FBO Profile: Sky Harbor Aviation's Staying Power in Jacksonville

In an age where some FBO owners are choosing to cash out and sell their companies to chains because of a lack of succession plan, Sky Harbor Aviation (not to be confused with the Sky Harbour chain of turnkey luxury hangar complexes), one of two service providers at Florida’s Jacksonville Executive at Craig Airport (KCRG), is steadfastly refusing to take that course.

The business has been under the control of the Edwards family—now in its third generation—for the past 48 years. In 1977, former naval aviator Spence Edwards purchased the company, which at the time offered a wide variety of services, including maintenance and flight instruction. Over the years, he parted those ancillary businesses out to concentrate on core FBO services.

At the age of 90, Spence is still sharp as a tack and serves as Sky Harbor’s president. Along the way, he was joined by his son and company v-p David, an attorney by trade, and his grandson Ethan, who is director of operations and a licensed pilot.

“I’m in between the grandpa and the grandson, and they have this family connection,” David told AIN. “It kind of skipped a generation. I never got my pilot’s license.”

KCRG started as an auxiliary U.S. Navy airfield, Craig Field, named after a local sailor who was killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor. Among its historic high points, it was the first home of the famed Blue Angels precision flight demonstration team. The FBO’s 2,800-sq-ft terminal—built back in the 1950s—served as the group’s headquarters and ready room.

Today, it features amenities such as a pilot lounge, snooze room, refreshment bar, business center, and eight-seat conference room. Within the next six months or so, the company will embark on an expansion and refurbishment of the building. That will represent the first phase of a major redevelopment of the 39-acre facility, which is home to a dozen turbine-powered aircraft ranging from a Daher TBM single-engine turboprop up to a Citation Excel, and even a rare Piper Cheyenne turboprop twin.

“Pursuant to our lease, we have the obligation to build some hangars, so we plan to spend at least $2 million on hangars within the next couple of years,” said David. “Of course, you like to build things sooner than later on the time horizon, so you can get the maximum use out of it before your lease term ends.”

Despite offering more than 300,000 sq ft of hangar space, which can accommodate up to midsize business jets, Sky Harbor still has a waiting list for space.

“We’re eyeballing two large corporate hangars right now for a certain parcel the aviation authority wants us to develop,” Ethan added. “We want to do a pretty extensive development on a few acres there to start, and it will be able to accommodate anything as large as a (Citation) Latitude or (Bombardier) Challenger 350.”

That restriction on aircraft size is deliberate as KCRG’s runways are only 4,000 feet long, effectively ruling out large cabin aircraft operations. “I believe that our field, which is the primary reliever airport for the city of Jacksonville, is the only reliever with a 4,000-foot runway in the United States,” explained Spence. “Every other reliever airport for a major city is at least 5,000 feet, and it’s crazy because [KCRG] is 1,385 acres, which is twice the size of Midway Airport in Chicago. They could extend to 8,000 feet if the city’s thinking is correct.”

With the growth of the city’s business district along with the rise of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, the family believes a runway expansion at Craig would be a positive development for the community.

With a staff of 13, the FBO is open every day from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m., with after-hours callout available. “If they buy a lot of gas, there’s no fee,” said David. The Titan Fuels-branded facility has a 24,000-gallon tank farm, split evenly between jet-A and avgas. With KCRG home to three established flight training programs, Sky Harbor’s NATA Safety 1st and Titan-trained line staff pumps a great deal of avgas to accommodate them. Combined, Sky Harbor pumped 800,000 gallons of fuel last year.

Jacksonville is home to one of the two satellite facilities of the Mayo Clinic, and as such, the FBO handles a sizable amount of aeromedical traffic. Likewise, Jaguar home games, key college football matchups, and PGA Tour events can also spike business. Yet, according to David, seasonal traffic on the field bucks the normal Florida pattern. “Jacksonville isn’t a big snowbird town, which is kind of nice in some ways,” he said. “Activity tends to get slower into the holiday season but picks up around the April timeframe.”

In terms of customer service, David believes in going the extra mile (or two) if necessary. “Part of our approach here is it’s very family-oriented: someone needs a ride to a hotel, or whatever they need, we just bend over backwards and do it,” explained David. “We’re very flexible and do whatever we can for the customer.”

That spirit has kept the business in the family as it approaches the half-century mark. “It’s been wonderful for the three of us to spend time together working at the business and helping us grow,” David concluded. “I think it’s a unique thing we’ve got going here, and we plan for it to keep going. We’re not looking to become one of those sellouts to some corporation.”