27 AprKansas general aviation summit held this week
Aviation leaders gathered for an economic aviation summit in Wichita, Kan. Monday.
The event was called “Kansas Aviation: Soaring to the Future,” and was held by Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback.
The summit began with prepared remarks from the governor and aviation leaders. The focus of the summit was what Kansas can do to maintain and grow the aviation sector.
According to the Wichita Business Journal, Brownback was specifically looking for an answer to the question, “What do we need to do to keep and expand Wichita as the aviation capitol of the world?”
Wichita is known as the “Aviation Capitol of the World” due to its status as homebase for many general aviation companies. In a March visit to the city, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said, “Wichita area workers are designing and building the next generation of aircraft to be used by general aviation pilots around the globe. They’re creating and exporting the business tools that companies throughout the world need.”
The summit also included a roundtable discussion of issues affecting the industry. The discussion included Bill Brown of Hawker Beechcraft, Cessna CEO Jack Pelton, as well as Brownback.
Brownback left Wichita with a list of ideas to aid the industry, some of which center around tax policies, workforce development strategies, and creating sound trade agreements with foreign countries.
“Through our joint efforts, we can ensure Kansas remains the premier location for the design and manufacture of general and business aviation aircraft, military trainer aircraft, and large commercial structures, as well as the modification and maintenance of military aircraft,” Gov. Brownback said in remarks on his Facebook page.
“The thoughts and ideas gathered from this summit will be the guiding principles for improving the business climate in our state so aviation-related businesses can grow and prosper.”
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