WISCONSIN DELLS, WIS. – The Wisconsin Aviation Conference will be held May 7 – 9, 2012, at the Chula Vista Resort in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.
A welcome cruise will be held on the Wisconsin River on Monday, May 7, 2012, with special announcements by the presidents of the Wisconsin Airport Management Association (WAMA), Wisconsin Aviation Trades Association (WATA), and Wisconsin Business Aviation Association (WBAA). The three organizations sponsor the conference in cooperation with consultants and suppliers.
Conference topics will include Next Gen, Safety Management Systems, Direct Entry NOTAMs, Multi-Media Community Marketing, Retaining Pilots and Aircraft Owners At Airports, Airport Cooperative Research, Hangar Safety, Ground Handling Risk Management, Developing Instrument Approaches, Economic Impact Statements, and Crisis Management.
There will be a special session devoted to the status of the FAA direct NOTAM project (digital NOTAMs). When activated for an airport, direct entry NOTAMs will allow airport operators to issue NOTAMs through a web interface which will standardize and validate NOTAM information without the need for third-party handling, resulting in a faster, more efficient process.
Another session will be on engaging one’s community through multi-media outlets. This session will include an overview of using multi-media in developing marketing strategies for your airport/business. It will incorporate who’s using social media, why, and most importantly, how it can be applied.
Another session will suggest ways to retain pilots and aircraft owners at an airport. The session will describe the difficulties of retaining pilots, aircraft owners and airport users at any airport in today’s economic climate, including financial aspects, risks, and concerns for airport owners, fixed base operators and aviators.
Attendees will find out what the Airport Cooperative Research Program is, how airports can get involved, and what it has to offer airports to better manage, develop and guide an airport – today and into the future.
There will be a session to review some significant accidents related to ground handling operations and their financial impact on airports and operators.
Attendees can learn how to request, develop, and provide support for Instrument Approach Procedures (IAP) development, and how new instrument approach procedures can improve accessibility to one’s airport.
Have you ever wondered what your airport’s economic value is to your community?
Wisconsin Bureau of Aeronautics staff will describe how they can assist airports in determining their economic value.
For the past 15 years, former Madison reporter and now Madison Police public relations manager, Joe DesPlaines, has been heavily involved in providing crisis readiness, and response and recovery consultation, working with a number of commercial airlines, private sector companies, professional sports organizations, as well as federal regulatory agencies. DesPlaines has responded to eight commercial airline disasters, as well as criminal acts, severe weather events and workplace accidents. He will share the lessons he has learned based on those experiences.
For additional conference information, go to www.wiama.org.