Timeline: Cape Girardeau aviation, 2006-present

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is one of a series of files presenting a timeline of aviation in Cape Girardeau. The timeline accompanies a series of stories on the history of the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, the first of which was published Sunday, June 13, 2010.

2006

Feb. 3: A Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, a longtime symbol of American military strength, arrives at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, where it will adorn the entrance to the port; the inoperative jet has been sitting at the Sabreliner plant at Perryville Municipal Airport since the late 1990s; after numerous delays since getting permission to move the plane to Cape Girardeau, the craft was loaded onto a flatbed trailer and driven here.

Feb. 8: The Commander Premier Aircraft production and repair facility officially opens with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Feb. 13: Cape Girardeau Regional Airport inaugurates its fourth round-trip flight to St. Louis; the flight, which will run daily Monday through Friday, departs St. Louis at 12:45 p.m. and departs Cape Girardeau at 2:15 p.m.

April 28: Revenue at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport is projected to be at an all-time high thanks to a lease agreement with Commander Premier Aircraft, a federal grant for a fourth round-trip flight and high fuel prices; airport revenue for the fiscal year ending in June is projected to be $748,997; up 85 percent from the previous year; that figure is projected to climb to almost $900,000 in fiscal year 2006-2007.

July 7-8: Crowds at the Cape Girardeau Regional Air festival see what may be the world's only motorcycle-to-airplane transfer stunt team; the group calls itself Franklin's Flying Circus; along with motorcycle daredevils, the festival has the usual aerobatic flights, the Dodge Ram Jet and the 82nd Airport Division parachute team; the air show also offers a B-2 stealth bomber fly-by.

Aug. 14: More than 10 months after relocating to Cape Girardeau, Commander Premier Aircraft Corp. has yet to build a single new airplane; but company executives say this isn't shades of Renaissance Aircraft, the company that previously occupied the same space at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport for three years before shutting up shop after failing to find funding; the company, they say, is taking appropriate steps to get off the ground.

Aug. 14: Cape Girardeau's fixed-base operation -- Cape Aviation -- is set to undergo a $300,000 renovation project; new tile will go into a lobby area, rest rooms will be renovated and a third rest room will be built; in addition, a roof that leaks will be rehabilitated.

Oct. 4-7: The Superman Jet Rally, one of the largest exhibitions of radio-controlled, jet-powered model airplanes in the world, is held at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, ending a 17-year run for the event in Metropolis, Ill.

Oct. 15: As part of their annual gathering, owners of Commander airplanes hold a fly-in at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport; about 150 pilots and their spouses attend the event.

2007

Jan. 2: The Cape Girardeau Regional Airport opens a new restaurant called The Drop Zone; it offers a continental breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Jan. 10: After a rash of recent cancellations by the local carrier, the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport is altering its schedule and cutting out early and late flights; the total number of flights will stay the same, but all flights are now concentrated in the middle of the day.

Feb. 2: A broken windshield and inoperable oxygen supply cause pilot Sheldon Stone and co-pilot Adam Moore to lose consciousness at 12,500 feet; 60 seconds later, they wake up with the damaged plane at 7,000 feet; the two are able to land at the Cape Girardeau airport without incident and before emergency responders can reach the scene; the two had left Rogers, Ark., on a flight to Shenandoah, Va.

Feb. 22: Carriers seeking to win the two-year contract to provide flight service out of Cape Girardeau Regional Airport have submitted bids in recent weeks to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Essential Air Service program; four carriers, including the current one, American Airlines connector RegionsAir, submitted bids; the lowest bid came from Great Lakes Airlines based in Cheyenne, Wyo., which is asking for a $949,956 federal subsidy for service between Cape Girardeau and St. Louis; the other carriers are Big Sky Airlines of Billings, Mont., and Mesa Airlines of Phoenix.

Feb. 26: RegionsAir, the AmericanConnection carrier operating out of the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, is cutting prices across the five states it serves to try to put passengers back in the air; previously, the lowest one-way fare to St. Louis was $213 and the lowest roundtrip fare was $426; now, after the price cuts, the lowest one-way fare is $101.50 and the lowest roundtrip is $114; all of the figures include taxes.

March 3: RegionsAir Inc. grounds all of its aircraft after the Federal Aviation Administration requests a change to the carrier's pilot training policy; the sudden move affects nine cities in the Midwest, including Cape Girardeau, and three in West Virginia.

March 5: Travelers through Cape Girardeau Regional Airport soon could be commuting to Cincinnati to catch flights elsewhere; before a standing-room-only crowd, the Cape Girardeau City Council votes unanimously to endorse the recommendation of the Airport Advisory Board to replace the current commuter service of RegionsAir to St. Louis with Big Sky Airlines' service to Cincinnati; the city will next send a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation asking for service to Cincinnati.

March 14: Commander Premier Aircraft announces it has received Federal Aviation Administration authorization to certify parts for installation at its Cape Girardeau Regional Airport manufacturing facility.

