Aerospace Industry Converges on State Capitol for Aviation Day

Things took off at the Oklahoma state Capitol on April 21 during the seventh annual Aviation Day. The event, which is sponsored by the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission, featured nearly 30 companies, state agencies, educational institutions and programs, organizations and other entities heavily involved in the state's aviation and aerospace industry. 

Organizers said the purpose of Aviation Day was to recognize Oklahoma’s aviation and aerospace industry as a vital economic engine for the state. It was a unique opportunity for industry to come together in one unified voice and also a time when participants could meet one-on-one with state legislators and other elected officials, airport operators, and representatives from some of Oklahoma's most significant aviation and aerospace companies.

Many of the state's largest aerospace companies erected information booths all around the fourth floor rotunda area, along with other participants, to promote their organizations and to show just how important they are to their local communities and to the state's overall economy.

PARTICIPATING AEROSPACE COMPANIES

• AAR Aircraft Services
• AGC Aerospace & Defense
• American Airlines
• ARINC
• Boeing
• First Wave
• FlightSafety International
• General Aviation Modifications Inc.
• General Dynamics
• NORDAM
• Pratt & Whitney
• Pro-Fab
• Spirit AeroSystems
• Tornado Alley Turbo Inc.

The Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center from Tinker Air Force Base, the state’s largest single-site employer, and the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center, which employs more than 5,000 people in Oklahoma City, were also in attendance along with 11 other aerospace-related entities, including:

• FIRST Robotics
• Kiss Institute for Practical Robotics
• Innovative Technologies Corporation
• Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission
• Oklahoma Airports Operators Association
• Oklahoma Department of Career  and Technology Education
• Oklahoma Space Industrial Development Authority
• Oklahoma State University-ASSET
• Southeastern Oklahoma State University
• Stafford Air & Space Museum
• STARBASE Oklahoma
• University of Oklahoma

SOME KEY AEROSPACE FACTS & FIGURES

• Oklahoma’s aerospace industry is one of the state’s top employers, providing 150,000 jobs and generating an annual payroll of $5 billion. One in 11 Oklahomans derive their income from the aerospace industry.
  
• More than 500 aerospace companies are located throughout Oklahoma.
  
• The average annual salary for an Oklahoman working in the aerospace industry is nearly $55,000 compared to $30,000 for the average Oklahoma worker.
  
• In Oklahoma, the aerospace industry yields an industrial output of $12.5 billion a year, which represents 10 percent of the state’s total industrial output.
  
• Oklahoma is recognized as one the seven centers in the world for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of aircraft.

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The mission of the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission is to promote aviation, which includes fostering the growth of the state’s aerospace industry and ensuring that the needs of commerce and communities across the state are met by the state’s 114 public airports that comprise the Oklahoma Airport System.

Rep. Mike Jackson, center, shows Rep. Colby Schwartz, seated, how to use a flight simulator during Aviation Day 2010 as Grayson Ardies and Josh Adkinson look on. The simulator was provided by the Stafford Air & Space Museum in Weatherford.

NORDAM's Carl Adams, left, chats with an unidentified visitor at NORDAM's information booth at this year's Aviation Day.