A multi-engine, instrument rated pilot, James Wynbrandt has been an AIN and Business Jet Traveler contributor since 2003. His in-depth reporting and insightful features have won more than a dozen editorial honors, including two National Business Aviation Association Gold Wing Awards (2019; 2021), and his articles have also appeared in the New York Times, Barron’s, Fortune, Forbes, and Smithsonian Air &amp; Space. He has flown his Mooney M20K 252 on assignments throughout North and Central America and the Caribbean. Wynbrandt is also the author of Flying High (Wiley &amp; Sons), a biography of Jet Blue founder David Neeleman, as well as histories, references works, and books on a variety of other topics from major publishers. He lives in New York City.

Contributor - Business Aviation

James Wynbrandt

Many in the business aviation community likely know Henderson Executive Airport (HND) as host of the static display during NBAA Conventions held in Las Vegas. But its location, service, and amenities make it a popular port of entry to the city year round—and a key facility in the Southern Nevada Regional Airport System Plan, created “to meet the growing aviation demands of the Southern Nevada region in a thoughtful, planned manner,” said Bruce Daugherty, manager, general aviation airports, Clark County Department of Aviation (CCDA).

 


Located 12 miles south of The Strip, the 760-acre airport is one of five owned and operated by the CCDA. The department also owns McCarran International (LAS) and North Las Vegas (VGT) Airports, along with Jean Sport and Perkins Field Overton sport aviation fields.

 


Originally named “Sky Harbor Airport” (creating some confusion with the already operational airport of the same name in Phoenix), the facility was built in 1969 by Arby Alper to serve general and corporate aviation along with Grand Canyon sightseeing operations. In 1996 the CCDA acquired the airport for $23.75 million and invested more than $30 million in infrastructure improvements. Today Henderson has parallel runways long enough for “virtually all general aviation aircraft, saving precious time and money for those choosing HND as their entry point into the Las Vegas Valley,” Daugherty said.

 


GA arrivals are instructed to find a parking spot, and there’s an ample choice. HND has 338 tie-down positions, 57 of them covered, along with 96 private enclosed hangars and 26 commercial enclosed hangars. More than one million square feet of open ramp space is dedicated to accommodating transient customers, but no need to trek across the tarmac in the midday sun – a van carries passengers to and from the terminal. (No gratuities accepted.)

 


A total of 243 aircraft—187 single- and 29 multi-engine aircraft,18 jets, and nine helicopeters—are based at HND.

 


The lobby of the modern, 24,000-sq-ft Henderson Executive Airport Executive Terminal is anchored by the service counter for easy checking in and out, aided by a helpful, friendly staff. Glass cases among the seating areas display memorabilia from the Howard W. Cannon Aviation Museum at McCarran, and dozens of small-scale models of vintage military aircraft. Hertz and Enterprise car rentals are on the lobby’s north end. The Landings, a full-service bar and restaurant&nbsp;with walls covered in aviation art and photographs, is on the second floor. An outdoor dining deck overlooks the runways. The terminal also has meeting rooms and a pilot lounge with showers and sleeping quarters.

 


Apex Aviation, a turbine, piston, rotorcraft, and avionics Part 145 repair station, provides maintenance on site and has an AOG go team that’s been dispatched as far as Siberia and Australia, according to the company.

 


North Las Vegas, as Nevada’s second busiest airport behind McCarran, gets more traffic than Henderson (last year North Las Vegas had 177,991 operations, while Henderson ﻿had 78,087 ), but Daugherty doesn’t play favorites in recommending which to use, despite having his office at Henderson. “It mainly comes down to location and capability of the airport,” he said. “If you are traveling to the North Strip or North Las Vegas, VGT is typically the best option. For the South Strip or Henderson area, HND is the logical choice due to its proximity to that area.”

 


The websites for both HND and VGT were recently “completely restructured and modernized to make them more intuitive, informative, and mobile‐capable,” and now include a fee estimator tool to help pilots determine which best meets their needs trip by trip, Daugherty said. He added, “If a customer prefers to land at McCarran International, we have two network FBOs [Atlantic Aviation and Signature Flight Support] that can accommodate their needs.”

 


Municipally operated airports and FBOs are relatively common, accounting for as much as 35 percent of all FBOs, according to data from the Association Management Consulting Group that Daugherty cited, and stretch across the country from Van Nuys, California, to Naples, Florida. Though under the governance of elected officials, the CCDA’s “governing board is stable,” said Daugherty, “due to staggered terms” for county commissioners. “New leaders bring in new ideas and continually improve the product,” he added.

 


The county conducts “a weekly market survey of similar-sized airports and uses the information to set fees and fuel prices,” Daugherty said. “We strive to remain cost‐neutral as we continue to invest in the airport to improve the NAS and customer’s experience.”

 


The department also uses “resources available on websites such as AAAE, ACI, NATA, AOPA, NBAA, and regular communication with other airports” to “keep pace,” he said.

 


HND offers full-service jet-A and 100LL, and a 100LL self‐service fuel island, with fuel provided by Ascent Aviation Group. It pumped approximately 1,200,000 gallons of jet-A and 285,000 gallons of 100LL last year.

 


Looking ahead, “it is anticipated that the aviation demands will continue to grow,” Daugherty said, and the system plan provides the framework for the regional airports’ expansions. Meanwhile, the CCDA “works to constantly modernize and adapt” HND and its other facilities, Daugherty said, “to provide an excellent customer service product that is unique to each airport within the County’s aviation system.”

New developments at FBOs including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.

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News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

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