AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2019 - 61

ASI at Clark Regional Airport added
an extra 5,000-gallon Jet A truck,
and an 8,000-gallon fuel load was
preordered each day of Derby week.

THE WELCOME MAT

Louisville International Airport (soon to
be renamed Louisville Muhammad Ali
International Airport to honor the boxer, a
Louisville native) welcomes the commercial flights and larger jets during Derby
weekend. SDF has three runways-7,200
feet, 8,500 feet, and 11,900 feet-and is
primarily known for Worldport, the UPS
hub that counts for most SDF traffic on a
typical day. But the Derby traffic trumps
UPS activity this week in May. In fact,
SDF will see 58 percent more traffic on
each of the days leading up to the Derby
than it does typically. And the airport is
ready: SDF adds 60 Derby greeters in the
concourse, offering 32,000 chocolate-covered bourbon balls; employs 90 musicians
to play lively music morning until midnight; creates a living wall of 700 sprigs
of fresh mint; displays 4,000 fresh red
roses; and creates a "Winners Circle" for
photo ops. Peak traffic day is "Departure
Sunday," the day the airport plays soothing
music over the amplifiers (one too many
juleps?), and this year it experienced a
29-percent increase in the number of passengers taking their soggy hats and empty
wallets home. There were 28,500 arrivals Wednesday through Friday and 14,500
people flew out May 5 on 441 flights (a
22-percent increase over 2018).
This was Zack Neds' first year as general manager of SDF's FBO, Atlantic
Aviation. "I worked three previous Derbys
as one of the many Atlantic Aviation
employees brought in from out of town
to support the local staff," Neds said. "I
remember leaving Louisville completely
exhausted. There are not many events that
equal the size of the Kentucky Derby and
being a part of it is something I will not
soon forget. I thought I had a good idea of
what to expect as the hosting GM of the
event. I knew it would be a lot of work and
I anticipated a lot of preparation. In reality I had no idea of the amount of planning
and preparation leading up to the Derby."
Neds says Atlantic had a successful
event, one that employed staff, extended
family members, and even members of the
Kentucky Air National Guard. More than
650 aircraft arrived at Atlantic during the

week and, at race time, 269 aircraft awaited
their passengers on the line.
"We have already started planning for
next year's Kentucky Derby, having learned
what worked well and noting areas that we
want to improve on," Neds said. "We look
forward to hosting the 2020 Kentucky
Derby and making it the best one ever for
our clients."
Bowman Field (LOU) is one of the
nation's oldest continuously operating GA
airfields and was the Louisville airport until
SDF (then called Standiford Field, hence the
identifier) was expanded in the 1950s. With
its two 3,500-foot runways, historic terminal building rich with significant artifacts
and photographs, and its beautiful French
restaurant, Le Relais, Bowman is a quintessential general aviation airport. At Louisville
Executive Aviation, staff was ready for
Derby goers: a bar offering mint juleps and
the Lily (a vodka drink for those who don't
do brown liquor), burgers on the grill, and
a display by HondaJet (the aircraft and an
NSX Supercar).
"Flying into Bowman Field for the
Derby was really easy for me, and my owners really enjoyed it as well," said corporate
pilot Krystal Covin, CEO of Covin Aviation of
Dallas. "If we come to the Derby again next
year, we will be back to Bowman Field for
sure. Everybody that received us, worked
with us, and saw us off was very helpful. It's
easy to overlook the details in those high-volume times and they didn't miss a one for us."
Across the Ohio River in Indiana, Clark
Regional Airport (JVY) has been courting
Derby flights, especially since one of its two
runways increased from 5,500 feet to 7,000
feet in 2018. The two FBOs-Honaker and
Aircraft Specialists Inc.-once may have had
a Hatfields and McCoys kind of feud over
bragging rights, but today both general managers admit there's more than enough traffic
for both. The drive over to Churchill Downs
is just three minutes longer than the seven
minutes from SDF, they claim.
For Kevin Happel, whose family for
a long time owned what is now Honaker
Aviation, this was his thirty-seventh
Kentucky Derby. While he admits his kids
probably attend the Derby (in the infield),
he's happiest at the airport. He works

PRIVATE JETS on the flightline at

Aircraft Specialists Inc., one of two
FBOs at Clark Regional Airport
(top left). Passengers arrive in all
manner of aircraft and get the
red carpet treatment, including
food and drink. Bowman Field is in
Louisville (bottom left) while Clark
is across the Ohio River in
Sellersburg, Indiana. Both
airports as well as the
international airport are just
minutes from the racetrack.
General manager Kevin Happel
of Honaker Aviation (below) and
GM John Foley of ASI (bottom),
both FBOs at Clark.

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2019

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