A comment from Jeff Bridges while performing with his band, The Abiders, at the Tower recently, sums up Bend as only the Dude can do: You guys got yourself a groovy town.
Indeed, Bend and the surrounding areas are undeniably cool. And we can attest to this just by looking around and appreciating the environment and the people who continue to strive to make it such a livable place.
The economic opportunities are substantial as well taking into account some of our now famous attributes including the largest investment in start-ups in the state from the recent Bend Venture conference, the booming craft brewing industry, the innovative high tech and bio tech companies and now, as highlighted in this issue, the aviation sector industry.
According to Lancair International, the aviation industry as a whole has endured the recent significant economic challenges and Lancair continues to grow and expand its market share. Epic Air, now up to 140 employees, already received 60 reservations for the soon-to-be certified E1000, coming in at just under $3 million each. The company has increased its manufacturing facility to over 300,000 square feet and is awaiting FAA certification for the E1000. It plans to double the current staff as production ramps up and deliveries begin to take place.
Leading Edge Aviation is uniquely positioned for growth with its flight school, fleet of helicopters and approved charter division assisting with wild land firefighting activities as well as oil and gas exploration. Professional Air added another Skyhawk to the fleet this year expecting to add two new aircraft in 2015. The company also completed 10,000 square feet of new hangars with an additional 20,000 square feet planned next year.
CIES, Inc. has grown by 100 percent after their first year of production and are forecasting another 30 percent increase for 2015. Its new facility in Bend is an important part of demonstrating its manufacturing and technological capability.
Aircraft Rubber Manufacturing says the demand for high tech fuel containment solutions in the aviation and aerospace industries has never been greater. The company is capable of producing extremely lightweight, durable aviation bladders that are resistant to all types of aviation fuels including avgas, JP fuels, gasoline and diesel.
Butler Aircraft Services estimates an additional $20 million in economic impact in the region over the next decade and anticipates the creation of several full-time jobs. Kawak Aviation Technologies is currently testing a programmable high output 28VDC electric motor for a new market and application, which means substantial energy savings and efficiency implications for the industrial market.
This year Leading Edge Aviation brought 100LL and Jet-A full and self-serve fuel to the Bend Airport. In order to accommodate its expected growth, LEA purchased an additional 3,500 feet of hangar space dedicated to avionics installs and bench test capability.
PCC Schlosser, with 220 employees at its Redmond plant, serves as a leader in super alloy, aluminum and titanium investment casting. With applications in jet aircraft engines, airframes, industrial gas turbine (IGT) engines, military armaments and many other industrial markets, they provide a wide portfolio of high-quality components.
RDD Enterprises/Northstar Flight Lab is helping aircraft owners achieve the design goals for speed, comfort and personalization. A brand new Redbird FMX full motion flight simulator has arrived and entered into service at RDD.
Samson Motors, Prineville’s maker of the flying car that converts to an aircraft, is working round the clock on this thrilling concept to be turned into a prototype to be made available for the public in 2015.
In May this year Windward Performance’s SparrowHawk R 13.5m / 15m sailplane was flown by the first customer and the plane performed fantastically. The sailplane will eventually launch in Argentina in 2015, where the Perlan 2 will be towed up to an altitude of 8-10K feet, then catch the polar vortex wave lift up into the stratosphere.
Paradigm (part of n-Link) has come onto the scene with the management and implementation of unmanned vehicle data collection systems, with an emphasis on unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and their applications to agriculture, public safety, natural resources, academic research, communications systems and a wide variety of other subject areas. The Federal Aviation Administration hopes to have domestic drones in the airspace by 2015. These aircraft systems will be a major focus for Jefferson County in its agriculture communities. Other targeted uses that will enhance the economy include wildlife counts, search and rescue, fire and safety. Other components include training pilots to operate the vehicles, data streaming and collection of data to turn it into something the farmer, firefighter or search and rescue volunteer can understand and use.
PulsedLight is also in on the new technology receiving strong interest from emerging robotics, unmanned vehicle and machine vision markets which has enabled the company to realize strong revenue growth.
Examining all the sexy stuff that is happening within Central Oregon’s aviation industry gives us a clearer understanding of the value these companies have to our local economy. Add all of this to the improvements and upgrades at all of the airports in the region, Central Oregon is a groovy place to be!
