SARASOTA — The founders behind Rectrix Aerodrome Centers, Inc. seek to build a mini-chain of fixed base operations at select underutilized
airports such as Barnstable Municipal in Hyannis, MA, and the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport here. It’s a five-star level of service, they say, and a cornerstone of Rectrix’s operating philosophy will be to bring new ideas to the marketplace. One such idea is its trademarked Hangarminiums, which officials equate to a condo-type arrangement where the FBO gets corporate buy-in up front, easing their risk. The FBO, then, offers a menu of services, from fueling to aircraft management, for its corporate tenants. While the company had its starts and stops at Hyannis, the progress and corporate buy-in at Sarasota is demonstrating a demand for what Rectrix is offering.

“We are definitely out of the box,” comments Richard A. Cawley, president and CEO. “We look at some of the good operations — Wilson Air Center, Showalter in Orlando; they do it right and that’s what we want to do.”

While the FBO seeks to achieve top service levels, Cawley says that Rectrix Aerodrome Centers, Inc. also wants to bring new ideas to the table. In a bid for an FBO at Hanscom Field in Bedford, MA, which it was not awarded, Rectrix offered a double-decker hangar concept (see graphic) which Cawley says could become a practical concept as airports face increasing capacity challenges.

“This is patented,” says Cawley of the double-decker concept. “You get into certain areas of the country where you can dig down a little, and what you have is a facility in which you put your smaller aircraft down below, from Learjets to props, and the larger aircraft on top.”

Getting Started - A Need for Hangar Space
Rectrix Aerodrome Centers, Inc., and Rectrix Aviation, Inc., the charter and aircraft management arm, are owned by partners Cawley and Dr. Thomas J. Russell, Ph.D., who also serves as chairman of the board of directors for Emcore, a satellite technology company. As is often the case, it was Dr. Russell’s need for hangar space that led to a look at the FBO business.

Recalls Cawley, “My cousin’s husband (Dr. Russell), who has a long-time love of aviation, asked if I would get involved with him in developing FBO projects. Hyannis just didn’t have any hangar space for corporate jets and that’s how the whole thing got started. Tom has an aircraft and needed a hangar.”