Ross County — The county airport has been a concern for the county commissioners this year, with its long-time manager succumbing to cancer. Their last discussion on it was a chat with two members of Sundowner Aviation school at Lancaster.
Pat Rooney, former Air Force pilot and teacher, is now a flight instructor and part owner of Sundowner Aviation at Lancaster. Ian Coil, the other owner, joined him with the commissioners October 28th.
They said one of their students suggested they speak with Ross County, since he drives from the Chillicothe area to take classes in Lancaster.
The two said they have 13 instructors teaching about 120 students, some from Portsmouth and Circleville – and they could get good business here, easily starting classes at the Myrl H. Shoemaker Ross County Airport.
They charge about $220 an hour for the instructor and airplane rental; an overall pilot license costs about $12-15K.
That could be lucrative investment, since they say a commercial pilot shortage is projected for 2027-2030. And that’s for charter flyers, as well as airline pilots.
They said a lot of people are hobby fliers, but tourism is also a draw. For example, if you like looking at fall color, Rooney said it’s four times better from the air. The commissioners have also pointed out that the World Heritage Hopewell earthworks will become a big draw in local tourism.
Sundowner Aviation is based at the Lancaster Airport, at the northwest tip of Lancaster, near old US 33.
Hear both in the below interview video.
