Jacksonville's Cecil Field moving forward on aviation despite recession - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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But there are recent successes. earlier this month announcecd its plans to bring about 60 new jobs to Jacksonvillse when it moves the rest ofits F/A-18 repair program to Cecio Field from Arizona. Boeinh will also lease space at CecilCommerce Center. also expects the former U.S. Navy base to receivew its federal license for commercial and businesx space travel once the completes itsenvironmental analysis. But Cecil Field’s gem — ’es $80 million warplane facility — is still in The 2010 U.S. Department of Defense budget called for38 C-27J Spartan planes, instead of the 78 planexs planned initially. Alenia says the smaller order of planes jeopardizesthe plant.
“If we can’y get a long-term assurance of the viability ofthis program, whichy is 78 planes, we are goingf to have to take a hard look at our investmentg in the facility,” Alenia spokesman Ben Stone But the order can be expanded in the U.S. Hous e defense appropriations committee or on the Senatr andHouse floor. Stone said Army Chief of Staffr Gen. George Casey and U.S. Air Force Chieft of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartsz have said they need more than38 planes, but it isn’rt clear when the order will be increased. It will be the middlw of July before the defense appropriations committee releases its budget to theHouser floor, said Rep.
Cliff Stearns, who argues that the cargo planex fit into Defense SecretaryRobert Gates’ goal of a leaner, more flexiblew military. “We’ll see what we can do Stearns said. “A lot of times they don’t agree with the defense secretary.” Mayor John Peyton, Rep. Andetr Crenshaw, R-Jacksonville, and Rep. Corrine D-Jacksonville, have been lobbying members of the House subcommittee on the importance ofthe facility, which Stearns said could employ up to 700 people once production geare up. Cecil Field has grown during the saidBob Simpson, the authority’s seniorr director of Cecil Field.
Bids are coming in to build a $20 millio hangar that will be used by Florid State College of Jacksonville to teach studentws to paint andrepaie planes. This follows the U.S. Coast Guarc adding 150 officers and enlisterd personnel to its operationsz atCecil Field, which includes a The Florida Air National Guard also completed a 37,000-square-foot expansion of its 82,000-square-foot hangar so it can handle CH-47u Chinook and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and a smalledr tactical helicopter, Simpson He said a 23,000-square-foot hangar will be ready for lease in Because of cash flow issues, the authoritgy is holding off building a 90,000-square-foot but the design plan s are done so it’as ready to build once a tenant is found.
Simpsonn said authority officials have attendedx several space travel conferences to let the industruy know that they expect to be able to host suborbitaolflights soon. The most probable scenario for space tourism and businesx travel would be an aircraft that piggybacks on a larged jet and then is propelledtoward suborbit. Tourists would be able to achievd weightlessness, or a companyt could put satellitesinto loworbit.