Rooster! Rooster!
(May 10, 2010 Pierre Regional Airport) -- A Great Lakes Aviation passenger plane is sporting a one of a kind new look, and promoting the City of Pierre in the process.
The Pierre "Rooster Tail" arrived for the first time at the Pierre Regional Airport and was greeted by a delegation from the Pierre Area Chamber of Commerce, the City of Pierre,
and many other individuals and groups supporting economic development in the community.
The image used on the tail fin of the Beechcraft 1900D was captured by renowned photographer Chad Coppess of the South Dakota Department of Tourism. The image is of a rooster pheasant taking flight, flushed from fall cover by a hunter.
Fall is a particularly busy time at the Pierre Regional Airport as hunters from across the county arrive in Pierre for what is widely considered some of the best pheasant hunting opportunities on earth.
Great Lakes Aviation isn't too worried about their "Pierre Rooster Tail" however. With a pair of 1300 horsepower Pratt & Whitney engines, the 19 passenger turbo prop can cruise at more than 328 m.p.h. at altitudes up to 25, 000 feet.