March 17: Cape Girardeau Regional Airport and businesses located there are still open and operating despite the fact that the airport's commuter airline has been grounded; people are still using airport services, just not the commercial airline; the Federal Aviation Administration grounded RegionsAir flights March 8, citing alleged inadequate training of certified inspectors; it is unknown how long the order will stand.

March 19: The Department of Transportation has approved a change in flight service for the regional airport; with Big Sky Airlines, flights will now depart for Cincinnati, which has more than double the daily flights of St. Louis' airport.

June 5: Big Sky Airlines' two-year contract with the Department of Transportation was scheduled to begin service for the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport on June 1, but the airline is still in the hiring process.

July 6-7: The 2007 Heroes and Legends Art Festival at the regional airport features performances by the Red Baron Squadron, the Army Golden Knights parachute team, the World Parabatic Swoop Team, the Dodge Ram Jet Truck and more.

July 10: A spokesman for the Department of Transportation says the earliest date for the likely resumption of flight service at the regional airport is October.

Aug. 5: The Cape Girardeau Regional Airport is getting a facelift; the areas of the general aviation terminal destined for a makeover include refueling, aircraft repair, the main flight terminal and the rental and sales areas; initial cost estimate for the work is $300,000 to $350,000.

Oct. 20: For the second consecutive year, members of the Commander Owners Group hold their annual fly-in at the regional airport; last year, owners came to Cape Girardeau to view the new Commander facility here; they enjoyed themselves so much, they asked to come back.

Nov. 18: Passenger air service returns to Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, when Montana-based Big Sky Airlines takes over flights.

Dec. 17: Lack of passenger air service all summer hurt Cape Girardeau Regional Airport's income; so did a disappointing turnout for the ninth annual air festival; the airport showed a negative $53,604 in revenue between July and September, the first quarter of the city's fiscal year.

Dec. 19: Big Sky Airlines announces it will cease operations at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport and its operations in the eastern United States by Jan. 7; many Big Sky passengers are being stranded, despite and order from the Department of Transportation telling the airline to continue service.

2008

Jan. 7: Big Sky Airlines ends its scheduled flights at the regional airport.

Jan. 15: Only two companies have submitted bids to offer passenger service from the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport; both Air Choice One, which operates out of the Farmington, Mo., airport, and Great Lakes Airlines, with headquarters in Cheyenne, Who., are proposing $75 one-way fares from Cape Girardeau to St. Louis; the Department of Transportation will choose a carrier after the cities involved make recommendations.

Jan. 17: The Cape Girardeau City Council affirms Great Lakes Airlines as the city's choice for a commercial carrier.

Jan. 18: Although it is more than two years behind its original estimates, the company that hopes to build aircraft in Cape Girardeau hasn't given up on the dream and has new management in place to push the project; Commander Premier Aircraft Corp. announces it will switch the roles of four directors, putting Gregory Walker and Robert Tippens in the roles of president/chief executive officer and treasurer/chief financial officer, respectively, replacing Joel Hartstone and Claudia Horn, who had previously held the positions; Hartstone and Horn of StoneGate Capital Group LLC will remain as members of the company board of directors.

Feb. 1: Cape Girardeau has a new commercial passenger carrier, but there's no firm date on when flights will begin; Great Lakes Airlines is named to be the carrier by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

March 15: A chartered flight carrying E! Networks founder Jarl Mohn and his family makes an emergency landing at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport.

April 1: With yet another significant rainstorm predicted, Cape Girardeau Regional Airport's advisory board is looking at ways to deflect floods from runways; during the historic March 18 rainfall, the airport shut down operations to all but emergency helicopters; at the board's meeting, airport manager Bruce Loy says he is seeking options for diverting water from the runways.

May 3: Around 200 Boy Scouts from Southeast Missouri take part in a weekend aviation campout at the regional airport.

May 19: Great Lakes Airlines begins flights from Cape Girardeau to St. Louis International Airport.

June 19: Citing safety reasons, organizers of the 2008 Libertyfest and the Cape Girardeau Regional Air Festival announce the Fourth of July event will move to Cape Girardeau Regional Airport; organizers had planned a combined celebration, but a flooded Mississippi River upsets the plans.

June 26: Arch Air Medical Service, a St. Louis-based company, last week moved its helicopter and crew stationed at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport to Farmington, Mo.; the company couldn't justify remaining at the airport because monthly flights had dwindled in recent years to about 25 percent of the number the company once handled.

June 30: The Drop Zone restaurant at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport has closed and changed hands; the new owner, Sandy Ladd, calls the restaurant Sandy's Place.

July 4: The first combined Libertyfest and air show is by most accounts a success; the air show includes patriotic displays, the Lima Lima Flight Team, the Golden Knights parachute team of the U.S. Army, and aerial demonstrations by Mike Rinker in a small Sukhoi plane; Libertyfest brings music and fireworks to the port.

Dec. 6: A Dexter, Mo., man faces arraignment in Scott County after a series of burglaries and thefts Thanksgiving weekend that included time spent pretending to fly a plane at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport; Carlos Pedro Kunz, 20, is being held in Scott County Jail; according to a Cape Girardeau police report, Kunz spent most of the night of Nov. 28 in and around two hangars at the airport before stealing a sport utility vehicle from NAB Automation Inc. on Nash Road and driving to Bollinger County.

