Wingsuit manufacturers coming to Sanderson Field

Skydive Kapowsin soon won't be the only Sanderson Field tenant to enable people to plummet thousands of feet to Earth.

The Seattle-based company SQRL has leased land at the Shelton airport, and plans to erect a building in the spring, said Port of Shelton Wendy Smith. The company will manufacture wingsuits, skydiving gear and base-jumping equipment.

"We have been part of the Skydive Kapowsin crew for a few years now, since 2013, and that is how we came to know Shelton and the airport," company president Matt Gerdes wrote in an email to the Shelton-Mason County Journal. "We are excited to move our business out of the city of Seattle, and onto the Shelton airport. Our company manufactures base jumping and skydiving gear (www.squirrel.ws) and we will continue to be partnered with Skydive Kapowsin to develop and test our equipment on the airfield."

Gerdes added, "The Port of Shelton has been excellent to deal with. We are very appreciative of (Engineering Manager) Brandon Palmer's efforts and expertise and the general efficiency of the Port staff. However, as of now we do not yet have permits issued and therefore there is no timeline on the construction project or the relocation of the company."

Another Port of Shelton project for 2022 is replacing the building in its industrial park that burned down on April 13, Smith said. The marijuana-growing business M & R Distributing was housed in the building on West Enterprise Road.

The Port is getting cost estimates on replacing the building, Smith said.

The structure was built in the 1970s and did not have sprinklers, but its replacement will, she said.

In 2023, the Port plans to overlay pavement on the taxiway, Smith said.

About 100 fixed-based airplanes are housed at Sanderson Field, she said.

Sanderson Field is one of six western Washington airports being considered to become a hub for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Last January, the state's Commercial Aviation Coordinating Commission (CACC) announced that Sanderson Field could be selected to help alleviate cargo and passenger traffic at Sea-Tac, the eighth busiest airport in the country with 24 million passengers in 2020.

The other five finalists are Bremerton National Airport, Arlington Municipal Airport, Paine Field (Snohomish County Airport), Tacoma Narrows Airport in Gig Harbor, and Ed Carlson Memorial Field (South Lewis County Airport).

"The list of six potential sites should only be considered preliminary because it only includes existing airports at this time," David Fleckenstein, CACC chairman, said in a news release. "Additional work needs to be done to identify potential sites that may be more appropriate for a major airport. The work of the CACC was greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which constrained opportunities for community engagement."

In April 2019, the state Legislature requested the CACC create the report to meet the state's aviation capacity needs. The recommendation is due in 2024.