Some Have Put Business Expansion Plans On Hold

Several skydiving businesses that operate from DeLand Municipal Airport (KDED) northeast of Orlando, Florida, say that a city plan to construct a control tower at the airport will hurt their businesses. They are concerned that a tower would reduce the number of skydiving flights they would be able to make in a day.

The City Commission has approved a plan to build a tower, but is waiting for FAA approval and an AIP grant to help fund the project. Airport officials say the tower is needed to improve safety at the field. The tower is expected to cost about $1.2 million, and the FAA would also pay controllers once the facility opens, which is now planned for sometime in 2011.

The Daytona News-Journal reports that 16 skydiving businesses operate at DeLand, and some have been in operation for as many as 30 years. "If they reduce the number of jumps our customers can make in a day, the whole point of our being here will have gone away," Roger Allen, president of Alti-2 Inc., which manufactures and sells altimeters, told the paper. "International sky-dive teams spend tens of thousands of dollars on these camps, and the whole point is to get in as many jumps as possible."

Some companies are delaying expansion, and another told the paper it was making its business "easy to move."  Mike Johnston, general manager at Skydive DeLand, said he contacted the 16 sky-dive-related businesses at the airport, and compiled figures that they employ 500 people with a combined annual payroll of $33 million.

City Manager Michael Phelpes said the key issue is safety, and he and the city commission believe that adding a control tower at KDED will make a significant improvement in that area. FAA spokesperson Kathleen Bergan said a decision on the tower will likely come sometime this year.

FMI: www.deland.org, www.skydivedeland.com