Bargo Russ 01
Waupaca
Prime Time
By Angie Landsverk, Post Staff Writer
Family business provides local airport services
Russ Bargo wears two hats at
Waupaca’s municipal airport.
He and his wife, Lisa, run Riverside
Aviation out of the airport, and Bargo is also under contract with the city as
the airport’s manager.
He’s been the manager there for six
years now, responsible for the day-to-day operations of the airport.
That includes doing everything from
daily inspections of facilities to driving the runways daily to make sure they
are free of debris and that the lights work.
Bargo checks the airport’s automatic
weather observation system to be sure it is recording the weather correctly.
And he is in charge of security at
the airport – something that has affected even airports in small communities
since 911.
For example, that means he is always
aware of who is coming into the airport’s terminal.
“Being at
Before arriving in Waupaca six years
ago, Bargo worked at several different airports in
In all, he has a total of 24 years of
management background.
His love of airplanes and all things
mechanical goes back to when he was growing up with his family on a hobby farm
in Rubicon, near the beautiful Holy Hill area not far from
“I have always like airplanes,” he
said, “and I remember that I used to take Dad’s stuff apart.”
When Bargo had summer vacation from
school, he used to take the engine off his father’s lawn mower while he was at
work and use it to make go-carts.
“I would get in trouble if I didn’t
have it back on the lawn mower by the time he got home,” he said, smiling.
For that reason, Bargo’s father told
him that if he was going to take things apart, he better learn how to put them
back together again.
“My brothers and I grew up knowing
how to fix things and take things apart.
We were self-sufficient,” he said.
His dad often bought machinery at
auctions, and they joked that it was once-around-the field machinery because
after one trip around the field it often was taken into their shop to be fixed.
Bargo describes his childhood as a
“good, honest one,” that encouraged him to develop a strong work ethic.
After high school, Bargo headed to
“I just always loved it,” he said of
his decision to study that field.
“Mechanical things and airplanes, and the two just kind of
combined. It’s nicer than working on
cars. They’re cleaner, and you don’t have to bend over a fender all day.”
After receiving his license, he was
hired to work for the former Eastern Airlines in
“It was exciting, but it wasn’t very
cool. I lasted six months there,” Bargo
said.
He was fresh out of school ready to
set the world on fire and soon learned that things at the airline were all
about seniority.
“They squelched everything out of
you,” he said.
He missed the
From there, he took a position in
maintenance at Traggis Aviation in
Bargo was the new kid on the block
and said that is the place where he learned everything about small airplanes.
His mentor was Jim Igou, a man he
described as “one of those old-timers.”
It was there that Bargo developed
his love for small airplanes.
He said the work was exciting
because every day was different.
From his experience at Traggis
Aviation, Bargo headed to
“It was good because I really like
the management of it. I got the chance
to be in the shop and see the other end.
I built it up from nothing. It’s
one of the largest fixed-base operations in the state now,” he said.
But one day Bargo woke up and
thought, “I’m living on Tums and my hair’s is falling out. What am I doing?”
He felt as if life was flying past
him and that he was chained to a desk all day.
As a result, he made a career change
and went to Sullivan where he worked as the director of maintenance for Ideal
Helicopters.
“It was fun,” he said, explaining
that working on helicopters was so different from working on airplanes.
After working there several years,
Bargo says he was fortunate to get a job in
At Trans North Aviation, he was
again the director of maintenance and did charter work and air ambulance work.
“I was practically on call 24 hours
a day,” he said.
After working there 10 years at a
job and in an area that he loved, he and Lisa decided to come here to run
Riverside Aviation.
They bought what was an existing
business, and he says, “It’s been good.
We’re living a nice life.”
He describes Riverside Aviation as a
private business that happens to be located at Waupaca’s airport.
They built a hangar, have a lease
and pay taxes just like everyone else out there.
Riverside Aviation is a full-service
fixed-base operation that employs six people.
Open every day, its winter hours are
The business offers such things as
aircraft maintenance, inspections, aircraft pickup and delivery, scenic
flights, hangar storage, aircraft management, a secure tie-down area, aircraft
rental and flight instruction, including instruction for recreational pilots,
private pilots and instrument ratings.
Bargo himself is presently a student
pilot with about 20 more hours of flight time until he is done.
