Ripping through the wild blue at 400+ mph

L39 fighter jets could find new home, duties at Palmer's airport

Oct. 11, 2005

DAWN DE BUSK\Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - Gary Baker, a pilot with Mustang Air at the Palmer Municipal Airport, has been admiring some L39 jets that have been doing touch-and-gos at the runway off the Old Glenn Highway since late August.

&#8221Even longtime aviators get excited about it. I fly, and I could just sit there watch them take off and land all day. I'm a dream-sitter,“ Baker said Friday.

The four Czech-made jets owned by Anchorage-based Security Aviation could find a home at the Palmer Airport's Warren Woods hangar later this month, according to Craig Wolter, director of operations.

The company plans to acquire 12 Czech-built or refurbished jets for $300,000 each, in addition to three helicopters.

Security Aviation has been negotiating with the future Mat-Su Regional Medical Center to provide the air ambulance services, according to Wolter.

&#8221We'll employ about a half-dozen residents as mechanics or pilots. Some of our guys work in Anchorage, but live in the Valley. We'll be buying fuel locally. We're hoping to contribute to the economy,“ Wolter said in a phone interview Friday.

The fighter trainers are used throughout the world, preparing pilots to fly a larger fighter jet, the L59, he said.

The military uses them for threat-simulation sessions, and tries to locate the L39s on their radar, he said.

According to Gary Cost, assistant director of operations with Security Aviation, the company has the OK from the Pentagon to enter negotiations with the U.S. Air Force to be part of threat-simulation sessions.

From homeland security to making sure residents feel comfortable about the noise levels, Cost said Security Aviation is taking all the necessary steps.

&#8221We're trying to be a good neighbor. We'll reduce the noise signature. We can't eliminate it entirely,“ said Cost, a Valley resident who lives near the airport.

&#8221The helicopters will be here for medical assistance, law enforcement, search and rescue and firefighting. We're not a private flying club,“ he said.

One of the pilots, Ron Nelson, retired from 42 years of flying for Delta Airlines, learned during the past eight weeks how to fly the L39s.

&#8221I had been eyeing Security Aviation because they're a real good company,“ Nelson said.

He takes his job seriously and considers the jets very safe. &#8221These are not toys. We're not going to be hot-dogging it around here,“ Nelson said.

Still, it's a shorter commute from Ted Stevens' Anchorage International Airport to Palmer Airport than it is to drive down the Glenn Highway.

The employees at Security Aviation have been taking advantage of that while getting acquainted with their L39s.

&#8221One of the best places to eat out there is Colony Kitchen. We fly out there and go to lunch,“ Wasilla resident Wolter said from his offices in Anchorage.