In this edition:
Airside Updates      Administrative Updates
MASTER PLANNING AND FAA GRANT UPDATE
 
I sincerely hope that everyone enjoyed a safe and meaningful Memorial Day and were able to find some time to think about the reason for the holiday. With our mutual connection to aviation, and its place in our country's history, it's an appropriate time to give thanks and honor those who died so that we can be free.

This month we continued to work diligently on the updated Airport Master Plan. I think we are approximately halfway through the project and are entering the next phase of study that gets more interesting. We will keep everyone apprised of our progress and give plenty of notice for upcoming meetings. The plan will only be enhanced with more input from our valued Airport Customers.

The City's grant application for funding reconstruction of Taxiways Alpha and Charlie did not receive approval from FAA in Washington D.C. Only two airports statewide (Seymour and Monahans) were awarded grants through TxDOT from the $1 billion original appropriation. While we were very disappointed with this outcome, we are working closely with both the FAA and TxDOT to determine another form of funding for this high-priority project. I hope to have more information for funding this project in the near future and our engineering design effort is almost complete.

On a brighter note, the first annual Go Wheels Up Event was one of the most exciting developments at HYI in decades.  The recap below from Clayton Corn of VAST Events (the promoter ) describes the outcome better than yours truly, and we are already looking ahead to the show in 2020.

Thanks for your indefatigable support of our Airport and here's to a safe and productive summer.  

Sincerely,
Jim Wimberly
Partner
GO WHEEL'S UP RECAP
 
 
To the wonderful tenants of KHYI:

Thank you for allowing our little group of dreamers to intrude on your fantastic facility. We hope that the long-term benefits of having an event like Go Wheels Up! Texas at the San Marcos Regional Airport outweigh the necessary inconveniences.

Please know that we have sought out and received a large amount of feedback from the airport community and will be making big changes to lessen those inconveniences, especially regarding the handling of aircraft on the ground, so that our impact on the day-to-day operations is as small as possible.

If you weren't in attendance, Go Wheels Up! Texas 2019 was an air show, concert series, auto show and food festival hosted by Texas country music icon, Cory Morrow. The music was headlined by Bret Michaels and the air show was anchored by Kirby Chambliss and the Red Bull Air Force. The auto show featured numerous cars on display ranging from a 1920s-era fire engine to a $450,000 2019 Ford GT. Food selections ranged from hamburgers to seafood to hand-squeezed lemonade.

It goes without saying to those of you reading this who did attend, we didn't get anywhere near our attendance goals. We had just over 5232 tickets sold or given away. (That number includes 1000+ we gave out to airport tenants. We hope you made use of them and enjoyed your time at Go Wheels Up!) Of the tickets purchased for which we have data, we had visitors from as far away as Paris, France. From within the United States, we had spectators from as far away as Philadelphia, PA and San Francisco, CA. In total we had 125 zip codes represented with the most attendees hailing from the San Antonio, Austin and Houston areas. While it was the case, as we were expecting, the vast majority of our attendees came from within a 50-mile radius, we were very surprised to see that over 25% of our spectators drove from significantly further distances.

The majority of the feedback we've received has been unapologetically positive with most stating that they had a fantastic time with their families and hoping the event comes back in 2020. We are here to say that we are more motivated than ever to present the City of San Marcos with a landmark event that will have a tremendous economic impact not just on the airport, but the City and region at large.

The most common complaint was simply that information about the event was difficult to find. We will be launching a much more comprehensive promotional and informational campaign for the 2020 event in the weeks and months ahead. In the meantime, please don't hesitate to let us know your thoughts.

