Springs Aviation is hosting the grand opening of the Rudy Welch GA Terminal at Meadow Lake Airport on Saturday, June 11, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The terminal is located at 13775 Judge Orr Road, about one-quarter-mile east of Judge Orr Road and Highway 24.Pilots, enthusiasts and the general public are invited to the event, which will include food trucks, games, giveaways, a unique aircraft show-and-tell and more.†Although this event is being called the ìgrand opening,î the history behind the property goes back decades.Dave Elliot, president of the board of directors at Meadow Lake Airport, said, ìIn 1970, a couple of retired colonels built a building on Judge Orr Road. Rudy Welch bought the building in 1971 and formed a company called American Aviation. Rudy passed away last year at the age of 94; and, as he was expiring, we worked out a plan for the airport to buy his property ó the 5 acres along Judge Orr Road and the old maintenance hangar and classroom building, so it could officially become our general aviation terminal.î†Meadow Lake Airport now leases the building to Falconís local flight school, Springs Aviation, where they operate their business and run the terminal on the airportís behalf.This terminal is not the type that passengers might experience at primary airports like Colorado Springs Airport or Denver International Airport. Instead, the terminal is considered a fixed-base operator, or FBO, which serves the purpose of a sort-of ìconcierge for pilots,î†Elliot said. ìAn FBO is where transient pilots can come in to park their airplanes, get repairs, fuel up, and greet the local people theyíre flying in to meet.î†However, this FBO is not just for pilots, said the Springs Aviation operations manager and flight instructor, Emily Lathen. ìItís also for people who might be interested in aviation, but donít know much about it ó just the general public,î she said. ìThey can come watch airplanes land and take off, learn a little about aviation and ask questions. Meadow Lake Airport is really nice because itís easy to go near the airplanes and be much more hands on. And because the flight school manages the FBO for the airport, we have pilots and flight instructors everywhere who can answer questions or show people around airplanes. It brings people together in a common gathering place designed to be the airport focal point for pilots and the public alike.î†To honor Rudy Welchís legacy at the airport and his efforts in operating the FBO for so many years, they decided to name the building after him and give it a complete remodel befitting the name.††ìWe gutted the office spaces and small gathering area, removed the old 80s paneling, and redesigned it to modern era standards,î Lathen said. They now have offices, a meeting room, testing rooms and classrooms, she said.ìItís (meeting room) where we do our ground school, and our instructors debrief with our students after flights,î Lathen said. A lobby area includes a small kitchenette, a vending machine and lounge areas where pilots who fly in late at night can relax or sleep on a couch. ìWeíve done a lot of work to bring it back to life again,î she said.Lathen said Springs Aviation hopes the opening of the revived Rudy Welch GA Terminal will reiterate the important role that aviation plays in the community. ì(Meadow Lake Airport) is the second largest training airport in the state of Colorado, and yet many people donít even realize there is an airport in the town of Falcon,î she said. ìItís part of this community and itís important that people know whatís in their community. We want to help people in the area understand what a gem Meadow Lake Airport is and encourage people to see that the world of aviation is not foreign, unattainable or out of reach.î
