Starting in July, the Conroe-North Houston Regional Airport (KCXO/CXO), formerly called the Lone Star Executive Airport, will have a fully-operational U.S. Customs and Border Protection Inspection Services station providing a much-needed airport of entry in the North Houston, Texas area.
Given the high traffic into and out of George Bush Intercontinental and Hobby Airports in Houston, Texas and the increased demand for general aviation services in the North Houston area, Montgomery County and the city of The Woodlands teamed up to take their local airport international. This was a direct response to the growth in population and economic opportunity in the immediate area.
Recognized as the General Aviation Reliever Airport of the Year for 2016 by the Texas Department of Transportation, Conroe-North Houston is located 37 miles (60 km) north of the central business district of Houston, which means it is a 35-minute drive from downtown Houston and 17 minutes from The Woodlands. It is just off Interstate 45 and only 25 miles (40 km) from George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
This all-weather airport is owned and operated by the county and occupies 1,277 acres (517 ha). It has a control tower and two runways – one that is 7,501 feet by 150 feet and the other is 5,000 feet by 100 feet. The airport hosts over 300 aircraft and 240 hangars. It has three, full-service FBOs and a general aviation terminal building. There is also a U.S. Army Reserve aviation unit located there and roughly 20 businesses – ranging from aircraft maintenance to flight schools – and several government agencies too.
The facility has Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) capabilities onsite. The ARFF team there is highly trained and is involved with the response, hazard mitigation, evacuation, and rescue of passengers and crew of an aircraft involved in an airport ground emergency. The KCXO team expects to attain FAA’s FAR Part 139 compliance soon.
In July 2016, the 3,200-sq-ft U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Inspection Services station will open, making the Conroe-North Houston Regional Airport the newest AOE for the Houston metroplex. This development will undoubtedly cause the annual average of 160+ international flights from more than 13 countries to dramatically increase in very short order. The new CBP facility will cost approximately $2.6 million USD and is but one in a chain of recent upgrades undertaken by the airport.
The airport, originally named Montgomery County Airport, was built in 1939 by the Civil Aeronautics Agency. During World War II, the airport was leased to the U.S. Navy and was used as a U.S. Naval Air Station. It served as a research center for drone testing and a weather station until 1946. In 1951, the County reopened the facility as a civilian airport. Various FBOs assumed management of the airport until 1972 when the County took charge of it again.
To learn more about the airport, visit www.lonestarairport.com. The airport’s phone number is +1 936 788 8311.
Contact UAS Americas Ops team in Houston by emailing hou@uas.aero
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UAS Operations | - 08/14/2017
Mitch Launius
Instructor Pilot for 30 West IP
Mitch is the CEO of 30 West IP where he is also an instructor providing pilot training on international procedures. With an illustrious career of over 34 years in the cockpit, Mitch has acquired over 13,000 hours of flight time flying worldwide, with over 9,000 hours of this in Challenger and Gulfstream aircraft. He is an experienced safety officer and was also an IS-BAO project manager for a fortune 500 flight department. He has presented on Safety and Operations topics at the NBAA International Operators Conference and the Canadian Business Aviation Association Convention and is currently on the NBAA International Operators Committee and serves as the North Atlantic Regional Lead. Mitch is also a member of an FAA working group on General Aviation International Authorizations and Tabletop Exercises (GIATE). He was recently selected to represent IBAC as a member of the ICAO Personal Training and Licensing Panel (PTLP) and was also recently named as a 2020 recipient of the NBAA Tony Kern Professionalism in Aviation Award for his contribution to the business aviation community.
Henry ‘Duke’ LeDuc
Director Of Operations, Americas, UAS International Trip Support
Duke has been a dearly respected member of UAS Americas team and the UAS global family for more than five years. A safety-oriented, FAA-licensed aircraft dispatcher, he oversees all of the operations of the elite UAS Operations Team. With twenty-five years of experience in aviation overall with more than fifteen years of experience in international flight planning and VVIP trip coordination, he is responsible for the development of the dispatch training program and involved in the strategic development of UAS Americas. With a myriad of rich aviation experience behind him, he has extensive experience in worldwide operations with both corporate and charter environments, including seven years as Operations/Dispatch Manager in an industry-leading, Fortune 500, IS-BAO Stage III Certified corporate flight department. Duke is frequently asked shares his knowledge at major industry events and is currently serving on the NBAA’s International Operators Conference (IOC) Planning Committee.
Dudley King
President and Founder, FlightBridge
Dudley is the Founder and President of FlightBridge, which he established in 2011 and has been focused on technology solutions for the private aviation industry since 2006. Since he graduated from Dartmouth in 1988, he has worked with an array of companies listed anywhere from VentureWire to the Fortune 100. A rare blend of executive, entrepreneur, and consultant, Dudley’s executive roles have included acting CIO positions for several companies and tech advisory services to CEOs trying to rebuild their technology organizations or looking for an external, professional point of view. Highly skilled at deeply understanding his customer’s business challenges and drawing from a long and varied experience in information technology services, Dudley excels at designing technology solutions to solve their problems.
Dr. Paulo Alves
Global Medical Director, Aviation Health, Medaire
Paulo has extensive experience in medical advisory in the aviation industry. As a cardiologist, he provides technical guidance and analysis for MedAire’s MedLink medical advisory service and is MedAire’s liaison with civil aviation regulators and industry associations. Paulo worked with Varig Brazilian Airlines for 23 years, 10 of which were spent as General Medical Manager. A member of the MedAire Medical Advisory Board, Paulo is also President of the Ibero-American Aerospace Medical Association, a member of the International Academy of Aerospace Medicine, a member of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Safety Committee, a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA), and a Fellow of the Civil Aviation Medical Association. Throughout his illustrious career, Paulo has held industry leadership roles including Chairperson of the AsMA’s Air Transport Medicine Committee, President of the Airlines Medical Directors Association, President of the Brazilian Society of Aerospace Medicine and was a member of the IATA Medical Advisory Group from 2002 to 2006.
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