Category Archives: Aerospace

More than 500 planes confirmed for Bremerton airport fly-in

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Registration numbers are soaring for an aviation convention planned this weekend at Bremerton National Airport.

B0015742479--722623As of Wednesday morning, 523 pilots had confirmed they planned to land at the airport for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Fly-In, which kicks off Friday evening and continues through Saturday.

Nearly 160 participants planned to camp under the wings of their planes.
Total registration for the event had topped 1,700, but closer to 3,000 attendees are expected, according to airport director Fred Salisbury.

“It should be a packed house,” he said.

Weather forecasts should help boost attendance. The National Weather Service predicts sunny skies and temperatures in the high 80s this weekend.

The Bremerton event will double the size of the AOPA Fly-In Spokane hosted in 2014, which attracted 1,500 attendees and 240 planes. (A torrential rainstorm the day before festivities began dampened attendance.)B0013904477--374701

Big registration numbers for Bremerton are encouraging to organizers, who believe the event will provide an economic boost to the area.

AOPA Fly-Ins typically generate about $680,000 for the local economy, according to the association. The conventions create business for hotels, transportation companies, food vendors and contractors.

Jack Edwards, manager of Bremerton’s Baymont Inn & Suites, said roughly one-third of his rooms (about 50 units) were booked for the weekend by Fly-In participants. He started receiving reservations from AOPA members as early as April.

“We’re still getting calls from them, but we’re full,” Edwards said.

A plane flies above Mt. Rainier as seen from the window of a Beechcraft Baron piloted by Avian Flight Center's Pat Heseltine on Friday, June 3, 2016. (MEEGAN M. REID / KITSAP SUN)

Visitors who waited until this week to book rooms would be hard pressed to vacancies anywhere in Bremerton, he said.

Visit Kitsap Peninsula Executive Director Patty Graf-Hoke said the Port of Bremerton deserved praise for bringing the Fly-In to Kistap.

“The AOPA very prestigious national organization and their West Coast event offers locals new opportunities to introduce hundreds tourists to the region,” Graf-Hoke said in an email. “Guests are filling up hotel rooms which is good for local businesses and the economy.”

The AOPA Fly-In is free and open to the public. Click here to learn more about the event.

You don’t have to be a pilot to enjoy the beauty of the Kitsap peninsula from the air. Click here to see Meegan Reid’s gallery of aerial photos taken earlier this year.

Port mulling $75k real estate marketing study

SAFE Boats remains an anchor tenant at the port
SAFE Boats remains an anchor industrial tenant at the port

The Port of Bremerton is considering paying a consulting firm $75,000 to study how the district can best market its sprawling industrial property to potential tenants.

According to a memo prepared by CEO Jim Rothlin, the goal of the analysis would be to identify the port’s strengths and generate a list of businesses that could benefit from locating there.

“While the Port has many amenities to offer prospective tenants at the Industrial Park, it is critical that we find a way to stand apart from many other location options available to them,” Rothlin wrote in the memo.

Rothlin is recommending a contract with real estate consulting firm Heartland LLC. of Seattle.

The bulk of the $75,000 price tag would be covered by a $49,500 grant the port recently obtained from the state Department of Commerce. The port would pick up the remaining $25,500.

The port commission will vote on the contract during its next meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Bremerton National Airport.

You can read Rothlin’s memo below and find the port commission agenda here.

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Port of Bremerton to award $2M road project

SKIA.2.1The Port of Bremerton is poised to award a $1.97 million contract to extend its Cross SKIA Connector Road to Old Clifton Road.

The low bidder for the project WHH Nisqually Federal Services, LLC., a tribally-owned enterprise based in Olympia. The company’s bid came in just under the engineer’s estimate for the work, according to a port staff memo.

The port commission is set to approve the award at its Tuesday meeting. A breakdown of the bid is embedded below.

The port received a $2 million allocation from Puget Sound Regional Council for this phase of the connector road, and budgeted $345,800 of its own cash.

The existing connector road extends south off Highway 3 and runs along the east edge of Bremerton National Airport.

Phase 2.1 will extend the existing connector road by about 3,000 to meet Old Clifton Road (click the inset map to enlarge it). Contractors will also build a roundabout to accomodate future road extensions.

Work is expected to begin in June and be completed within 80 days.

The port considers the connector road critical for encouraging growth in the industrial and aerospace acreage surrounding the airport. You can read its pitch to the Regional Council here (PDF).

The area was previously called South Kitsap Industrial Area (SKIA), but was recently renamed Puget Sound Industrial Center-Bremerton (PSIC-B).

  SKIA Bid Award by Tad Sooter

Bremerton airport hopes to land big aviation event

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Bremerton National Airport vying for the chance to host an aviation conference that would bring hundreds of planes and pilots to Kitsap County.

Port staff submitted a proposal last week to be considered as a site for a 2015 Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Fly-In. The fly-ins include exhibits, aerial displays, vendors and food. Last year’s Northwest event was held on Aug. 16 in Spokane.

If it’s selected for a 2015 fly-in, Bremerton National would need to prepare for 500 planes and 900 vehicles, said Fred Salisbury, director of airport operations. AOPA will narrow down a list of finalists in October and announce the host site in December.

Crews are repaving portions of the Bremerton airport this month. Salisbury said the project is ahead of schedule, but the completion date could depend on the weather.

SKIA name change on port agenda

VicinityMapSouth Kitsap Industrial Area, better known as SKIA, will soon have a new name.

Port of Bremerton commissioners will vote next week to rebrand the area as Puget Sound Industrial Center – Bremerton. The Bremerton City Council passed a similar resolution this week.

While PSIC–B doesn’t roll off the tongue quite as nicely as SKIA, port and city officials believe the inclusion of Puget Sound will make the name more recognizable to potential business tenants.

Port CEO Jim Rothlin explained it this way in a background memo for the Aug. 26 meeting:

It is perceived that adding “Puget Sound” increases the ability of clients outside this area to more easily identify with this area, and “Bremerton” pinpoints the exact location of the City which it falls in. The words “Industrial Center” highlights the fact that we are one of only eight Manufacturing/Industrial Centers (MIC) designated by Puget Sound Regional Council. 

SKIA, which includes Bremerton National Airport, Olympic View Industrial Park and a mix of port and private property, was designated as a regional Manufacturing/Industrial Center in 2003. Bremerton later annexed much of the land.

The Port of Bremerton commission meeting begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Bremerton National Airport. The full agenda is posted below:

Kitsap delegation in England for air show

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Last year a delegation of Kitsap economic development leaders attended the Paris Air Show. This year, it’s England.

County commissioner Charlotte Garrido, Kitsap Aerospace and Defense Alliance co-chair Tim Thomson and John Powers of the Kitsap Economic Development Alliance are at the Farnborough Airshow outside London this week. The trip was organized and funded by KADA.

The Kitsap are meeting with aerospace companies to promote the county’s potential as a manufacturing center. They’re part of a large Washington contingency that includes Gov. Jay Inslee. The air show continues through Saturday.

Pictures from Farnborough are being posted on the KADA Facebook page.

Photo: From left, Tim Thomson, Charlotte Garrido, Gov. Jay Inslee, Trudi Inslee and John Powers. Contributed photo.