Grassroots Success Story — Dunnellon’s X35 Attracts New, Younger Aviation Businesses

If I’ve heard one lament repeatedly over a long career, it is that current pilots don’t see enough new pilots coming into aviation. Are you one who worries a little or a lot about that? If not, you are a rare pilot.

Is it any wonder, though? The price of aircraft is way, way up. This applies to used aircraft and new — just like it does with your groceries or gasoline. The cost of maintenance is high and rising. Insurance is very expensive (for airplanes as well as cars or houses). Hangars are unavailable with years-long waiting lists at many airports.

More than ever it can seem, aviation is an activity for those with fairly thick wallets. The squeeze on modest budgets has rarely been this demanding.

Yeah, all that, but this website nonetheless discovers the affordable end of aviation. In that pursuit, I was drawn to an airport with an encouraging twist on the affordability squeeze play.

This story is about an airport but it focuses on affordable aviation and the aircraft serving that market.

Dunnellon’s X35
Marion County Airport

Have you ever heard of Ocala, Florida in the central-northwestern portion of the state? If you aren’t into horses, maybe not. If you are, you probably know this area bills itself as the “Horse Capital of the World.” Drive around Ocala, in town, or by handsome country estates and you’ll notice this is quite the affluent area.

Dunnellon is in Marion County, not Ocala but the close proximity helps both. Under airport manager (and pilot) Mike Grawe‘s leadership through the last six years, X35 has become a thriving facility with energetic new businesses sprouting up.

What may be most important is the presence of new, younger businessmen entering affordable aviation. People like me with decades of experience fill a useful role but we’re like disappearing airline captains. We’ll be moving on and entry-level aviation needs fresh blood. X35 put out the welcome mat… and it’s working.

Led by Mike, Marion County Airport, X35 is backed up with some local OG (“Old Guy”) talent. First, I’ll mention that Mike has engineered the construction of 40 new T-hangars. Although he still has a waiting list, those new quarters did two things: they relieved the prior need somewhat, and they provided a drawing card to new enterprises. An airport on the move is an attraction and Mike has the engine running.

Mike and I talked briefly about hangar challenges. I’ve visited more airports than I can remember. Management at every single one said essentially the same thing, “If we could get (insert main need here), we could fill more hangar requests.” Most airports have plenty of square area but permitting and financing on leased land presents major challenges. Constructions costs have risen sharply so hangar owners must charge substantial rent to recover investments.

Mike can be rightly proud of his new T-hangars and this impetus has attracted more enterprises who want to be part of something happening. Some of the talent surrounding Mike Grawe has been around longer. Others are new. All are supportive.

Airfield entrepreneur, Troy Townsend, while not old is certainly one of the original OGs at X35. He became well known working for ITEC, the enterprise that created the Maverick flying dune buggy for use in their South American missionary work. Maverick was a rough and tumble ground vehicle that could hoist a large powered parachute wing up high on a long mast allowing it to launch from a surprisingly short field. As a dune buggy, it scooted energetically.

Since his Maverick days, Troy has built his Pilot Examiner business, FliteChek.com, especially catering to the Light-Sport and light kit crowd in America’s southeast employing his deep knowledge of this segment. He flies an Icarus C42 (Germany’s most popular light trainer), which he uses to help Sport Pilots, Privates, and beyond earn their FAA certificate. Oh, and on the side, he’s building an RV-10 kit, an aircraft with which he is also very familiar. I could fill an entire article with his exploits but this gives a taste.

Roy Beisswenger is another highly accomplished light aviation entrepreneur who gravitated to Dunnellon and X35 as he searched for an ideal place to operate his powered parachute flight training enterprise during fall, winter, and spring — in the summer months Roy operates from the Greenville, Illinois airport. After designing a soup-to-nuts professional training system and having literally written the Bible of powered parachuting, EasyFlight is the country’s leading provider of PPC instruction.

That’s what Roy is doing now but what preceded that would take two or three articles to cover. Among them: Ultralight Radio, a very early online news outlet; Powered Sport Flying magazine for the rest of light aviation; his leadership at U.S. Ultralight Association and Light Aircraft Manufacturer’s Association; a growing YouTube channel. I’m getting tired typing all this yet I’m only skimming the surface.

Troy and Roy make a solid backup to Mike Grawe’s management. Yet… now they have more.

Welcome, Newbies
…the Aircraft Producers

As I wrote earlier, Randy Dorsey has brought back to Florida an iconic aircraft sought after around the world for its very particular flight qualities. Randy purchased the rights and tooling to Dragonfly, an affordably priced LSA or kit specially built to tow hang gliders but which is enormously fun to fly around for low-and-slow aerial sightseeing.

Randy has taken over an existing operation, is preserving the originator’s names BaileyMoyesDragonfly and he’s getting the supply line geared up for new production at Marion County Airport. He may start deliveries later this year but parts to existing owners are a present priority, a mission dear to most of the 150 Dragonfly owners/operators.

A little further down the development timeline will come Nick and Charlotte Jones SkyKicker Aviation operation. This is a brand-new business (see recent article) by new entrepreneurs, a husband and wife who bring solid experience to the task. Nick and Charlotte are setting up to build the former Belite Chipper 2, originally created by James Weibe.

James had created strong interest for his Chipper project but a fire took him out of the game. Nick and Charlotte rescued this design after being drawn to it in one of those I-liked-the-product-so-much-I-bought-the-whole-company stories. They are currently improving the builder manuals and working to simplify the kit-building effort as much as possible while they renew relations with James’ former suppliers.

These two new businesses join the veterans at X35 adding to the success Mike Grawe has been building.

Central-northwestern Florida and its fancy equestrian ranches exist alongside a vibrant X35 airport that is attracting new businesses and fresh faces. I think this is worth celebrating and I trust you agree.