Aviation Sector Takes Flight in Wilkes County
If a local company’s mission deals with aviation, they might be wise to locate their operations near Wilkes County Airport. And in fact, several businesses have done just that.
Three new businesses have located near the airfield in recent years, including DoveAir Inc. whose corporate headquarters is actually located in Asheville. DoveAir is a small business jet sales company that maintains an impressive inventory of its aircraft at Wilkes County Airport.
Meanwhile, Smokey Mountain Avionics has also situated in the area to produce and install instrumentation and radios that pilots need for safe and successful flights. The company performs jobs both small and large, including the complete custom outfitting of a plane’s cockpit.
The newest aviation-related company to situate near the airport is MX Aircraft, which now has a facility on Corporate Aviation Drive. The company builds sports, aerobatic and race planes, then tests the aircraft at the airport before selling them to customers who hail from throughout the United States and beyond.
Wilkes County Airport is also home to the Wilkes Flying Club, which was formed in 2007 to educate and foster more interest in general aviation and flight safety. The club has several highly experienced, Federal Aviation Administration-certified flight instructors who occasionally offer periodic ground school and flight safety seminars through a partnership with Wilkes Community College.
WCC students train at the airport in the club’s Cessna 172 plane.
In short, Wilkes County Airport is a general aviation facility and home to a number of corporate and personal aircraft, with a total of 36 planes based on the field – including six jets. The airport offers 24-hour weather service and an air traffic control operation that is open every day from dawn to dusk.
A total of 23,000 flights fly in and out of Wilkes County Airport every year, for an average of about 50 every day.
