Doss Aviation Flies Into Raton

Doss Aviation Inc., headquartered in Colorado Springs, CO, and with 19 locations worldwide,  will be expanding its flight training operations into Raton. The training site is to be based at the former NM National Guard Complex at the Crews Field Airport, as for the past several months, executives from Doss have been working with the City of Raton and officials from the state including Lt. Gov. John Sanchez, to finalize details for the expansion.

Doss Aviation Inc. was founded in 1970 and has over 40 years of experience providing flight training, aircraft maintenance, and aviation logistics for the U.S. military and other federal agencies. They have approximately 500 full-time employees and maintain a presence at 19 locations worldwide.

Doss is scheduled to receive their official approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to become an approved pilot school at the Raton Municipal Airport.

With customers including the US Dept. of Defense, US Air Force, US Marine Corp, FBI, FAA, and Dept. of Homeland Security, Doss was looking to expand its operations and when the National Guard Armory at the Raton Airport became available to the City of Raton, City Manager Scott Berry and the Commission help put the two together.

“This is a great opportunity for the Raton area,” said Senator Pete Campos. “Moving forward, we will continue to work together to improve our economy and give young people a good reason to stay in their communities.”

Representative Dennis Roch said,  “I am delighted to welcome Doss Aviation to Raton, and I look forward to the positive contribution they will make to the economy of northeastern New Mexico.”

Lt. Governor Sanchez commented, “When I founded the New Mexico Chapter of the Aerospace States Association (ASA) last year, I did so in an effort to foster economic development and encourage companies like Doss to expand and locate in New Mexico.  Following months of hard work, our efforts have paid off and we are proud to welcome this robust and growing aviation training company to our state. I want to commend the New Mexico National Guard and the New Mexico Department of Transportation Aviation Division for working tirelessly to ensure that all available resources were utilized to make this possible.”

Also key and helping in the process was Express Aviation, which operates the Raton Crew Field Airport for the City.

The agreement with Doss still has to be ok’d by the Raton City Commission and Doss representatives will address the Raton City Commission meeting next Tuesday, Feb. 23 and give a presentation on their future proposed plans for their newest flight training center.  After Commission approval, Doss will be set to begin operations on March 1st. The Feb., 23rd meeting will be at 6 pm and will be broadcast on KRTN AM 1490.