By Andy Mooers
Houlton Rotary Club
HOULTON — Maine has 108 small towns. And all are anxious to prosper, to at least keep their current population or better yet grow. Maine towns compete for business.
Having a local airport like the one in Houlton located right on the US – Canadian border is one attractive asset to hold in your marketing cards. Transportation is everything when a town has a rural location, which most do in a state as large, expansive and sparsely populated as Maine.
The new Houlton International Airport Supervisor, Ben Torres, was the speaker at the weekly Rotary Club meeting this week. Rotarian Andy Mooers introduced Torres to the club and the service group learned much about the workings at the airport. Torres, who has a background in airport management from his education at Bridgewater State in Massachusetts, is excited about his new job.
Contributed photo/Michael Clark
ROTARY GUEST — The Houlton Rotary Club welcomed Ben Torres, Houlton International Airport supervisor, during one of the group’s regular weekly meetings.Taking part in the meeting are, from left, Rotarian Andy Mooers, Torres and Rotary President Ryan Bushey.
Updating neglected, national airport websites that pilots use when selecting a place to set planes down is one task Torres is busy updating. And due to jet fuel offered at fifty cents cheaper per gallon, the quick clearing of customs, immigration that Houlton International Airport offers with its close proximity border station, the local landing field is a big attraction. But not if it is kept a secret. Local chain saw operators also buy high trade 100 octane aviation fuel as well as some local snow sledders or hot rod enthusiasts. Torres says the income from fuel sales all adds up, supports the two runway facility.
Income from hangar rental for daily – or up to yearly – storage fees all help support the local airport. Increasing the income from larger amounts of fuel sales, the rental income of the space formerly used by the local FAA flight weather station are all in the works. All this as the airport is cleaned up, polished and an inventory of income-generating revenues are one by one explored, developed. Torres is excited, passionate about making the local facility thrive. He says one five thousand foot runway was repaved in 2008 and could handle up to a sixty thousand pound turbo prop plane, one landing with seventy to eighty passengers.
The reputation of Terry Beals who is a certified avionics and plane power plant mechanic at the local airport is well known too. His presence out on the border is a draw for owners as far as Florida, up to thirteen hours away who fly north to have him work on their planes. There are 19 FBOs (fixed based operators) in the state. Houlton International Airport’s vacant buildings, in addition to the hangar built during World War II, would make excellent incubator space for new businesses to locate and create local jobs.
Torres is promoting the July 27th Cruise In, Fly In at Houlton International Airport. Displays for local attractions and Chamber of Commerce things to do brochures are also being built so that pilots and passengers stopping at the flight center can learn more about where they are refueling. Or hanging around waiting for executives that fly in for Louisiana Pacific, Smith and Wesson, and local banks to finish up their business. These are all folks that appreciate the time saving ability to fly directly into Houlton with private jets, airplanes, and helicopters. Rotary club member Rodney Palmer shared that before the current location, a runway built by HE Seargeant on the North Road was the local airport. Sargeant needed a place to land his own plane so helped make the first airport a reality.
