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InFront From Craig's Maintenance Man to Its Manager Tony Cugno Did Anything He Could at Craig Airport to Get a Foot in the Door -- Now He Gets to Help Shape Its Destiny.

Posted on: Friday, 23 December 2005, 18:00 CST

By TIMOTHY J. GIBBONS

Tony Cugno now spends most of his time figuring out which path Craig Municipal Airport should take to the future, but when he first got to the airport, he had much more prosaic concerns -- like making sure the walls had a fresh coat of paint.

Cugno is manager of Craig, a smallish airport tucked away in the Regency area, a position he rose to after working in maintenance -- "I wanted to get my foot in the door," he said -- and completing two internships with the Jacksonville Airport Authority.

Getting his foot in the door led to a job as a general aviation specialist, where he handled everything from airport operations to security issues, experience that served him well when, in 2004, he was promoted to manager of the airport.

"It helps me see the global environment," said Cugno, who earned a degree in aviation management from Jacksonville University after starting out training to be a pilot.

"I realized I enjoyed managing more," he said about the shift in focus. "This is a very dynamic field."

Each of the four airports in the Jacksonville Airport Authority system have their own niche: Jacksonville International Airport handles commercial flights, Herlong caters to recreational flyers, Cecil houses aviation industry businesses and Craig focuses on flight training and servicing the corporate jet business.

Soon after Cugno took over as manager, Craig ended up with 15 more acres to devote to that business, after the Florida Army National Guard moved its helicopters from that airport to Cecil Field. Since then, the airport authority has expanded the infrastructure in that area, building two taxiways and installing lighting.

Three tenants have moved in: Sterling Flight Training, which provides charter flights and instruction; Craig Hangar Conglomerate LLC, a group of local pilots building homes for their aircraft; and Eagle Aviation Inc, a company building hangars for private planes and corporate jets.

Finding more space for small jets will be important as the airport continues to grow, with more companies using Craig as a home base for their private aircraft.

"As the city grows, the airport will grow," Cugno said. "As the general aviation community in Northeast Florida continues to grow and expand, we'll be ready for them."

And that's the type of challenge Cugno said he looks forward to.

"I get the chance to get my arms around the entire aviation industry," he said about his job as manager. "I have the chance to shape the future outcome of an entire airport."

Part of that future will involve dealing with noise issues, which the airport has wrestled with for the past several years. Nestled near residential areas as it is, Craig has tussled with nearby homeowners who complain about the noise from planes, complaints which have led the Airport Authority to restrict where and when planes can land and take off.

The next step in dealing with the noise issue is a report that the authority submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration late last week. Once the FAA approves it, Cugno said, it will open the door to more federal funding to do more noise mitigation work.

"We have to be a good corporate neighbor," the manager said. "It's very important that we're seen as part of the community."timothy.gibbons@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4103

Source: Florida Times Union

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