A pilot’s lounge and credit-card access to the fuel have been suggested.
By Gail Geraghty
Staff Writer

OXFORD – Creating a credit-card operated fueling system at the Oxford County Regional Airport would increase interest in the airport and promote economic development there.

That’s the opinion of a new Airport Advisory Committee, one of its members, Mark Bancroft, told Oxford County commissioners Tuesday.

The committee, which has met three times, also has other ideas for improvements. They’d like to see a pilot’s lounge with a canteen and pay phone, and an easier way for pilots to gain secured access through the gate to the tarmac, which is enclosed by a fence.

Commissioners were impressed with the committee’s success thus far in working on proposed improvements with the airport’s fixed-based operator, Jim Horowitz, who employs around 50 people there in his company, Oxford Aviation, an aircraft refurbishing business.

“Those are really good ideas. That’s probably the best input we’ve had on this in years,” said Head Commissioner Steve Merrill.

But some of the improvements would require changes to the lease the county now has with Horowitz to use the airport’s hangar space. And commissioners said they want firm estimates on the cost of a credit-card fuel system, which Bancroft said would run around $15,000-$16,000.

Under the current lease, the county is responsible for maintaining the pumps. Horowitz sells the fuel and keeps the revenue.

Bancroft recommended making no changes to that arrangement, even though the county would bear the expense of the upgrade.

For race cars, too

“It will increase the interest in the airport, and more interest is better in my opinion,” he said.

Bancroft said the two failing pumps there now are more than 20 years old and extremely slow by today’s refueling standards. Using a credit-card system will allow pilots to access the fuel at any time, day or night, without the burden of needing to have an Oxford Aviation employee on-site.

Race car drivers at nearby Oxford Plains Speedway could get the fuel during business hours under an employee’s supervision.

“I believe it will increase traffic, the Sunday fliers, for example,” and weekend race car drivers, Bancroft said.

He said other small regional airports are interested in exploring with the county the creation of a fuel co-op. That could allow the county to buy fuel in bulk from one supplier at a cheaper price. The current price for airplane fuel is $2.80 a gallon, Bancroft, an active pilot, told commissioners.

Horowitz has agreed to re-create a pilot’s lounge in the hangar space by reinstalling the existing door to secure the canteen from its place of business, Bancroft said. Pilots could access the lounge at any time using a security system.

A public pay phone is needed to allow pilots to close their flight plans once they reach the ground. Not everyone carries a cellphone, Bancroft said.

“It’s among the minimum requirements at an airport,” he added.

In the long term, Bancroft said, the best way to attract more pilots to the airport is to provide hangar space. He said there are people willing to invest their own money in such a project.

Merrill said commissioners would need a rental commitment up front “from pilots like you” before a hangar could be built.

Extend the runway

Bancroft also said the county should not give up on the idea of extending the airport runway, even though the Federal Aviation Administration isn’t willing to help fund it because of the airport’s proximity to the Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport.

He reminded commissioners that the second hangar at the county airport was built partly with state money, and without FAA help. But Commissioner Fred Kennard said “the situation was different then. Money was easier to get.”

Bancroft said Oxford Aviation might pick up and leave if a way can’t be found to extend the runway. “That would be a very bad thing. We’ve already lost a lot of manufacturing jobs,” he said.

Bancroft, who is the president of Bancroft Contracting of Paris, said “We need to extend (the runway) in the name of economic development.”

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