Camarillo Airport in Southern California is one of those airports that reveals its treasures as visitors either drive or fly in, starting with the hulk of an ancient Convair CV-240–used for firefighting training–in a field on the east side. Surprisingly, this excellent airport is not unduly busy for an airfield with four FBOs, a 6,000-foot runway, control tower, a museum full of flyable World War II aircraft, a Lockheed Super Constellation, a café and even a stunt driving school.
One FBO at Camarillo has a slightly unusual pedigree. Many FBOs are started by aircraft owners who rent hangars and eventually decide to open a retail business or by companies that grew from small charter operations into full-service facilities. Fractional-share operator Avantair opened a small chain of FBOs because they help the company serve owners of shares in its fleet of Piaggio Avanti turboprops, save money on fuel costs and make maintenance scheduling more efficient by spreading it among the company’s three Avantair Elite Services facilities in Caldwell, N.J.; Camarillo, Calif.; and at company headquarters in Clearwater, Fla.
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