FAA TRACON Education Program Held at Creve Coeur Airport

By Carmelo Turdo
The Greater St. Louis Flight Instructors Association (GSLFIA) hosted an FAA Wings Program session at Creve Coeur Airport Tuesday evening. STL TRACON (Terminal Radar Approach Control Facility) Controller Pete Seddon returned to provide an interactive, scenario-based discussion covering common issues facing controllers and pilots as they work together to safely navigate U.S. airspace. 

Seddon framed each scenario from the controller's point of view and then led the discussion on the recommended pilot response for a successful outcome. Topics of discussion centered on the importance of see and avoid during cruise flight and visual confirmation of aircraft while under approach control. Another critical safety issue addressed by Seddon during the program was the overreliance of ADS-B data by pilots of general aviation aircraft as well as in large commercial jets. ADS-B data lags real time and the aircraft's transponder may have calibration errors, leading to a false sense of security for anyone relying on ADS-B data instead of maintaining a proper scan. He also reminded the attendees that "Have him on ADS-B" is not a suitable response to a "Maintain visual separation" directive from a controller.

Here we include some views of the session, including introduction of Pete Seddon by GSLFIA President, Keith Mueller, and Board Member Greg Pochapsky.





















The Aero Experience thanks the GSLFIA, Pete Seddon, the FAA St. Louis FSDO and everyone who participated in this program. The next TRACON presentation is scheduled for April 22 at the Piston Aviation facility at St. Louis Regional Airport.