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Business still soars at Bishop airport |
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Tuesday, 30 September 2008 |
 One of 11 CT-114 Tutor jet aircraft of the Canadian Air Force’s Snowbird aerobatic team, taking off from the airport in Bishop Sunday after refueling. Photo by Ken Babione By Mike Bodine
Register Staff
9-30-3008 As the Mammoth Airport reopens for expanded commercial service, the airport in Bishop is still thriving.
The Eastern Sierra Regional Airport (ESRA) in Bishop is still seeing its regular clientele and is a unique site for special projects.
Last week the airport hosted a team from Yamaha Motorcycles testing the speed limits of its new products, and last weekend a very large flock of Canadian fliers stopped by for services.
When Mammoth Airport reopened for business on Sept. 19, the staff at ESRA expected a dramatic drop in aircraft traffic.
However, according to ESRA Lead Technician Ken Babione, the reduction is not happening.
“ESRA has had some drop in air traffic, but we continue to have higher than normal fuel sales. I attribute this to the great service and low fuel prices at Bishop,” Babione said.
“We have always had very good patronage by the military and that hasn’t changed,” he said. This was evident last weekend as 11 Canadian Snowbirds, the crack aerobatics team of the Canadian Air Force, stopped in for a fill-up.
On Friday, Sept. 26, the Snowbirds’ crew chief, Master Corporal Jean-Marc Brien, contacted ESRA requesting refueling services for their CT-114 Tutor jet aircraft on Sunday, the 28th.
The Snowbirds were flying from a show in Chico to Las Vegas and stopped in to relax in the air conditioned terminal in Bishop while ground crews topped off the tanks and cleaned the windshields. Curious locals came out to see the planes and mingled with the crew for an hour or so until the aircraft departed.
“This was good for the airport, and the folks who came out to the airport enjoyed the camaraderie and the aircraft,” Babione said.
On Tuesday, Sept. 16, ESRA welcomed a team of riders and mechanics from Yamaha Motorcycles to conduct performance testing of Yamaha’s new VMAX motorcycle.
“ESRA is an ideal location for testing prototype speed equipment that we have installed on our test bikes,” Yamaha Crew Chief Bob Caperauld said.
Babione said Monday that what makes ESRA ideal for this sort of testing is the 7,500 feet of smooth, isolated track. He explained that finding this sort of track or runway anywhere else in Southern California is nearly impossible.
Most airports with this size of runway have more traffic, Babione said, and no time for the logistics of having motorcycles racing around with the jets and planes.
Ironically, Yamaha heard about the ESRA through Mammoth Mountain resort. Evidently, Yamaha was looking for a site to test its new technologies and got hold of Steve Morrison, who represents the Mammoth and Mono County Film Commission. Morrison told them of an ideal spot for their trial runs, the ESRA.
According to Babione, Yamaha was there for testing results, not commercial exposure. The VMAX achieved a speed of 178 mph on its quickest run.
Babione said he hopes publicity will get out about the great opportunities ESRA offers – for more than just aircraft.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 21 October 2008 )
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