ASHLAND — Construction on a new terminal at the Ashland County Airport officially launched Monday with a ceremonial groundbreaking event.
The nearly $2 million project is expected to conclude in November, said Ashland County commissioner Mike Welch.
Once finished, the approximately 4,000 square-foot facility will feature a flight school, a pilot lounge, a community room, a bathroom with a shower and a separate public restroom.
The building will replace the airport’s existing terminal. Officials have said the 900 square-foot building, built in 1972, is undersized and dilapidated.
“This project has been years in the making,” said Tom Zupan, a trustee with the airport authority. He said the new terminal was designed to support a longterm vision for the airport.
State officials, including State Rep. Melanie Miller (R-Ashland) and State Sen. Mark Romanchuk (R-Ontario), local dignitaries and members of the public gathered at a hangar at the Ashland County Airport on Monday to signify the start of construction on the terminal.
The terminal will include room for what’s known as a “part 141” flight school. Officials have said they hope to equip it with three flight simulators and two or three offices for trainers.
Steve Bechtol, an airport authority trustee, said the need for pilots and technicians is great. He referenced a pilot who told him the airline that employs him hopes to add 11,000 pilots to its force by 2030.
What’s a Part 141 School?
The Federal Aviation Administration regulates flight schools under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations. “Part 141” outlines a “structured training program and syllabus.”
“Part 141 pilot schools may be able to provide a greater variety of training aids and require dedicated training facilities, flight instructor oversight, and FAA-approved course curricula. Colleges and universities, which may offer aviation degrees, often provide pilot training under part 141,” reads an FAA description of the flight school.
Bechtol did not say which airline he referenced, but United announced in 2021 it plans to hire 10,000 new pilots by the end of the decade and a total of 25,000 new employees by 2026.
Diana Rife, a revitalization project manager for JobsOhio, said North America will need 208,000 pilots and 192,000 technicians by 2039. She was citing a 2020 projection by Boeing.
“Wow, those are great numbers — and I’m glad Ashland gets to be part of it,” she said.
A school for pilots and maintenance workers at the new terminal is not set in stone, Zupan said.
“But that’s the mission: to get both of them going,” he said, adding the airport authority is in talks with Ashland University and Kent State University.
Zupan said the airport currently offers an FAA-designated “part 91” school. The training program offers anyone private pilot ratings. The “part 141” school is more extensive, he said.
“When done (with part 141 training), you can fly with United and fly jumbo jets,” Zupan said.
The goal is to make Ashland “a destination for aviation training,” Bechtol said.
Funding sources
Zupan said the entire project is estimated to cost $1.95 million.
County records show most of that money has been raised through grants and county capital budget funds. Here’s how the funding for the project breaks down.
The table above represents all open purchase orders for the project, said Nikki Hiller, the commissioners’ clerk.
Ashland County commissioner president Jim Justice said additional contingency funding will come out of the county’s capital projects budget. The county committed a total of $1,450,000 to the project. That money is a combination of the county’s ARPA allocation and capital projects budget.
New road?
The new terminal aligns with the airport authority’s intention to make Ashland County a hub for aviation training. For that to happen, officials have said the airport’s access needs to improve.
Connecting the airport to U.S. Route 42 has been in the works since 2020. The land for the project, 25 acres, was acquired through FAA grants.
The road is now designed and engineered, which was covered with an additional $75,000 grant in 2022.
Zupan said the road should be constructed by 2026.