Future of planes at DeKalb Taylor Municipal Airport not promising

DeKALB – Three CASA 212 airplanes have been sitting at the DeKalb Taylor Municipal Airport along Peace Road for months, and the crafts’ owner said getting them into flying shape is becoming less and less likely.

David Brown, an aviation professional at DeKalb-based Win Aviation, who acquired the planes from a company in Chile, said his company has been trying to sell them and get them certified to fly in the U.S., but it has been unsuccessful.

“There’s not a whole lot we’re going to be able to do as far as getting them ready to fly,” Brown said. “We’ve been trying, but we keep reaching a dead end on them from the [Federal Aviation Administration].”

He said that the planes are outside because there is not enough room in the two hangars that the company has at the airport.

Win Aviation, 3210 Pleasant St., opened a new 18,000-square-foot facility at the DeKalb Taylor Municipal Airport last year, and the company specializes in aircraft procurement, sales and maintenance. It buys and sells aircraft all over the world, Brown said.

“The previous owner just didn’t want them,” Brown said. “Internationally, there are a select few people that will want them, and they most likely will not be in the United States. Here, purchasing the planes would mainly be for collection.”

Brown said that the planes themselves are not very special, but some of the common uses for these sort of planes are transporting cargo or for military and civilian skydiving. The military-style paint scheme is mainly cosmetic.

Airport manager Tom Cleveland said the reception has been positive from people who drive down Peace Road and have seen the aircraft.

“The only thing I have heard has been good things from the community who say that the planes are a neat thing,” Cleveland said. “People love seeing them, especially since they look like military aircraft.”

According to Win Aviation’s website, it has six aircraft in its fleet.

The planes were relocated from Santiago, Chile. One of them has been at the airport since September, one has been there since October, and one was picked up in February. Brown said that they all had been parked for several years, and right now, they have mostly been used for parts. He said that’s likely to be the case for the next few years.

According to the website, there were no products for sale as of Friday. The company has agents in more than 10 countries, including Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and South Africa.

With these resources, the company is capable of finding all kinds of hard-to-get aircraft and parts, both new and used, the website says.