We would like to give a heartfelt thank you to our key corporate sponsors who made this entire endeavor possible:  The City of San Marcos, Texas First Caterpillar Rentals, McCoy's Building Supply, Chuck Nash Auto Group, and Redbird Skyport.  We would also like to thank our at-large sponsors for all of their support and willingness to give a first-year event a chance:  Affordable Golf Carts, Central Texas Medical Center, Hennessey Performance, Holiday Inn Convention Center San Marcos, Ewald Kubota. Just Smash 'EM Lemonade, Army National Guard, Leaffilter, Lucky Sky Graphics, Odessa Pumps, Premier Cuts, Trace / Highpointe, W.B. Arthur Restoration, Greater San Marcos Partnership, Subway, San Marcos Chamber of Commerce, Garver Engineering, Matt Patterson Insurance, Rambler Water, Cavendars, Express Paintless, STS VIP Helicopter, Grade 4 Mini Trucks, AeroShine and ToddCoe Aviation.

We haven't set a date for 2020. We are looking at many factors including weather patterns, competing events, Texas State's class schedule among others. We will release that information as soon as it's available. In the meantime, once again, thank you for allowing us to shine a light on the San Marcos Regional Airport as not just an air show/concert venue, but also as a hub for commerce. Until next year we wish you nothing but blue skies every time you Go Wheels Up!

Sincerely,  
Team Go Wheels Up! Texas
airside
TRAFFIC OPERATIONS 

 
 
We monitor the operations each month to he lp us secure funding for future airport projects and improvements.
AIRPORT PROJECTS
 
TEMPORARY RUN-UP AREA
 
As part of the airfield striping project last month, we added a temporary run-up area on the ramp to be used for maintenance run-ups and for those utilizing Runways 31 and 35. A more permanent run-up solution is being explored in the updated Airport Master Plan. In the meantime, this area will be used to focus run-ups in one area and to limit wear and tear on the ramp. 
 
WINDSOCK REPLACEMENT
 
Out of the five windsocks we have around the airfield, four were replaced at the beginning of the month in preparation for Go Wheels Up.
 
Ironically, it was too windy to install the 5th (which utilizes a different wind cone making it nearly impossible to change in gusty weather).  
 
And the wind just won't let up!
 
Hopefully in the next week or two, we'll be able to replace that pesky fifth sock.
 
(PS: Do you follow us on Instagram? Keep up to date with little projects around the airfield!) 
Admin
AIRPORT ADVISORY BOARD MEETING DATE CHANGE


The quarterly Airport Advisory Board meeting scheduled for June 10, 2019 has been rescheduled to 
Tuesday, June 18 at 10:00AM at the Airport Management office. 
 
Come by to learn more about what's happening at your airport, meet the board, and enjoy a free cup of coffee and donuts!
 
Please note, all future quarterly meetings will be held on the third Tuesday of the month.

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

 
Follow San Marcos Regional Airport on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for timely updates and cool pictures!
 
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Have something you'd like to see featured? Tag us or send it via email. We'll attribute it to you and share it with other like-minded avgeeks! 
FREE T-SHIRTS


We were pleasantly surprised by the popularity of our free polos that we decided to try something new this round!
 
Stop by our office to grab your free San Marcos Regional t-shirt! The front of the shirt features the airport logo and the back features the airport diagram.
 
We have unisex shirts in sizes small to 2XL. We also have women's fitted shirts in sizes small to XL.
 
Swing by 4400 Highway 21 Monday-Friday between 8:00am and 5:00pm.
LOCAL AVIATION NON-PROFIT MEETINGS

The KHYI Instrument Meteorological Club (IMC) meets the third Thursday of each month at Redbird Skyport at 6:30 P.M. 
 
Complimentary pizza and soft drinks will be provided. 
 
To learn more, or be added to the newsletter list, email Gary White.  
 
 
 
Local EAA Chapter 958 meets every 3rd Saturday of the month at 10:00 am, at Redbird Skyport in the conference room.
 
Meetings are preceded by the VMC club at 9:00 am in the conference room.

For more information visit their website .
 

 
The Civil Air Patrol Texas Wing 435th meets the every Tuesday at 6:00pm and is open to members of the public who express interest in joining the Civil Air Patrol.

The unit headquarters is a white building with "435" painted on the door, just in front of the old airport control tower. Address:  1915 Airport Drive,    San Marcos, TX 78666. 
 
                                 Contact Information:  cc@texhillcap.org(512) 710-8435