Peter Drinkwater, the county’s director of airports, oversees a system of eight county airports: Agua Caliente Airport, Borrego Valley Airport, Fallbrook Airpark, Gillespie Field, Jacumba Airstrip, Ocotillo Airstrip, McClellan-Palomar Airport and Ramona Airport. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, San Diego was awash with airports. More than 60 small airfields dotted the county, some with only a few piston-driven airplanes parked near their runways, which were really just dirt roads. There were airports at Balboa and Genessee, Midway and Rosecrans, in Linda Vista, National City and elsewhere.

“They weren’t much,” says aviation company owner Buzz Gibbs, whose father, Bill, launched what is now Montgomery Field in 1937. But “they were all over the place.”

Over the years, most of the small airports have gone away, nudged out as the county grew. Today, small airplanes still are based at local airports, but they are joined by their larger, speedier and much more expensive cousins — corporate jets and turboprops. The aviation business is roaring like a Gulfstream jet across the nation, and the trend holds true in San Diego.

The county’s regional airports such as Montgomery and Brown fields in San Diego, McClellan-Palomar in Carlsbad and Gillespie Field in El Cajon are struggling to keep up with the demand for hangar space and “tie-downs,” which are spots on the tarmac where smaller planes can be kept. Plans are on the drawing board or changes are under construction at all of these airports to modernize, upgrade and improve them.

Fueling much of the activity is the rise in popularity of Lears, Gulfstreams, Citations, Global Crossings and other corporate jets that many business executives are choosing to whisk them from place to place instead of using commercial airliners.

Carlsbad’s McClellan-Palomar is one airport where much is happening. As workers put the finishing touches on the gleaming $33 million Premier Jet Business Aviation Center, it’s obvious to the casual observer that Palomar is no longer your father’s county airport.

In all, some $100 million in improvements are planned for Palomar, with more than $15 million coming from the county and the rest from private investors, says Peter Drinkwater, the county’s director of airports. Drinkwater oversees a system of eight county airports, including Palomar and Gillespie.

“You’re getting a lot of private investment for a small amount of public investment,” says Drinkwater.

The county has a number of projects either under way or in planning, from new tie-downs on the north side of the airport to drainage improvements to a new airport terminal building. Plans for the new terminal include a U.S. Customs inspection center, which would allow aircraft to fly into Palomar from foreign destinations. Customs may actually start working at Palomar in temporary offices as early as this fall, says Drinkwater.

The county’s improvements are joined by Premier Jet’s new business aviation center, Jet Source’s new hangars and office buildings, which were completed last year, and Magellan Aviation’s $17 million upgrade, which will include new hangars and offices and renovations to existing buildings. That project is slated to begin construction this month.

“All we’re doing is modernizing and organizing (the airport) so it can meet the demands placed on it safely and effectively,” says Drinkwater.

Richard Lee Sax, president of Premier Jet, will preside over the grand opening July 13 of his new aviation center at McClellan-Palomar Airport. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

Richard Lee Sax, president of Premier Jet, smiles as he talks about the prospects of his new aviation center, which will have a grand opening on July 13. The project includes 160,000 square feet of hangar space and 70,000 square feet of offices.

Workers are finishing the interiors, which will include a conference room with a terrace overlooking the runway, plenty of wall space for artwork, and granite and marble countertops and floors.

“When I open my doors I’ll be sold out,” says Sax, who has been in business at Palomar for 14 years. Naysayers predicted the project would flop, he says, but “the exact opposite has proven true.”

“Palomar has seen a steady increase in corporate aviation activity for the last 20 years,” he says, which has accelerated even more since the Sept. 11 attacks, as executives seek to conduct business with greater efficiency and security. “Our group perceived this acceleration and designed this facility to accommodate this growth.”

The growth in corporate aviation has sparked fears by the owners of small, private airplanes that they would no longer have a home at Palomar and other regional airports. Opponents of Premier Jet’s project filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration, which was later rejected, Sax says. The improvements planned by the county and its fixed-base operators — airport parlance for landlords such as Sax’s company, who sell fuel and rent hangars and airplane storage space — will actually increase the space for general aviation airplanes at Palomar, he says.

Robert Levine, director of Magellan Aviation, another Palomar FBO, says his tenant mix includes a flight school, aircraft repair shops, small airplanes and corporate jets, and he plans to maintain that diversity once his new hangars and offices are completed in the fall of 2007. Magellan’s project, planned over three years, will include 106,000 square feet of new hangars, and 15,000 square feet of offices, along with upgrades of existing buildings.

“We are committed to maintaining that this facility is not being transformed into a jet palace,” says Levine. “My intention is to keep all my tenants.”

That said, Magellan’s project will enhance its capacity for small, medium and large jets, along with piston aircraft. Magellan’s ramp, on the north side of its 16.5-acre leasehold, will be wide enough for two Gulfstream 4 jets to park side by side. Servicing such aircraft, he says, is essential to keep up with the changes at Palomar in recent years.

“Palomar has become over the last eight to 10 years the airport of choice for business and corporate aviation in the San Diego area,” Levine says.