“I’ve always been in
maintenance. Flying was always on my
list of things to do before I die. I’m
not getting any younger, so I thought I’d better get going,” he said.
Riverside Aviation has three flight
instructors, and once someone completes the work he is ready to work, whether
for an airline or a corporation.
“All right here in Waupaca,” Bargo
said, noting that many people may be surprised at what’s offered at the local
airport.
He said they work locally with
Waupaca Motor Sales when those traveling to the airport by plane need a car
upon arrival. Riverside Aviation itself has a courtesy car.
For the past several years, Bargo
was in the midst of the city’s expansion project at the airport which is
complete.
That project was in the planning
stages for about 10 years, he said, and finally came to fruition.
The need was based on traffic counts
and the need for a longer runway to accommodate larger jets.
“We keep track of all takeoffs and
landings,” he said.
The airport averages about 7,000
total a year and probably sees close to 10,000 passengers a year.
The airport is used on a daily
basis.
For example, as Bargo talked about
his work, the foundry’s jet landed and the foundry’s small turbo prop took off.
He said the foundry is an example of
one business that uses the airport a lot.
“They’re flying in and out on a daily basis,” he said.
But the foundry is not the only
local business that uses the airport.
Bargo said 10 corporations own a
total of 12 aircraft that are located at the airport.
Most of those corporations are from
the Waupaca area, while several are from the
In addition to corporations, there
are other local residents who have hangers and planes at the airport.
He said it is not uncommon for some
of them to decide to fly somewhere with their family and go out to dinner or
shop. Others head to the airport on
beautiful fall days so they can admire the fall colors from above.
And yet other people use planes to
check out such things as land or even to see how their deer stands are holding
up or if anyone is trespassing on their land.
As Bargo talked about the airport’s
expansion project, he talked about the need for the longer runway and how when
a corporation looks at the Waupaca area, one of the first things it looks at is
its airport.
“The airport’s old runway was 3,900
feet long by 75 feet wide and could not handle the type of airplanes that the
airport hoped to bring in, he said.
Building a longer runway opens up a
whole new world of possibilities and results in companies taking a serious look
at Waupaca, he said.
B\Waupaca’s new runway is 5,200 feet
long by 100 feet wide and has a parallel taxiway as well.
With 35 aircraft based at the
airport and 25 hangars, Bargo describes the expansion project as making the
airport much safer.
When a plane lands, it can use the
taxiway, freeing up the runway.
As Bargo talked about how things
have changed at the airport since 9/11, he talked about temporary flight
restrictions, something they heard a lot about during the recent presidential
campaign.
Wherever President George Bush went,
a 30-mile temporary flight restriction followed him, whether he was on a bus,
in a car or on a plane, Bargo said.
“We were just on the edge,” he said.
Flying into such a zone would result
in a fine for a pilot.
And Bargo also said that whenever
the color for security is heightened, there are temporary flight restrictions
as well over such things, as nuclear power plants and football stadiums.
Bargo said Riverside Aviation is
“one of the few mom and pop places still around. We’re like a family farm. We’re a dying
breed. We have the city to thank. They realize the value of their airport and
are really behind it.”
Scenic flights have become popular
gift ideas. Bargo said they can take up
to three passengers at a time on a flight.
Flights are generally half an hour long, although people may arrange for
longer ones, if they wish.
The airport has also become a
destination for pilots from throughout the country each summer during the
Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual fly-in in
Bargo said that if one does a good
job, the word gets out in the aviation community and people will look for you.
That is what happened for them, with
Riverside Aviation sponsoring camping at the airport for the past several years
during EAA.
“Because we’re so close to the air
show, people come here. It’s more laid
back, less expensive. They can rent a
car from Waupaca Motor Sale and drive to the show. My wife and I make dinner
every night for the people who camp here.
People can pitch a tent next to their plane. We have hot showers. If the weather gets really bad, they can bunk
out here,” he said.
The expansion project at the airport
means they can handle more planes, and those using the airport for corporate
reasons find that they can fly their employees where they need to be much
quicker than if they traveled by road.
Bargo likes his work but said what
he likes best about his two hats at the airport is that “it’s something
different every day. The people I have met are just really nice people. They’re all great.”