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The Future
To
the naked eye
and ear, the
improvements ahead
for Mount Hawley Airport on
Peoria’s northern edge probably
won’t be noticeable. The planes
flying in won’t look or sound
much different than those using
the city’s second airport on a
daily basis.
But the improvements, which
will start with the extension of
the airport’s runway, will go
a long way in bringing more
business travel to the auxiliary
airport that is owned by the
Metropolitan Airport Authority
of Peoria, which also owns
Gen. Wayne A. Downing Peoria
International Airport.
“This will allow larger, twin-
engine aircraft to use Mount
Hawley and help some of the
larger aircraft that use Mount
Hawley now to increase their
payload, so it should increase
some of the business traffic we
get here now. Right now it’s got
a heavily recreational flavor. We
want to beef up the business side
of it. We believe it can be more of
an airport for business use than
it has been,” said Gene Olson,
director of the Downing Peoria
International Airport.
Noting pilots can base their
planes at Mount Hawley,
rent one from the Fixed Base
Operator, Peoria Aviation
LLC, or that flying lessons are
available there from Allmond
Aviation, Olson said, “It’s
already a beehive of activity, one
of the area’s best kept secrets.
The services there, including a
good, healthy flight school, are
important for a small airport and
that’s why we need to keep it up
and make the improvements.”
The first of the improvements,
extending the 3,600-foot runway
to 4,000 feet, will cost about
$950,000 and will begin next
summer. Included will be some
grading work, construction of a
turnaround taxiway at the north
end of the runway, and moving
barriers back to expand the
runway protection zone.
MT. HAWLEY
AIRPORT
Runway expansion likely to lead
to more business in future
By Paul Gordon Jeff Wales, center, is the owner of Peoria Aviation LLC, which is the
Fixed Base Operator of Mt. Hawley Airport in north Peoria. He’s flanked
by Dave Jackson, left, and Ryan Jackson, both of whom work for Peoria
Aviation. Dave Jackson, who with his wife owns the plane shown here,
has been using Mt. Hawley for years and said the planned expansion of
the runway there will help it grow.
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