2009

Jan. 19: The Cape Girardeau City Council approves a plan for improvements to the terminal at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport in order to have design plans ready if the federal government makes economic stimulus funds available.

March 19: Cape Girardeau will receive $5.3 million in transportation stimulus projects under a spending plan approved by the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission; the spending plan includes $1.6 million for runway rehabilitation at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport.

April 30: The city, already stuck with payments on a $2.8 million debt, had agreed to a favorable lease that gave Commander Premier a building at no cost for six months; but since the lease payments started coming due, the company has made only eight payments, totaling $94,000, out of the $448,000 the city is owed; the last payment, $13,000, was made in December 2007.

July 23: A small, twin-engine plane is forced to make an emergency landing at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport after losing power to one engine; the plane, a Beechcraft C90, is making its way from New Madrid, Mo., to Jefferson City, Mo., when the right engine fails.

July 10: The long struggle to make manufacturing pay at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport could be over by the end of August; either Commander Premier Aircraft Corp. will be sold to a new owner with financial strength or the company will lose its city-financed airport facility, says Mayor Jay Knudtson; and after spending three hours on the telephone with a prospective buyer, he says he's optimistic it will be a sale rather than eviction.

July 13: The board of directors of Commander Premier Aircraft Corp., approves a letter of intent to sell the business to Aero-Base Inc.; in a news release detailing the sale, Commander says Aero-Base must arrange acceptable terms for the production facility at the Cape Girardeau airport.

Aug. 18: Bids are unveiled from five companies seeking a Department of Transportation contract to provide subsidized commercial passenger service in Cape Girardeau; the proposals include three carriers offering flights to St. Louis, two offering flights to Memphis, Tenn., and a fifth carrier proposing a variety of destinations that include Branson, Mo., Kansas City, Nashville, Tenn., Little Rock, Ark., and Cincinnati.

Sept. 11: By incremental steps, the deal that would bring Commander Premier Aircraft Corp. into new ownership and relieve Cape Girardeau of a major debt headache is moving ahead; Canadian financier Ronald Strauss announced in July plans to buy Commander Premier and the building at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport that houses the company; at that time, he said he expected to finish paying off creditors of the aircraft company by mid-August; Mayor Jay Knudtson, relying on that timeline, said he hoped to complete the deal for the building by the end of August; while those dates are past, Strauss has signed a memorandum of understanding with the city that obligates him to complete his purchase of the 52,000-square-foot building within 30 days of paying off the stockholders of Commander Premier.

Sept. 14: Cape Girardeau must wait a little longer than expected to find out which company will be the new airline offering subsidized commercial passenger service at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport; the U.S. Department of Transportation postpones for a week the date for six airports, including Cape Girardeau, to submit recommendations for contract carriers under the Essential Air Service program.

Sept. 15: Cape Air, the Massachusetts-based airline that is promising $50 fares and four flights daily to St. Louis, is the preferred carrier to operate from Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, the City Council decides.

Oct. 22: The Department of Transportation awards a two-year Essential Air Service contract to Cape Air.

Oct. 31: Two Cape Girardeau men -- Paul Fisher, a former Drug Enforcement Administration agent, and Robbie Rollins, president of Delta Express Inc. -- die when their small single-engine airplane crashes during takeoff from a private landing strip near Blodgett, Mo.; the craft clips a small shed with its wing, somersaults and bursts into flame.

Nov. 2: The Cape Girardeau City Council approves acceptance of a $126,000 state grant to advertise passenger service at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport; the money must be matched by $14,000 in city funds.

Nov. 8: Cape Air begins passenger service between Cape Girardeau and St. Louis.

Dec. 6: The optimism having waned since July, when a buyer came forward to purchase Commander Premier Aircraft Corp., the city has begun pursuing others who might be interested in acquiring the company.

Dec. 8: Airport manager Bruce Loy announces plans for the revival of Cape Girardeau's air show in June, with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels precision flying team highlighting the festivities.

2010

Jan. 21: An open house and ribbon cutting at the regional airport officially welcomes Cape Air and its corporate leaders.

Feb. 4: A consultant with the Colorado-based Boyd Group International tells members of the Airport Advisory Board that the federal program that subsidizes commercial passenger service for Cape Girardeau and four other Missouri airports should be overhauled to give communities more stable and flexible service. He reports on the findings of a study commissioned by the Missouri Department of Transportation and the five cities served by the Essential Air Service program.

March 21: After months of waiting, the deal for a Canadian investor to take over Commander Premier Aircraft Corp. in Cape Girardeau seems poised for completion. Ronald Strauss, founder of Aero-Base Inc., says that almost all remaining obstacles to securing the financing necessary to purchase the company have been cleared and he expects to obtain the money he has been seeking by the end of the week.

June 7: The Navy's Blue Angels won't be the only branch of the armed forces represented at the Cape Girardeau Regional Air Festival June 19 and 20. The lineup also includes the Air Force's A-10 East Demonstration Team and the Army's Golden Knights parachute team.