Boston Globe -- West section
Sunday, June 12, 2005

Hanscom to get new airfield vendor
Company will provide services for planes

By Davis Bushnell, Globe Correspondent

Banking on increased corporate aviation activity at Hanscom Field in
Bedford, a fledgling Woburn company, Crosspoint Aviation Services LLC, plans
to open a 60,000-square-foot facility at the airfield in spring 2007.

The Massachusetts Port Authority, the airport's owner-operator, recently
selected Crosspoint to join two other so-called fixed-base operators,
Signature Flight Support and Jet Aviation.

These operators provide a range of services, including fuel sales, hangar
rentals, and aircraft maintenance, to a host of customers, many of them
corporations and charter operators.

Jet operations at the airfield are on the upswing, largely due to frequent
takeoffs and landings by corporate and charter craft. Last year, there were
33,061 flights, an 8.9 percent increase over 2003. Among regular users of
the airport are companies like Raytheon Co., Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.,
and EMC Corp.

The continuing rise in the number of corporate flights sparked Crosspoint's
interest, according to its director of aviation services, Tim Sullivan. ''We
believe the strong business activity [at Hanscom Field] will rise at a
moderate pace for the foreseeable future."

Local activists say they continue to be alarmed by the noise of jet activity
and that any new venture such as Crosspoint's only exacerbates the
situation.

''Massport is determined to ruin this historic area with unlimited jet
noise," said Anna Winter, executive director of Save Our Heritage, a
historic preservation group based in Concord. ''This is not our vision or
that of Governor [Mitt] Romney, who, during his election campaign, called
for no additional growth at the Hanscom civilian airport.

''We are working at the state and federal levels to finally secure
appropriate limits on this facility to stop Massport's incremental
destruction of Minute Man Park, Walden, and other American icons," she said.

But Massport's chief executive, Craig Coy, has a different vision for
Hanscom Field.

''Aircraft manufacturers have reported higher sales activity for the past
few years," Coy stated in a release. ''In an effort to address this growing
need and to maintain Hanscom's position as a critical transportation hub to
the business community, this development [the selection of Crosspoint] is a
significant investment in the industry."

At its next meeting on June 21, the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission will
ask Massport officials to outline Crosspoint's plans, said Anne Shapiro of
Concord, the commission's chairwoman. The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. in
the Concord Town House. The advisory commission consists of representatives
of nearby towns, aviation-related interests, citizens groups, and the
National Park Service.

Crosspoint, formed last year as a subsidiary of Eastern Development LLC,
also of Woburn, is just getting started in the aviation services business.
It made its debut, Sullivan said, by acquiring a private airfield, Coral
Creek Airport, in the resort community of Boca Grande, Fla.

The company now has a list of potential corporate and private clients for
its Hanscom Field operation, he said, adding that there are likely to be 30
employees.

© Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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