Wingtips June/July 2000

By Marie C. Peinado

AUSTIN-The 18th Annual Texas Aviation Conference, cosponsored by Texas Department of Transportation Aviation Division and the Texas Airport Management Association, was held at Austin’s DoubleTree Hotel North from Wednesday, March 29 through Friday, March 31. The event provided an opportunity for those involved in Texas aviation to discuss and share information about current issues affecting the State of Texas.

There were 420 conference participants at TAC this year, the largest turnout so far, according to our records. The increase of attendees gives us great satisfaction in that our efforts of keeping the aviation community abreast of current and relevant issues is on track-TAC through special guest speakers, topic panels, special meetings and workshops accomplished this feat.

The conference got an early start on Wednesday afternoon with the inauguration of its 1st Golf Tournament at the Bluebonnet Hill Golf Club with approximately 41 players eager to enjoy the camaraderie with friends and new acquaintances. (See related story “TAC Golf Tournament” on Page 11.)

The evening “Get Acquainted Reception,” sponsored by the 49 registered exhibitors, was again superbly done with cordiality and open hospitality to all.

At the Awards Banquet on Thursday afternoon, the following aviation awards for the Year 2000 were presented:
Reliever Airport Manager of the Year: Bob Porter, Arlington Municipal Airport, Arlington
General Aviation Airport Manager of the Year: Sharon Rostovich, Draughton-Miller Central Texas Regional Airport, Temple
Most Improved Airport: Giddings-Lee County Airport, Giddings
Airport of the Year: Cherokee County Airport, Jacksonville

The 2000 International Aviation Art Contest winners were:
Category I (Ages 6-9): Danielle Garnier, 9, Rummel Creek Elementary, Houston
Category II (Ages 10-13): Lee Lewallen, 13, Llano Junior High, Llano
Category III (Ages 14-17): Kayla Krebs, 15, Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, Texas.

A special thank you goes to TxDOT Art Contest Judges for this year: Annie Stuard, General Services Division; Gary Gonzales, Electronic Publishing; and Michelle Hannah, Aviation Division. The banquet was followed by Casino Night and Music by DJ Alton Young. Casino night was a big hit; the players seemed to enjoy the spirit of the night, seeing old friends and making new acquaintances. The event was complemented by exclusive prizes donated by many generous exhibitors and TAC sponsors. The “music man” was great too and kept “happy feet” tapping on tables, I mean on the floor, of course!

The conference adjourned on Friday after the final aviation workshops and the State of Aviation in Texas Report by Dave Fulton.

Great news for the airport grant programs! Congress recently passed a new aviation program that significantly increases funds for airport development. Nationwide funding levels for airport grants authorized for Fiscal Year 2001, 2002, and 2003 are $3.2 billion, $3.3 billion, and $3.4 billion, respectively, which represents an increase of almost 75 percent above current funding. Also, the share of the grant program that is designated for general aviation and reliever airports increases from 18 percent to 20 percent. For Texas, this means about $36M will be available in state apportionment funding for general aviation and reliever airport grants for the year beginning October 1, 2000, compared to $20.7 million in the current year, with a small increase each of the three succeeding years.

For the first time, Congress selected some general aviation and reliever airports to receive up to $150,000 per year in entitlement grants. The list includes I 00 airports in Texas with funds for these grants included as part of the state apportionment. Smaller air carrier airports will see their minimum annual funding increase from $500,000 per year to $650,000 in FY 00 and $1 million in FY 01 and beyond.

Other provisions of the new legislation include: Programs to assist in the improvement of scheduled air service to medium and smaller communities; an increase from $3.00 to $4.50 in the maximum passenger facility charge that airports with scheduled air service may charge; approval of routine maintenance as an eligible item for funding; expansion of the Military Airports Program from 12 to 15 airports nationwide; and the prohibition of new solid waste landfills within six miles of a public-use airport, among others.

