Ogden May Help Firm Take Wing

Council to vote on $22M in bonds for plane-kit manufacturer

B Y JEFF DEMOSS
Standard-Examiner staff
jdemoss@standard.net
May 05, 2007

OGDEN — As one aircraft company gears up to start building small jets at Ogden-Hinckley Airport, officials are working to bring a second airplane manufacturer to the city.

The Ogden City Council will vote Tuesday on an “inducement” resolution authorizing $22 million in industrial revenue bonds for Aero Ventures LLC, a Utah-based subsidiary of Aero Visions International Inc., which has its facilities in California.

Aero Ventures recently approached the city about purchasing the Ogden Jet Center, one of three fixed-base operators at the airport, said Dave Harmer, community and economic development director for Ogden.

The company would relocate from California to Ogden and establish its own fixed-base operation at the center. It would use the 34,000 square feet of hangar and office space to manufacture and market its carbon composite, twin-engine SkyShark “kit” airplane.

Kit planes are sold in package form and assembled by the purchaser or another party. Harmer said Aero Ventures would eventually start building fully assembled SkySharks in Ogden.

He said the bonds would be secured by a mortgage on the property and the value of the project, and Ogden City would not be exposed financially if the project were to fail.

“The city is a conduit for issuing the bonds, but has absolutely no liability,” Harmer said. State law allows municipalities to participate in the bonding process without taking responsibility.

“This just allows us to move forward in putting together deals. We act as a supporter of the project.”

City documents indicate that Chatsworth Securities LLC, a brokerdealer based in Connecticut, has committed to purchasing the bonds.

Aero Ventures officials referred questions to the company’s chief counsel, who could not be reached for comment Friday.

The Ogden Jet Center is owned and operated by the Dilley family. Greg Dilley, who runs the operation, also could not be reached for comment Friday. Harmer said a deal to bring Aero Ventures to Ogden would continue the momentum started by Adam Aircraft, which has nearly completed a 96,000-square-foot building at the Kemp Ogden Airport Gateway Center.

Adam plans to start building its A700 AdamJet at the facility next year.

“We’ve got Adam Aircraft out there already. This would be a significant addition to the airport that would bring high-quality jobs, and it’s part of a key industry cluster — aviation and aerospace — that’s right here in our area.”

Adoption of the inducement resolution would allow Aero Ventures to start incurring expenses that could be refunded using bond proceeds. The city council would then have to adopt a final resolution authorizing the sale of the bonds.