Cherokee Regional Airport & Soaring Aviation Industry: the Sky’s the Limit
It’s Aviation History Month! Beyond the filming of Tom Cruise’s airborne action-movie American Made in Ball Ground, Cherokee plays a large part in real-world aviation with a booming aerospace manufacturing industry and the expanding Cherokee Regional Airport.
The Cherokee Regional Airport, just south of the City of Ball Ground, is situated with quick and easy access to Interstate-575 and to Cherokee’s vibrant market base.
Today the Cherokee Regional Airport is the sixth largest general aviation airport in the state.
To keep up with Cherokee’s roaring economy, the Cherokee County Airport Authority is in the midst of another expansion – an extension of the current runway to 6,000-feet over the course of two phases, with the help of Cherokee-based airport consultant and investor in Cherokee By Choice, Lead Edge Design Group.
The first phase will extend the runway the first 5,500 feet and widen the runway to one hundred feet. The second phase will complete the full 6,000-feet and include the construction of a new road between the Cherokee Regional Airport and Bluffs Parkway to connect Cherokee’s industries to this business asset.
When the airport first opened for “hobby flyers,” the runway was only 3,414 feet long. It was extended to 5,000 feet in 2006 to accommodate light business jets.
Industries looking to take their business to the skies aren’t the only ones looking forward to this development – the planes at the Cherokee Regional Airport generate approximately $700,000 in property taxes for the community, a number that is projected to grow with this expansion.
Cherokee doesn’t just take advantage of air travel – we make it happen. Cherokee County is home to four aerospace manufacturers, including Universal Alloy Corporation.
Universal Alloy Corporation (UAC) is a global supplier of aerospace components, with their United States Headquarters located here in Cherokee. They manufacture plane parts for some of aviation’s biggest names, like Boeing, Airbus, and Gulfstream.
UAC has a vertically integrated value chain encompassing casting, extrusion, machining, surface treatment, kitting and assembly that employs 467 workers in Cherokee between the Canton and Ball Ground locations.
Between the Cherokee Regional Airport and Cherokee’s amazing aerospace manufacturers, the sky is the limit for Cherokee!