Hopes To Compete With Paris, Farnborough, Other International Exhibitions

We've just finished EAA's AirVenture at Oshkosh, which brings together airplanes ranging from the smallest homebuilt ultralight to the massive C-5A Galaxy that sat on the ramp at AeroShell square for most of the week. But there is no international aviation trade show like the Paris Air Show or Farnborough in the UK in the U.S. But a Miami, FL group is looking to change that dynamic in as early as 2012.

Homestead, FL Sectional

The group is called The Beacon Council, and it visits air and trade shows worldwide to meet with potential investors. They hope to stage an international commercial air show at Homestead, FL, just south of Miami in as little as two years.

"We don't have a major commercial air show in the U.S.," said Frank Nero, CEO of The Beacon Council.

The Miami Herald reports that Nero says a Miami show would attract the major commercial airliner manufacturers, as well as small and mid-sized manufacturers that can't afford to travel to the major international shows. The council is developing plans for the Miami International Air Show that could launch as early as 2012, but "there are still many hurdles," Nero said.

Nero says that Miami is a natural place for such a show. Aviation accounts for more than $230 million in Miami-Dade from such companies as Airbus, AAR Corp, and others. There is a large manufacturing and repair base in the county, he says.

FMI: www.beaconcouncil.com