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Cox outlines Big Sandy Regional Airport’s vital role, pushes to keep facility disaster-ready
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — As Black Hawk helicopters thundered into Big Sandy Regional Airport carrying pajama-clad flood evacuees in February, Gary Wayne Cox stood ready in the dark, literally. With his home power out and disaster unfolding across eastern Kentucky, the airport manager scrambled to confirm enough fuel for a nonstop rescue…
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‘The sun shines bright’
BY GARY WAYNE COX I believe all Kentuckians have heard that song and like it. It is the most recognized state song in America. Just about everyone who has been to a Kentucky basketball or football game feels a certain amount of pride standing for our state anthem just before the national anthem. Most people…
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Big Sandy Regional Airport runway saved
$5.8-million project achieves federal compliance BY ROGER SMITHMOUNTAIN CITIZEN DEBORD — The Big Sandy Regional Airport will keep its 5,000-foot runway. Contractors are putting the finishing touches on a project that brought the runway safety areas (RSA) into compliance with current Federal Aviation Administration standards. Construction on the $5.8-million project began in July 2020, and…
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Inbound for Landing: My longest trip
BY GARY WAYNE COX Aircraft: Big Sandy Unicom…Cherokee…3…9…4…3…Whiskey…departing runway 2…1 …to the west… Unicom: Winds calm…have a safe trip… After I finished fueling the Massey Energy jet a few years ago, I reached for their credit card and asked their pilot, my good friend, Dave Nichols, “Where are you guys going to today?” Dave said,…
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Inbound for Landing: First Flights
BY GARY WAYNE COX Aircraft: Big Sandy Unicom…experimental…5…1…5…Bravo…Alpha…inbound for landing from the southwest…airport advisory please… Unicom: We have aircraft in the pattern…please use caution and report your position inbound…winds favoring runway 3… Everyone remembers the first time they were in an airplane or a helicopter, their first time leaving the bonds of earth and taking…
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Inbound for Landing
Airport Road BY GARY WAYNE COX As you can tell by reading these articles, I’m immensely proud of this airport. Managing Big Sandy Regional Airport is more than just a job for me. I consider it a duty to be an ambassador for Eastern Kentucky, especially the four counties that own this facility. When people…
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Inbound for Landing: Aviation Technology
BY GARY WAYNE COX Aircraft: Helicopter…7…3…9…Alpha…Sierra…5 miles to the East…inbound for landing direct to the ramp… Unicom: Alpha…Sierra…no other reported traffic…winds are calm… When was the last time someone bought a road map? We don’t need them anymore with our smartphones. Siri tells me when to make a turn now, and it’s so nice to…
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Inbound for Landing: Payback for Pearl Harbor
BY GARY WAYNE COX Aircraft: November…3…9…4…3…Whiskey…departing runway 21 to the west… Unicom: Winds calm…no other reported traffic… One of my favorite events to attend each year is the aviation conference held by the Kentucky Aviation Association, better known as the KAA. Usually, the conference is held somewhere between the cities of Owensboro and Lexington. Many…
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Inbound for Landing: Look to the Hills
BY GARY WAYNE COX Aircraft: Big Sandy Unicom…Piper…7…8…7…Bravo…Charlie…10 miles to the north…inbound for landing… Unicom: Winds 250 at 6 knots…favoring runway 2…1…no other reported traffic… During the start of the pandemic, general aviation, like everything else, took a big hit. No one was flying; there was nowhere to go, and even the medical flights stopped…
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Inbound for Landing: My 15 minutes of fame
Gary wayne cox Aircraft: Falcon…7…7…Golf…Echo…10 miles to the west…inbound for landing… Unicom: Winds calm…no other reported traffic… I had just finished cutting grass and checked FlightAware to make sure nothing was inbound, nothing was, so I grabbed my book to do some reading in the gazebo. I had just sat down when I heard a…
