As airport director, Shelley Peacock has transformed Arcadia Municipal Airport (X06) from a quiet place to land into a hot destination for general aviation pilots throughout the state and beyond.
Despite a pair of Texas-sized setbacks, McKinney National Airport (TKI) recently unveiled nearly $17 million of improvements to boost service for corporate travelers flocking into the booming Dallas Metroplex through its facilities. The McKinney Air Center came online in September and immediately wowed visitors with its two-story grand lobby, natural lighting and first-class fixtures.
A major expansion project catering to the needs of general aviation traffic is well underway at Punta Gorda Airport (PGD) in southwestern Florida. By relocating existing general aviation and FBO activities away from the main terminal area, the airport also will relieve congestion and create more room for commercial airliners.
Teamwork set the tone for the award-winning rehabilitation of Runway 17R-35L at Colorado Springs Airport completed last summer. And everyone on the team faced a formidable job: milling and overlaying the entire 11,022-foot asphalt surface in just 90 days to avoid working during Colorado's unpredictable fall and winter weather while minimizing impacts to users.
Just like their commercial counterparts, general aviation airports need to participate in the FAA master planning process to keep federal funds flowing. Denver's Centennial Airport and Spokane's Felts Field recently took two very different routes to get to the same place: a 20-year plan for capital improvements.
The six general aviation airports operated by the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) are called relievers for a good reason: They significantly reduce traffic pressure that would otherwise congest Minneapolis-St. Paul International (MSP), the major airport of the system.
Turning perception into reality can be tricky, especially when it involves multimillion-dollar budgets. The decision-makers who oversee Detroit Lakes-Becker County Airport (DTL) in northwestern Minnesota faced this classic challenge when building support and securing funds for an approximately $25 million runway expansion and airfield renovation.
The original runway at Offutt Air Force Base just south of Omaha, NE, was built back in 1941 and extended to its current 11,700-foot length in the mid-1950s. It received repairs in fits and starts during the intervening 80 years, and the Air Force finally decided it was time for a total overhaul four years ago. That set in motion a complex plan to temporarily relocate operations of the Air Force's 55th Wing...
A renaissance is underway at Rocky Mount-Wilson Regional Airport (RWI) in Elm City, NC. And master plan improvements are propelling it forward. Airport Director Dion Viventi reports that several infrastructure projects executed in 2019 and 2020 are already boosting RWI's bottom line.
This May marks 75 years of the federal government providing grants-in-aid programs to build and enhance U.S. airport infrastructure; and the FAA Airport Improvement Program (AIP) is in its 40th year. What we now know as AIP began in 1946 as the Federal-Aid Airport Program.
Murfreesboro Municipal Airport (MBT) recently opened a new $4.5 million terminal to welcome visitors to one of the Top 10 fastest-growing communities in the U.S. With immense employment opportunities and a highly touted quality of life, this popular Tennessee city is attracting people of all ages and a variety of aircraft activity
Recognizing its airport's potential as an economic magnet, the city of Fitchburg, MA, recently built a new runway capable of handling corporate jets. The $14.7 million project was backed and largely financed by the FAA. Fitchburg Municipal Airport (FIT) opened the new 5,001-foot runway in late May. It replaces a 30-year-old, 4,510-foot runway that had large cracks and was disintegrating in spots.
