78
GENERAL AVIATION  
September 2026      AirportImprovement.com
SVH
Designers selected warm tones for the lobby to help passengers relax. 
A $6.5 million project to prepare six pad-ready sites for hangars, 
aircraft parking and other uses is currently underway, with the city 
calling for build-out bids this past June. That development is being 
partially funded by unused portions of the $15.5 million state grant 
for the terminal project. Other initiatives in the works include an apron 
expansion and airfield lighting improvements. 
Looking further ahead, the airport is exploring funding options to 
lengthen its sole asphalt runway from 7,000 feet to 7,700—a significant 
change that would enable more planes to take off fully loaded and fully 
fueled, thus eliminating the need for intermediate stops elsewhere. 
Finally, Smith and Ferguson are carefully monitoring preliminary plans 
for Elizabeth City State University to house operations for its aviation 
school in a hangar that would be constructed at SVH.
Continued growth in aircraft operations and the likely prospect of an 
on-field aviation school could prompt even more airfield projects. “We’ve 
got to start thinking about a control tower and other improvements that 
are necessary when you have that activity,” says Smith. 
A site has been designated for a future tower, but specifications and a 
timetable have yet to been seen. Officials may be focusing on the tower 
project in about a year, Smith notes.  
For him, it all boils down to one guiding principle: “We’re investing 
in ourselves.” The goal, he says, is nothing less than building the best 
general aviation airport in North Carolina.
HANGAR
&DOOR
EXPERTS
START TO FINISH EXPERTISE
Single-source for Design, Manufacturing, & On-Site Services   
1957
2023
FULLY INTEGRATED HANGAR & DOOR SYSTEMS
 800.274.0144    |    FULFAB.COM
EXPERIENCED   |   TIME-TESTED
PHOTO: SVH

View this content as a flipbook by clicking here.