As all of the changes resulting from this new legislation are too extensive to address in this column, our staff will be providing additional information during the next few months to airport owners through regional planning meetings and airport visits. If you have questions, call our office at 1/800/68-PILOT and we will do our best to answer them.

• Midland Airpark – New director of aviation: Marvin Esterly who has been deputy director for several years.
• Laredo International Airport – New address: 5210 Bob Bullock Loop, Laredo, Texas 78041 . Airport manager: Jose Flores.
• Waco Regional Airport – New airport manager: Jimmie Hanes Jr.
• Cherokee County Airport – New airport coordinator/ manager: Jimmy Long, Route 5, Box 428, Rusk Texas 75785 (903) 683-5511.
• McMahon-Wrinkle Airpark – Nominated to serve on the Texas Airport Management Association (TAMA): Nelda Reagan, airpark manager

We believe that our employees are the most important resource that we have available to support us daily in the fulfillment of the “aviation” mission/or the State of Texas. They are, as team members, our winning hand. We will continue to showcase employees in Wingtips, so that you can get to know them, their responsibilities and their interests.

Lora Burris
By Marie C. Peinado

We are pleased to welcome Lora Burris to the Aviation Division as administrative assistant to our Director David Fulton. Lora started working with us in December 1999, replacing Suetta Murray who recently retired.

Being a native Texan, born in Austin and a Lanier High School graduate, gave Lora the opportunity to really appreciate the “true Texan” experience. That is, pull up stakes and follow your bliss. After a long stay in the big, big, city of Houston, Texas, Lora proved undeniably that a person really can come home after all. To be near her parents, Lora relocated five years ago to the picturesque and historic small town of Smithville, Texas. Living in Smithville, a skip and a hop away (30 miles) from Austin, allows Lora to have a wonderful daily commute to work and the opportunity to enjoy the countryside’s beautiful bluebonnet invasion each spring.

Professionally, Lora’s career has concentrated in the private sector as a legal secretary in corporate law, as well as a long stint at aviation’s Rockwell lnternational’s Sabreliner Division in Houston.

Lora’s hobbies includes gardening, walking in the country, fixing up old houses, watching classic movies, going to the public library, and simply enjoying an occasional glass of wine by her fireplace in the winter.

Lora has one daughter and a granddaughter who live in Denison, Iowa. Welcome Aboard, Lora!

Judy Barnes
By Bob Woods

We are pleased to have Judy Barnes join the Aviation Division as ow information resource administrator, our information expert! We were lucky to entice Judy in April from the Vehicle Title and Registration Division at TxDOT Camp Hubbard. A faithful TxDOT employee for over eight years, Judy previously worked in four other divisions here.

Judy recently earned an associate degree in LAN administration (Local Area Networking), and has completed many training courses in automation, both-in-house and outside training programs.

A native Texan from Brownfield, Judy has been in the Austin area for about IO years. She recently moved into a residence in Cedar Park, a suburb of Austin and expects to enjoy the beautiful Hill County for a long time. Her hobbies include gardening, collecting tropical fish, and, of course, absorbing the latest computer technology.

Judy has one daughter, Stacy, who is 20 years old and lives in Lubbock. Welcome Judy!

By David S. Fulton

With mixed feelings, we bid farewell to Bob Woods, Deputy Director of Texas Department of Transportation Aviation Division on June 30, 2000. Although we hate to see him go, as he has been an integral part of our commitment to statewide aviation during the past seven years, at the same time I am pleased that my home state, Tennessee, has chosen Bob as their new State Aviation Director. Bob is an outstanding individual who will lead Tennessee aviation in an exemplary manner.

Prior to joining TxDOT, Bob served our country as an Air Force pilot rising to the rank of Brigadier General. He flew many different types of aircraft including the C 141 and the C 5A. We wish Bob and his wife, Wanda, the best in their relocation to Tennessee.

