March in Tennessee is General Aviation Appreciation Month. We’re talking about little planes that make a big difference.
General aviation applies to all aircrafts outside of commercial and military. It’s been recognized that general aviation significantly supports the economic growth of the state.
Paul New is the owner of Tennessee Aircraft Services repair station in Jackson. He’s also a pilot himself. Paul told 39 News about the importance of general aviation.
“So general aviation plays a huge part in just transportation overall,” Paul explained. “People don’t think about it, but it is an absolute necessity for (some) individuals and small businesses to get around. Not everything happens on the airlines. Our small business here brings business from states all around. So we bring in out of state tax money, which is really handy. And when you need to go someplace and get back in the same day to do business, it’s just about the only way to do it. Anywhere you go in the airlines, it’s a whole day to get there and we can go and come back in the same day.”
Paul’s shop is specialized and works specifically on Cirrus and Cessna 210 planes. It’s specialization brings in mostly out of state planes.
“This is a very small market,” he told us. “There’s a lot of money involved, but not a lot of volume.”
Paul is passionate about aviation and is a co-host on the plane repair podcast “Ask the A&Ps.” If you’d like to check out the podcast, you can click here.