Aircraft Industry

According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, the St. Louis Downtown Airport (Archview founding member) is the 3rd busiest airport in the State of Illinois. St. Louis Downtown Airport lies only 7 minutes from the Gateway Arch and provides travelers with a strategic destination point for attending sporting events or business meetings. Many top ranking business executives and elected officials utilize the airport on a frequent basis for its location and ease of use. To continue pace with the group in the general aviation, Archview helped to facilitate and supported federal, state, and local funding efforts to upgrade the airport to an FAA Certified Part 139 airport to accommodate larger aircraft. As part of this upgrade, Archview supported in the development of funding sources to build a new $22M 8-story FAA air traffic control tower, $750,000 ramp expansions, and new $4M FAA Certified Fire Department. The airport is the home to many prominent businesses, such as Midcoast Aviation, Jet Aviation and General Dynamics. Founded in 1971, Midcoast Aviation began as a small, fixed-base operation, providing fuel and performing minor maintenance services for business aircraft located at St. Louis Downtown Airport with less than 100 employees. By the mid 1980s, Midcoast Aviation was regularly completing new "green" aircraft for major manufacturers, such as Bombardier, Falcon Jet and Embraer. In 2006, Jet Aviation acquired Midcoast Aviation expanding its position in the global business aviation market. Midcoast Aviation truly enjoys a proud heritage and bright expansive future as the demand for top-tier business aircraft services continues to grow. With a successful global business model and worldwide recognition for aircraft completions, Midcoast and Jet Aviation have become part of the General Dynamics Corporation in 2009. Today, Archview, partnered with Validus Business Strategies, has facilitated relationships with federal, state, and local elected officials, agencies, and community leaders that helped Midcoast/Jet Aviation/General Dynamics to acquire $5.4M in financial incentives to continue to expand its operation, and level the competitive legislative landscape with other surrounding states by driving two separate legislative law (2007 "fly away" tax exemption and 2009 FAA Class IV Rating aircraft parts tax exemption) changes. All these efforts assisted Midcoast/Jet Aviation/General Dynamics to expand its business operations now employing over 1600 high technology technicians with an average salary of $62,000 per year. As of August 2009, with the assistance of Validus Business Strategies and many other strategic partners, Senate Bill 450 has passed and been signed into law. The new law is as follows: Beginning January 1, 2010, materials, parts, equipment, components, and furnishings incorporated into or upon an aircraft as part of the modification, refurbishment, completion, replacement, repair, or maintenance of the aircraft. This exemption includes consumable supplies used in the modification, refurbishment, completion, replacement, repair, and maintenance of aircraft, but excludes any materials, parts, equipment, components, and consumable supplies used in the modification, replacement, repair, and maintenance of aircraft engines or power plants, whether such engines or power plants are installed or uninstalled upon any such aircraft. "Consumable supplies" include, but are not limited to, adhesive, tape, sandpaper, general purpose lubricants, cleaning solution, latex gloves, and protective films. This exemption applies only to those organizations that (i) hold an Air Agency Certificate and are empowered to operate an approved repair station by the Federal Aviation Administration, (ii) have a Class IV Rating, and (iii) conduct operations in accordance with Part 145 of the Federal Aviation Regulations. The exemption does not include aircraft operated by a commercial air carrier providing scheduled passenger air service pursuant to authority issued under Part 121 or Part 129 of the Federal Aviation Regulations.

 

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