Aviation

The San Marcos Municipal Airport, serving general aviation and the only reliever airport between Austin and San Antonio, is positioned to become an important economic engine in Central Texas. The airport has solid businesses serving aviation, an interesting history, and a promising future that includes an opportunity to develop a 1,340-acre airfield for new businesses, a terminal building, and Executive hangars.

 

• Airport Businesses: 12 businesses including Fixed Base Operator, charter service, major maintenance and overhaul, avionics, aircraft paint and refurbishing services, a restaurant, and Executive hangars with more than 200 aircraft based at San Marcos.
• Tower Project: 100-foot control tower. Staffed by civilian controllers and funded by the FAA Contract Tower Program –provides an added measure of safety at the general aviation/ reliever airport. 
• Security Perimeter Fencing Project designed in 2009 with construction in 2009/2010 to enhance security of the airfield. $700,000 will be funded through FAA and TxDOT Airport Improvement Program and City of San Marcos.
• Multiple developers in negotiation for Executive hangar communities in concert with the North Side Development Project.
• North Side Development Project: Seeking $4.725 million from FY 2010 federal appropriations for a new airport terminal building located in the North Side Development along Highway 21.

 

Redbird Flight Simulations, an Austin-based company and the world’s largest manufacturer of full motion flight simulators in the world opened a 27,000 sq./ft. state of the art headquarters, including a hangar, in October 2011. The facility, Redbird Skyport is an aviation laboratory that takes the form of a working FBO, aviation experience center and flight training operation, charged with developing innovative solutions to the issues facing the industry.

 

The anticipated benefits of the project include:

• 25-30 jobs at the Skyport, with an average wage of $41,700-$50,000
• Nearly 1 million gallons in additional fuel flow, resulting in an additional $5.5 million in revenues over five years.

 

There are currently over 150 Redbird simulators operating in Universities and Flight Schools in more than 20 countries.  The Skyport will operate as a for-profit flight school, enabling Redbird to pursue its core mission of modernizing flight training. The Skyport will provide Redbird a location to test and improve its flagship product – flight simulators – while simultaneously promoting this training product with pilots. 

 

• Berry Aviation began operations in 1983 in Austin, Texas with one pilot and a twin-engine Piper Seneca. Today, from San Marcos, TX (HYI), they operate 20 aircraft for a variety of customers throughout the U.S. and abroad.
• Their air carrier operation is FAA certificated (#HKGA701E) as well as United States Department of Defense (DoD) approved and ARGUS Platinum rated. They performed over 13,000 flight operations in 2006.