The sudden retirement a couple months ago of New Tazewell Municipal Airport manager Bill Hensley left a gap city officials say could have been very hard to fill.
The city is fortunate to have someone with Mitch Edwards’s experience to take over, said Mayor Jerry Beeler during the board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting (BMA) in which Hensley’s retirement was announced.
Edwards says he cannot remember a time when he was not fascinated by airplanes.
With some 1,000 flight hours logged, Edwards spent the last 25 years since earning his pilot’s license enjoying the thrills of taking flight and gliding along from cloud to cloud.
The veteran pilot spends every available hour at the airport he can squeeze in between his “day job” as owner/operator of Edwards’ Construction and personal obligations. More times than not, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified mechanic can be found with his head bent over a small plane’s engine or chauffeuring someone via air to various destinations.
“In a small town like this, you would be surprised just how much traffic this airport gets on any given day. During good weather, it‘s typical to see four or five planes a day land or take off,” said Edwards.
Since its runway expansion, the New Tazewell Municipal Airport has enjoyed traffic from nearly every type and size plane from the Cessnas, Barons and Senecas to the small jets that routinely transport salespeople to the various factories like DTR and LaZboy or weekend golfers to Woodlake.
A couple months ago, a metro liner with nearly a dozen people aboard landed safely at the airport.
Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam used a KingAire when he recently visited the county, Edwards said.
Like any other airport, there have been a few emergency landings through the years, but none Edwards says resulted in a serious outcome. One recent incident turned out well for a pilot who requested emergency clearance to land.
“The pilot thought he had lost oil pressure. It turned out, it was a wire that had broken on his instrument panel, making the oil pressure indicator read zero,” said Edwards.
As a rule, small planes outlast most ground vehicles sometimes by decades, he said.
“You’ll see a lot of planes built during the 60s, and even before then, still in good shape and logging airtime because by FAA regulations, you must have your planes inspected yearly,” said Edwards.
The New Tazewell Municipal Airport is located on Airport Lane, just off Blue Top Road, in Tazewell.
Edwards encourages the public to drop by anytime and visit “their” airport.
For more information, or to sign up for flight instruction school, you may call 423-626-7732.
Source: http://www.claiborneprogress.net