Improvements also are planned at Montgomery Field in Kearny Mesa, the county’s busiest airport, with nearly a quarter million “operations” — landings and takeoffs to the earthbound — in 2005.

Mike Tussey, who took over the city of San Diego’s top airports job in November, says he has a number of projects in mind for both Montgomery and Brown Field, the city’s South County airport. Montgomery has a short runway that cannot accommodate the largest corporate jets, but its advantage is its central location. That could prove to be in its favor in the near future when more and more VLJ’s, the new breed of light jets, take to the skies.

“Keep the character, improve what you have,” says Tussey of his plans for Montgomery, which include runway and taxiway renovations, replacement of fences and gates, and a new heliport. Another possibility, he says, is making a land swap with the approval of federal and state wildlife officials that would open up more land for aviation-related development.

“Right now we have demand that exceeds our capacity for small and big hangars,” says Tussey. “We would have more hangars if we had less constraints. Maybe that’ll happen, it depends on the (environmental) agencies.”

In considering improvements at Montgomery, Tussey also has to take into account the concerns of nearby residents. Neighbors “don’t want an airport that’s going to be shaking the windows all day,” Tussey says.

Unlike Montgomery, Brown Field has lots of room, but its infrastructure needs work, says Tussey. “At Brown, the difference is it’s undeveloped. It has a lot of potential, but I’ve got a lot of work to do to develop it,” Tussey says.

Brown, a former military base, has a long runway that can handle heavy aircraft, but it also has mountains to the east that make the approach more difficult, says Tussey.

Its advantages include its proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border, which means that aircraft entering the United States have to stop there for Customs clearance unless they have obtained a permit that allows them to enter the U.S. at another airfield. Customs officers are stationed at Brown.

“Logistically and financially, it’s our little niche in the market that people have to stop here,” says Tom Ricotta, owner and general manager of the San Diego Jet Center by Lancair, an FBO at Brown. If you’re operating out of Palomar, says Ricotta, “your niche is that all the rich people live in Rancho Santa Fe.”

Brown’s minuses, says Ricotta, are its aging infrastructure, such as fences and lighting. “Unfortunately, the city has not put a lot of effort into it over the years, so it’s kind of run down.”

About two-thirds of Lancair’s business is servicing corporate aircraft, most of which are coming in from Puerto Vallarta, Cabo, Acapulco, or other cities in Mexico, says Ricotta. Along with selling fuel, food and providing other services to these corporate jets, Lancair also rents hangar space, and would like to build more hangars at Brown.

Dan Gayet runs Jet Air Systems at Gillespie Field in El Cajon. He says the airport provides an alternative base for local executives. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

Location also favors Gillespie Field, says Dan Gayet, who runs Jet Air Systems, an FBO at the East County airport.

Gillespie is a relatively short drive to either La Jolla or Downtown San Diego, and much cheaper than Lindbergh Field, says Gayet, providing an alternative base for local executives.

“Many owners and operators, once they get down here, they love it,” says Gayet.

While the facilities — both public and private — are good at Gillespie, the company needs to market its services so it becomes better known in the aviation industry, Gayet says.

Up at Palomar, Jet Air, which owns four jets used for its charter service, also takes care of so-called “transient” aircraft, those that stop in for short periods, and need fuel, maintenance and other services.

In addition, the company leases airplanes, offering an option for businesses that need flight services, but don’t want to buy their own jets. While fractional ownership of jets — much like a timeshare condo — has been around for years, leasing is less common, and allows companies to avoid multi-million dollar upfront payments. A typical lease entitles its owner to about 200 hours of flying time each year. The cost varies based on the type of jet, but a Gulfstream 4 leases for about $50,500 per month, plus another $12,000 for crew, maintenance, hangar and insurance, says Gayet.

Like Palomar, the county has big plans for Gillespie. The airport has physical constraints that prevent it from handling the same volume of corporate jets as Palomar, says Drinkwater, but it has a major asset — 70 acres of undeveloped land designated for aviation uses.

The property includes the home of El Cajon Speedway, which has been cleared. A request for development proposals will go out next year, says Drinkwater, and development could begin as soon as 2008.

“That property is going to allow Gillespie Field to meet its future aviation demand,” Drinkwater says. “We’re expecting that will bring in well over $550,000 per year, additionally, to the airport enterprise fund.”

Uses such as hangars, maintenance and aviation-related offices are envisioned for the property. “In the aviation community there’s a lot of interest in that property,” from around the country, Drinkwater says.

The county also is working on upgrading the airport infrastructure, from rebuilding and resurfacing runways to building more ramp space for airplane parking.

As the airport is developed, Drinkwater says, the county will keep in mind the local community’s needs, and try to steer the development toward uses that provide the most benefit.

Those working in the aviation industry in San Diego County say the region’s airports must continue to change to keep up with the evolving nature of air travel. From the rise in popularity of corporate jets, to the coming advent of light jets that can fly faster, further and higher than their piston counterparts, airports themselves will have to reflect the new realities of aviation.

The regional airports, says the city of San Diego’s Mike Tussey, can help conserve Lindbergh Field’s resources by taking on more of the load of corporate and general aviation aircraft. “That’s how we could serve the greater good.”