Atlantic Aviation invests nearly $9 million in Rifle Garfield County Airport
PRESS RELEASE
December 21, 2016
GARFIELD COUNTY, CO – The Rifle Garfield County Airport, Board of County Commissioners, and local and national pilots are celebrating the commitment and investment by Atlantic Aviation, the airport’s fixed base operator (FBO), of nearly $9 million in upgrades to facilities at the airport.
Atlantic Aviation recently completed construction on a new state-of-the-art, 30,000-square-foot heated hangar. The hangar includes 6,000 square feet of office space, and 1,200 square feet for ground service equipment. The FBO also redesigned its lobby, pilot’s lounge, and office spaces with an elegant mountain lodge dècor. Nationwide, Atlantic serves as an FBO at 69 locations in 30 states, including several airports in Colorado. The company has a staff of nearly 2,000 and aims to serve its customers like family.
The new hangar was built by Denver-based Tectonic Management Group, Inc., which specializes in the design and construction of business aviation facilities nationwide. Tectonic presented a plaque to Atlantic during a recent ribbon-cutting ceremony held by the FBO.
“The airport enjoys strong corporate support from Atlantic Aviation in providing first class services and facilities to the aviation community that operates in Garfield County,” Rifle Garfield County Airport Director Brian Condie said. “In November of 2007, Atlantic Aviation became part of the airport’s based tenants and started the process of improving the facilities and equipment used at the airport. Atlantic Aviation’s completion of a new hangar and customer lobby is their latest investment into our airport and demonstrates their commitment to making our airport in Rifle the best general aviation airport in Colorado,” he added.
Condie said the Rifle airport is frequently the third busiest general aviation facility in Colorado. Due to the varied nature of mountain weather, many aircraft are diverted to Rifle from other high altitude airports. He added that Atlantic’s partnership is invaluable to offering top-notch service with such high volume. The county invested roughly $4 million at the airport in 2016, including the construction of a new airport entrance to compliment Atlantic’s expansion, and a single-engine air tanker (SEAT) base. The latter will shorten ground time for pilots fueling up while battling wildfires, and provides a de-icing station for planes in the winter.
“Atlantic Aviation has been a great partner for Garfield County, and they have put their best foot forward in their generous nearly $9 million dollar upgrade in facilities at our airport,” said Commissioner Mike Samson. “We as commissioners are extremely happy and pleased with them and their endeavors to encourage more business and enterprise to come to Garfield County. We appreciate their investment in our airport greatly, and in serving the travelers our airport services.” The Rifle Garfield County Airport also recently became home to the state’s Center of Excellence for Advanced Technology Aerial Firefighting. It also houses the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit, consisting of federal wildland firefighting teams.
In addition to the services and facilities available at the Rifle Garfield County Airport, the Royal Air Force recently landed a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III that was carrying a helicopter for the Royal Air Force to conduct for high altitude training. These massive aircraft are designed to haul oversized payloads over long distances and can carry more than 100 soldiers or 165,000 pounds of equipment. The Rifle Garfield County Airport is widely known in avionics circles as having a seamless, smooth runway, and benefitted from a $47 million dollar Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Garfield County investment in 2010.