Ak-Chin airport fills up fuel tank for aviators

Desert Aero Club flight school owner Andy Estes has spent the last four-and- a- half years hauling aviation gas from Casa Grande to his business in Maricopa – all so he and his students could fly.

That’s about to change. The Ak-Chin Regional Airport will be selling fuel by mid-October.

The airport – still referred to as Phoenix Regional Airport by locals – already had a fuel tank on the property when it was purchased by the Ak-Chin Indian Community in 2006, but the system hadn’t been tested and the tank hadn’t been filled, said Tim Costello, airport manager.

“It was always a goal to get that going,” Costello said. “There are existing based aircraft … and those people who operate those aircraft would ask on a regular basis ‘When are you going to put some fuel in that tank?’ because it would make operating there a lot easier.”

One of those customers was Estes, who said he not only will rely on the fuel to operate his flight school, but will make the fuel available for the customers of his other business, which provides aircraft maintenance and restoration services – if the price is reasonable.

“We’re definitely hoping to competitively price our fuel,” Costello said.

Aside from meeting customers’ needs, Costello said owners and management hope to increase airport traffic and eventually spark more businesses to relocate or open their doors at the airport.

“Our bigger plan with the airport is to essentially grow the airport as a transportation facility and a place to do business aviation or business travel,” Costello said. “We see, in time, adding more facilities that the aviation community needs and wants, like hangars and shade hangars.” 

Another priority is to add a security fence around the entire facility, Costello said.

The way the new fuel tank will work is that pilots will be able to swipe a credit card and fill up their aircraft, in the same way that many people fill up their cars. The tank, which is above ground, will hold enough fuel to fill 250 tanks in small aircraft. A truck will haul the fuel in from Caljet of America in Phoenix.

“The aviation community is looking for as cheap of fuel as they can find, and doing the self-serve route can give them a lower price,” Costello said.

Richard Ankrom, who owns Alpha Tech Coatings with his wife Debbie Ankrom, was one of the airport’s original founders. He said finding cheap fuel “is kind of a disease pilots have.”

“It doesn’t take much of a price break to get somebody to buy fuel that’s only a penny less,” Ankrom said. “Pilots just look for an excuse to fly.”

Ankrom, who routinely flies his aircraft in and out of the airport, said he often had to fly to Casa Grande to top off his tank before an early morning flight, costing him about three gallons of gas.

“I’m all for this and I’m really looking forward to what they’re trying to do,” Ankrom said. “The Ak-Chin Indian Community has been more than cooperative and more than willing to want to work with you. I really appreciate them being the owners.”

Estes agreed.

“Working with the Ak-Chins has been fantastic, and even though I’m off the airport, they treat me as if I’m on it.”

Costello said the airport owners and management are hoping the airport will have a positive economic impact on the community by becoming a valuable transportation facility that encourages travel and sparks economic development. While the fuel sales will generate $.25 per gallon in taxes to the federal and state government, Costello said business growth in and around the airport will have the greatest financial impact.

“Transportation facilities and economic development go hand-in-hand,” Costello said. “It’s an area where we hope to attract businesses and jobs.”

The Ak-Chin Regional Airport is within the jurisdiction of unincorporated Pinal County on nontrust land just outside the boundary of the Ak-Chin Indian Community between the cities of Maricopa and Casa Grande of the Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway. The airport was first constructed in 1999 as Phoenix Regional Airport and was about 406 acres. Today the airport is 20,000 square feet and has about 180 flights, including both takeoffs and landings, per week.

The airport typically is used for flight training, business and personal transportation and recreational operations. The majority of aircraft using the airport are single engine and multi-engine piston aircraft. Other users include rotorcraft, gliders and ultralights.

This article previously appeared in InMaricopa News.