"We have been busy planning for the growth that is headed our way," said Shannon Lewis, business development director for the City of New Smyrna Beach. She easily rattles off a list of companies whose operations are adjacent to the facility. Among them are Pharmex, Vern's Insulation, Advance Machining, Goss Inc., Reddy Ice, G.N. Aero and others.

Companies on airport property lease the land. Firms in the adjacent industrial park own their sites. But whether companies lease or purchase land, one thing is certain: There is a demand for existing buildings. "We are finalizing site plans for a speculative building," Lewis continued. "We already have companies interested in the space that will be available soon. Our expectation is

that soon we will be considering subsequent buildings to accommodate companies that want to make New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport their business address."

According to Lewis, not all companies need airport facilities in the course of doing business. Some simply enjoy the convenience of corporate aircraft. Some just like the environment for their light manufacturing operations.

And some are private pilots themselves and like having easy access to their airplanes and hangars for recreation.

Training flights also contribute to the activity at New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport. With Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University nearby, and with several FBOs and flight schools in Volusia County, the skies over the New Smyrna Beach area are a popular spot for training maneuvers, and the airport is ideal for takeoffs and landings. Recreational flights contribute to the buzz over New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport. And there is also an appreciable volume of passenger traffic.

Vintage Props & Jets, which began chartering passengers a decade ago, built a fleet of Beechcraft King Air high-performance twin engine aircraft. The company also has added a Beech 1900, a 19-passenger twin, to the fleet. The company specializes in flights to the Bahamas and has grown steadily. It also flies from neighboring Daytona Beach International Airport.

Between commercial aviation, training maneuvers, recreational aviation and the wide variety of light manufacturing that occurs on and adjacent to New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport, the complex has come a long way from its sleepy days as an isolated country airfield, according to airport director Ron Wilsbach.

Today, there are more than 20 businesses on or adjacent to New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport and several more considering a move to the complex.

Steve Dennis, executive director of the New Smyrna Beach/Edgewater Chamber of Commerce, said the airport is essential to the community. "An airport such as New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport is an incredible resource for the community. It can be a magnet for business and industry and a convenience for residents seeking commercial, charter or recreational flights. We are fortunate to have such an airport and have a City Commission that recognizes its value as a community resource and an economic development tool."