YKN Named State GA Airport Of The Year

If you're flying to Oshkosh this summer, one the airports that will be courting your business along the way is the Chan Gurney Municipal Airport (YKN) in Yankton, SD. The airport was just named the state Office of Aeronautics’ 2008 large general aviation airport of the year.

Gary Carlson -- who with his wife, Katie, owns Carlson Aviation, the FBO on the field -- told the Yankton Press & Review that the award is prestigious. "It’s pretty fierce competition. Yankton ought to be proud. This is the community’s airport."

There were 34 other airports in the running.

Chan Gurney has benefitted from hundreds-of-thousands of dollars in improvements in recent years, which Katie Carlson says has doubled fuel sales and the number of aircraft using the field, and made the airport a better candidate for funding.

"The airports that are showing they have a need for more and more funding, those are the airports that are going to be getting it," she said.

The Carlsons say the state award will help attract more business from AirVenture attendees en route to the event. The Mitchell Municipal Airport won the award last year, and Katie says, "...the airport manager told us to use that plaque to advertise. He said it made a big difference in his business. We intend to do that."

FMI: www.cityofyankton.org/index.php