Mena, Arkansas (August 26, 2022) – The Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport (KMEZ) in Mena, Arkansas commissioned an Airport Weather Advisor® Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) IIIPT on August 26, 2022. The AWOS IIIPT system measures wind, temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, visibility, sky condition, precipitation, and detects thunderstorms. Airport Weather Advisor® is the flagship product of Mesotech International, Inc, a Sacramento, California based manufacturer of meteorological instrumentation systems. The AWOS supports aviation safety by providing up to the minute weather reports to pilots via radio, telephone, the internet. The system sends critical weather data to the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Weather Service.
The AWOS installation at Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport was completed by Pappas Technologies Inc, who will be maintaining the system for the airport. Pappas Technologies Inc is based in Atlanta, TX and has years of experience maintaining non-Federal AWOS throughout Northeastern Texas and the surrounding states. The company is factory trained on Airport Weather Advisor® systems and maintains Mesotech systems throughout the region. Mesotech works with local and regional small businesses to provide high-quality services to airports nationwide. This puts airport maintenance dollars back into the local economy while keeping critical aviation safety equipment up and running.
Tucked away in the heart of the Ouachita Mountains, Mena is friendly hometown in Southwest Arkansas with picturesque autumn colors, bustling antique shops, and no shortage of outdoors activities for locals and tourists alike. Mena is a gateway community to the Talimena National Scenic Byway and if you’d like to enjoy the breathtaking scenery of the area, plan to be there between October and November when the foliage peaks. The city is also home to numerous parks and recreational facilities including Queen Wilhelmina State Park and Black Fork Mountain Wilderness, as well as the Girl Scout camp, Camp High Point. Visitors to Mena praise it for its small-town hospitality and its big city amenities in a small-town package.
The Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport is a city owned public use airport located 2 nautical miles southwest of the central business district of Mena, Arkansas in Polk County. It covers an area of 667 acres at an elevation of 1,080 feet above mean sea level. The airport has 2 asphalt runways; one designated 9/27 which measures 6,001 x 100 feet (1,829 x 30 meters) and one designated 17/35 which measures 5,000 x 75 feet (1,524 x 23 meters). In an area which has seen the worst tornadoes has to offer, a good AWOS system will help keep the airport safe and on top of weather changes as they happen.
About Mesotech International, Inc.
Mesotech International, Inc. is based in Sacramento, CA and has designed, manufactured, and installed meteorological monitoring systems for over 25 years. Mesotech’s flagship product, Airport Weather Advisor®, is an FAA-certified, ICAO compliant, and USAF approved Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) for airports and military airfields. Awarded Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year (Region IX) in 2014, Mesotech is a US Air Force prime contractor who provides new systems, engineering, and logistics support for over 200 military installations worldwide.