By Yolanda Alvarez

Twelve hundred children from across Texas submitted artwork for the 2000 International Aviation Art Contest. The theme of the contest was “Flight into the Future.” Entries were judged in one of three age groups: Category 1, ages 6-9, Category II, ages 10-13 and Category III, ages 14-17.

The state winners received a certificate and were recognized along with their parents for their artistic talents during the 18th Annual Texas Aviation Conference Awards Banquet.

Danielle Garnier, from Rummel Creek Elementary, Houston, Texas, was the first place winner in Category I entry. Lee Lewallen from Llano Junior High, Llano, Texas, was the first place winner in Category II entry. Kayla Krebs from Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, Texas, was the first place winner in Category III. The annual International Aviation Art Contest is sponsored by the National Aeronautics Association, The National Association of State Aviation Officials, and Federal Aviation Administration in cooperation with the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI). The art contest is designed to motivate and encourage young people to become more familiar with and participate in aeronautics, engineering and science. Visit our Web site at www.dot.state.tx.us to view the winners’ artwork for the Year 2000 contest.

• ALLIANCE AIRPORT, in a major coup, announced that Bell Helicopter Textron had purchased a three-story, 28,000 square-foot building on 15 acres at Alliance that will be used as the sales and training facility for the BA 609, the world’s first civilian tilt-rotor aircraft. The world headquarters for Bell/ Agusta Aerospace Co., a joint venture with Italian firm Agusta, will also be established at the site.
• AUSTIN-BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT has been named the outstanding Texas airport for 1999 in its first year of operation. The Federal Aviation Administration’s Southwest Region picked Austin-Bergstrom above Dallas Fort Worth International, Houston Intercontinental, and 27 others in the state. Austin-Bergstrom opened May 23, 1999. The award was presented Feb. 1, in Fort Worth.
• CHILDRESS MUNICIPAL AIRPORT LIGHTING will be extended from 4,800 feet to 6,000 feet through a TxDOT ramp grant. The city will match the cost – not to exceed $10,000. Childress Council members are receiving positive feedback on airport facilities and service.
• WESTERN AIRWAYS RELOCATES TO SUGAR LAND Western Airways, Inc., one of the largest aircraft charter and management services in the Houston metropolitan area, is consolidating its operations and over 20 aircraft from other Houston-area airports to Sugar Land Municipal Airport. Plans call for the immediate construction of a 27,600 square foot hangar and office structure on the eastern side of the airport. Construction is expected to take approximately five months to complete.
• SUGAR LAND MUNCIPAL AIRPORT has grown to be the fourth largest facility in the greater Houston metropolitan area and the only general aviation reliever airport in the southwest sector. The airport’s corporate and general aviation services generate tax revenues and employment to the community and access for corporations to new markets. An FAA maintained automated weather observation station becomes operational, in late spring 2000, allowing air traffic controllers to access real-time weather information on graphic weather displays.
• WESLACO MID-VALLEY AIRPORT launched in March a $1.7 million improvement and expansion project for its facility. Plans include a complete reconstruction and expansion of the terminal area parking ramp, upgrading of the aircraft fueling system to allow for greater storage and fueling capacity, improved runway lighting, more taxiways as well as an improved visual approach indicator system. City officials will push for the work to be done before this fall’s air show, the first to be held here.
• FORT WORTH ALLIANCE AIRPORT flight control tower recently became one of the few facilities to be recognized nationally by the FAA with both the Air Traffic Services Award and an award for 10 years of error-free service. Alliance is the only facility in the Southwest that has been error-free for its entire existence. Fort Worth Airport is managed by Alliance Air Services, an operating company of Hillwood.
• MONTGOMERY COUNTY AIRPORT’S recent dedication of a new 3,000-square-foot facility that will house a brand-new weather and Unicom radio system to assist the pilots who commute to and from the airport. According to John Mays, airport manager, this was the 24th facility added to the airport since it became the county’s property in 1946.
• MINERAL WELLS AIRPORT – The National Vietnam War Museum has established an office in the terminal at MWL. The proposed museum site is on 12 acres east of the city at the juncture of U.S. Highway 180 and the Lake Mineral Wells State Trails. For more information, you can write NVWM, P.O. Box 146, Mineral Wells, TX 76068 or visit: www.nationalvnwarmuseum.org.
• RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE – The first production of the T-6A Texan II arrived in March at Randolph from the Raytheon production facility in Wichita, Kansas. During the next several months, test pilots from the test and evaluation center, Air Education and Training Command and the Navy will use the aircraft at the base to determine the effectiveness and suitability of the T-6A in the primary pilot training mission.
• McGREGOR MUNICIPAL AIRPORT- City Council authorized in March the construction of a $55,000 taxi lane, including approval to lease sites for three hangars to go along the proposed taxi lane. According to Stew Shirey, airport manager, the project will pay for itself because the $55,000 will be recovered in hangar fees.
• CORPUS CHRISTI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT took two big steps toward the goal of better air service: first, with the groundbreaking of a new $36 million airport terminal, and second, with the inauguration of jet service between Corpus Christi and Dallas, a major hub. The new terminal is set for completion by Thanksgiving, 2002.
• TEXAS AEROSPACE COMMISSION’S mission is to recruit aviation and aerospace development in Texas and is overseen by Executive Director Tom Moser, a former NASA employee. Future aviation entrepreneurs can contact this agency for guidance about possible aviation business, no matter how small, or if they are considering relocation to Texas. Contact: 512/936-4822 or 4823.
• SAN ANTONIO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (noise) Changes in runway use and a bend in the flight pattern would have more planes take-off over vacant land northeast of San Antonio International Airport and greatly reduce noise along Loop 410. This airport noise plan will be discussed in public forums in April and May and then sent to the Federal Aviation administration for review.
• TEXAS SEAPLANE OPERATIONS AT LAKE CYPRESS SPRINGS – The Texas Department of Transportation will continue to allow aircraft to land on Lake Cypress Springs. Aircraft operations on all lakes in Texas owned by the state were opened up with legislation that went into effect Sept. I. TxDOT was given the responsibility for developing rules and administering the program and granted authority to deny aircraft the right to land on lakes if safety is compromised. Lake Cypress Springs citizens had complained about the noise aircraft would make when they landed on the lake.
  • FAA announced in April that Ruth Leverenz, assistant administrator for regional and center operations (ARC- I) is the new southwest region administrator, replacing Clyde DeHart who retired last December. Ruth will continue her duties as ARCI as well.
  • FRANCE’s first woman test pilot, Jacqueline Auriol, died at age 82 in February.

