Editor’s Note: The captions of photos have been updated to more accurately describe where the airport is located.
Amidst farm fields sits a 1,200 acre airport with echoes of planes whizzing above. Terry Maddox, a maintenance technician for Crucial MRO works on various maintenance jobs on planes in the hanger.
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The Southern Illinois Airport is located between Carbondale and Murphysboro, and is home to a handful of operations: including plane maintenance, SIU flight training and restaurant St. Nicholas Brewing Company Co. More than 500 flights take off at the airport daily.
Crucial MRO, a maintenance company located in the airport strips down planes, repairs and modifies them. The planes that they work on are commercial and corporate jets. Before some of these planes came into Crucial MRO, they sat in the desert in the southwest. Lines of planes sit in the desert in a uniform pattern waiting to be flown to be fixed before being flown to Crucial.
In order to get them to the hangar they use a special ferry flight permit that allows the plane to fly on very strict and specific restrictions. Decommissioned planes are often stored in desert areas to prevent corrosion and rust while they’re out of commission. Each plane takes up to 90 days to complete.
The airport is also home to the SIUs aviation department. Through the aviation program students are able to get hands-on experience with flying and maintenance of planes. Students are also able to get involved with The Flying Salukis, which is a student organization that gives students an opportunity to compete in aviation based competitions that span from regional to the national level.
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St. Nicholas Brewing Co. brings flavor to the airport serving food and drink for guests. Unique decorations line the walls with large windows facing north towards the runway where visitors can watch airplanes takeoff and land.
Staff photographer Riley Sembler can be reached at [email protected] or on Instagram @riley_sembler
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