Followup on Percival Springs Airport Award

(LINDA SCHRUMM, BUREAU CHIEF OF AVIATION SAFETY FOR THE ILLINOIS DIVISION OF AERONAUTICS {left front} MADE THE PRESENTATION TO MEMBERS OF THE PERCIVAL FAMILY AND OF AIR EVAC LIFETEAM IN RECOGNITION OF PERCIVAL SPRINGS AIRPORT AS 2013 PRIVATE AIRPORT OF THE YEAR)

In May, we told you that Percival Springs Airport was recognized as a 2013 Airport of the Year award recipient.  The award was presented by the Illinois Department of Transportation Dvision of Aeronautics.

Percival Springs and the other award recipients were recognized for their accomplishments throughout the year, including their partnership with the State and their commitment to customer satisfaction.

Airports are recognized in seven categories.  Percival Springs was the winner in the Private-Open to the Public Airports category.  The category involves airports that are privately owned and don't rely on federal or state funds to operate.  These airports have to meet the same safety requirements as publicly owned airports.

Some awards were presented during a ceremony at the Illinois Aviation Conference in Moline.  Percival Springs officials received their award during a visit by Division of Aeronautics representatives at the airport.

Airport operator Sheila Percival said her late husband Mark was 17 when he earned his private pilot's license, established a Restricted Landing Area that would double as a field road, worked with ultra light aircraft that used his field as a landing strip, and eventually got his field certified in 1999 as a commercial airport.

After 9/11 the appetite for light planes and sport planes changed, so the airport adjusted as well.  A campground was established including The Hangar Restaurant, Air Evac Lifeteam is headquartered at the field, and available bays at the field are occupied.

The Percival family has continued to operate the airport following Mark Percival's death.