A Century of Flight Achievements

July 12 – Dwight Eisenhower is the first president to fly in a helicopter, I 957.

July 18 – Katherine Stinson becomes the first woman to perform a loop-to-loop in her Laird Looper biplane, Chicago, Ill. 1915.

July 20 – Neil A. Armstrong, an astronaut among Apollo 11 crew, is the first man to set foot on the moon, 1969.

Aug. 5 – The Women Army Service Pilots (WASP) is created. It is the first time female pilots fly for the U.S. military, 1943.

Aug. 19 – This day is designated as National Aviation Day in honor of Orville Wright’s birthday, 1939.

Aug. 25 – Amelia Earhart sets three records for women flyers. She makes the first non-stop U.S. crossing, longest distance record and a coast-to-coast record time, 1932.

Aug. 29 – The first class at the Air Force Academy in Colorado begins, 1958.

Source: Minnesota DOT. Office of Aeronautics. 1999 Calendar.

By Jim Cummins

This installment of airport compliance deals with non-aeronautical use of obligated airport property and through-the-fence activities.

All airport property identified in a sponsor’s certificate of land title or shown on an approved airport layout plan as being airport property is obligated under the terms of various airport improvement grants to be operated solely as aeronautical use, unless an exception is granted in writing by the TxDOT Aviation Division or the FAA. Some areas on large surplus property airports may have been designated as non-aeronautical or revenue producing at the time the property was transferred from the U.S. government. With proper justification, additional tracts on these surplus property airports, as well as areas on other obligated airports, can be reviewed and considered for release from the aeronautical use only requirements. Changes from one type of non-aeronautical use to another also require review and approval.

