On Wednesday a new reliever airport for the Austin, Texas, area had its official grand opening, with hundreds of local pilots, media and government officials in attendance. Austin Executive (KEDC) is located approximately 12 miles northeast of Austin and just 3 miles from downtown Pflugerville. The $33 million project is the baby of Texan Ron Henriksen, who also opened Houston Executive Airport a few years back.
The airport, formerly known as Bird’s Nest, has been in Austin since 1965 and for sale reportedly since 1985. Henriksen vision for the airport was to make the Spartan 575-acre parcel of Texas plain with runway into a real airport. Mission accomplished.
Highlights of the multi-year project include a major runway upgrade (with the single Runway 13/33 stretching out to 6,045 feet with LPV approaches to each end); fuel availability (both Jet-A and 100LL); large hangars for large bizjets (up to a Gulfstream 550-sized airplane), tee hangars, shade/hail canopies, and a spectacular awning (140 by 85 feet) in front of the ramp-side entrance that gives much needed shade to arriving airplanes as they taxi up to the FBO. Speaking of which, Henriksen’s FBO is housed in a brand new 27,500 square foot building that features luxurious pilots’ lounges, a dedicated flight planning room, conference rooms and office space on the second floor. Henriksen expects to have 100 airplanes, from bizjets to piston singles, based at Austin Executive shortly.
