Scott Denoma, a sophomore at Ohio University, is learning how to fly.
Denoma is one of two students selected to participate in OU’s Air Transportation Service program co-piloting the Beechcraft King Air 350 — the plane owned by OU for its traveling officials and contracted with Lane Aviation for charter purposes.
Each time the King Air is used by an OU official, Denoma can fly to satisfy the amount of hours he needs to graduate. Denoma’s responsibilities include monitoring the plane’s dashboard, communicating with air traffic control and serving drinks to customers.
“It puts you over the top for a job, because you’ll get real-world experience,” said Nick Lather, one of two OU pilots for the King Air.
After trading in several older plane models, OU purchased the nine-passenger plane in 2003 for $4.8 million, paying $3.6 million through bond proceeds and $75,000 from university funds, said Katie Quaranta, OU spokesperson.
The King Air, which can fly up to 350 mph, is pressurized to do so at 35,000 feet. It can travel as far as Arizona or Florida nonstop.
In the previous five years, OU President Roderick McDavis has flown 300 times — the most compared to any other OU official.
“I’ve used the university plane to go to a few meetings, but the majority of them have been for development purposes,” McDavis said. “For example, the Mid-American Conference President’s meetings, I’ve used it to go back and forth to that, but certainly no personal trips. All my personal trips have been on commercial airlines.”
Other OU officials such as Bryan Benchoff, vice president for University Advancement, and John Brose, previous dean of the OU Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, have frequently used the King Air in the previous five years.
“Half of (OU officials) are just too shy to ask to get a drink or anything,” Denoma said. “They’re all different in their own right. We close the doors, and they go to work.”
OU determines the hourly cost annually after analyzing the airplane’s fixed costs and projections, while taking into account the price of gas and the amount of revenue expected to be generated by the contract with Lane Aviation, said Ken Carley, director of OU’s Gordon K. Bush Airport and Snyder Field.
If a charter trip is planned with Lane, a student will not fly; instead, OU’s two pilots will take over. To retain the King Air’s charter license, both the pilots and plane undergo regular evaluations.
Pilots who were once checked annually are now evaluated every six months and also take an oral exam, said Lather, who has been flying with OU for 11 years.
“There are not many airports around,” Lather said. “If the plane is stuck in Southeast Ohio, (Lane trips) are a good way for it to move around.”
Both OU and Lane have budgeted to fly 175 hours in a year. OU has left a $4,000 gap — an amount that, if hours are not met, will come from the airport’s reserve’s balance of $115,000, Carley said.
“We build the budget so that if we hit those target hours, we break even,” Carley said.
OU’s 2012–13 hourly rate is $1,650 per flight hour; Lane sets its prices independent from OU and charges about $1,970 per flight hour for its customers, covering an hourly crew fee and fuel rate.
This is OU’s second year partnering with Lane.
“The performance is getting better each year, and (OU) is great,” said Mark Myers, vice president of commercial flight operations for Lane Aviation. “It’s been a very successful relationship; we’re very glad to be in it.”
Though Lane has been meeting its quota, OU has made significant budget cuts to its aviation program and relied less on the King Air, reducing the amount of hours students can fly, Lather said.
“Since the budget cuts, students have been flying less. It’s directly related to the budget — when there’s money to travel, the students fly more,” Lather said.
“That just hurts the students.”
sj950610@ohiou.edu
