23
AirportImprovement.com      October 2026
AIRFIELD MAINTENANCE 
BLV
Proven, Reliable,
Cost-Effective
SCAN FOR 
ADDITIONAL 
INFORMATION
ezlinerarrow.com
sales@ezlinerarrow.com
Billings, Montana
Orange City, Iowa
(800) 373-4016 
BENEFITS: 
• Marks up to 36” wide      
in a single pass
• Accommodate multiple 
additional guns to be 
able to paint patterns 
and colors in a single 
pass
• Exclusive use of latex 
paint, creating less 
runway debris
Paint equipment built to 
optimize time, money, 
and safety. 
Positive Culture Shift
Airfield maintenance staffers at MidAmerica 
St. Louis Airport (BLV) receive a 
combination of annual Part 139 training 
and on-the-job instruction, including how 
to use the airport’s equipment for cleaning 
airfield markings. Airport Director Darren 
James emphasizes ongoing training and 
development to ensure employee practices 
support continued compliance with FAA 
requirements.  
Some other airports, however, operate 
with a “just do it the way we’ve always done 
it” mindset, repeating the same practices 
year after year. Fortunately, leaders from 
Hi-Lite Airfield Services see this changing; 
and they credit improved training about the 
installation and maintenance of high-quality 
markings, including Sightline’s Airfield 
Marking Professional certification program 
and symposiums. 
Sightline Inc. 
President Mike 
Speidel agrees 
that many airports 
have improved staff 
training over the 
past 15 years, partly 
due to improved 
FAA guidance. More 
airports are also using performance data 
to develop proactive maintenance plans 
rather than repainting everything prior to 
FAA inspections, he adds. 
Speidel cites the Airfield Marking 
Handbook as a key factor for the 
changing culture. The free industry 
resource was originally published in 2008 
by the Innovative Pavement Research 
Foundation, under a cooperative research 

agreement with the FAA. Sightline 
led the research and served as the 
primary author. 
“I think 20 or 30 years ago, management 
felt anyone could go out and throw down 
some paint,” says Speidel. “But airfield 
marking requires specialized knowledge to 
do it the right way the first time.” 
Airfield Marking Professional training 
stresses that proper cleaning and surface 
preparation are essential for adhesion, 
longevity and durability. “If you go too 
fast or you don’t prepare the surface, [the 
marking] is not going to last,” he advises. 
Of course, regulatory compliance is 
also an issue. According to Speidel, 
airfield markings remain among the most 
frequently cited Part 139 discrepancies. 
MIKE SPEIDEL

View this content as a flipbook by clicking here.