To be considered for release or change in use, several hurdles must be cleared. First, as usual, a written request must be submitted. This request should give as many details as possible. Obviously we need to know why the release is requested and how the property requested for release will be used. If it is determined that nonaeronautical use prohibitions on certain tracts can be waived, such change in status will usually be conditioned to require financial compensation to the airport fund.

Through-the-fence (TTF) is a term used to describe the activities of an individual or business operating from adjacent property then entering and using the airport property. Such TTF activities usually detract from the safety of an airport. The most obvious example would be aircraft entering the runways or taxiing areas at points not normally anticipated by other airport users. Furthermore, being located off airport property usually means these operations are beyond the oversight of the airport management pertaining to things such as fire safety, design standards, and aircraft movement. Aviation businesses located on adjacent 10 privately-owned property can often operate at a lower cost than similar on-airport businesses giving the TTF operation a distinct economic advantage. Normally, a person or business leases a portion of airport property and builds a hangar or other building. At the end of the lease term, the leased property plus these hangars and buildings revert to the airport sponsor. This allows the airport property to increase in value and is a way for the sponsor to recoup some of the expense of operating and maintaining the airport. A TTF operation would benefit the adjacent property owner but not necessarily the airport. There are four main things we look at when considering TTF requests: (1) will the safety of the airport be adversely affected, (2) is there sufficient room available on the airport to reasonably accommodate the request, (3) will the airport benefit, and (4) will the TTF operator enjoy an economic advantage?

Both non-aeronautical use and TTF activities are discouraged but not absolutely prohibited. Either can be successfully requested but the necessary justification and review process is usually a long, drawn out affair. It is the responsibility of the party requesting these activities to successfully justify their requests.

If you are in the vicinity of this thriving airport, don’t forget to stop by and help yourself to its hospitality and observe what they have done to their facility.

Jasper County-Bell Field received a $3.1 million capital improvement grant for the project, which included 90 percent from the Texas Department of Transportation Aviation Division’s Capital Improvement Program.

The project included runway reconstruction from 4,400 to 5,500 with new runway numbers, centerline and instrument approach markings. The approach end of runway 18 was relocated 1,100 feet south to avoid the displaced threshold previously required for clearance over Highway 190 north of the airport; part of the original pavement was retained as an overrun area and fog-sealed to match the new asphalt on the runway, taxiway and ramp areas.

Other airport safety improvements included the installation of a MIRL (Medium Intensity Runway Lighting) system; a new dual-box PAPI (Precision Approach Path Indicator) approach lighting system for both runways 18 and 36; a new lighted windsock and segmented circle; new taxiway lights, signs and centerline reflectors; and installation of an A WOS (Automated Weather Observation System). Additional work involved the repaving of the airport entrance road and terminal parking lot, the replacement of ramp fencing, construction and paving of a new hangar access road, and the construction of a heavy vehicle access road and temporary ag-pad (staging area for agricultural operations by aerial applicators) pending construction of a permanent ag-pad and access road slated for inclusion in TxDOT’s Year 2001 Capital Improvement Program.

Flight support services available at JAS include 24-hour AV gas and jet fuel sales; a full-service A&P mechanic located on the field; 24-hour pilot access to the full-service DTN terminal and A WOS monitor in the airport terminal building; and an RCO on 122.5 to the Montgomery County FSS.

Blair Bisbey, Chairman of Jasper County’s Airport Advisory Committee has long served his community in this capacity leading the effort in the successful improvement of the facility. Bisbey, a private pilot, frequently flies an S-model BE-35 Bonanza for business and pleasure. Additionally, he serves as secretary of the Texas Aviation Advisory Committee to TxDOT Aviation Division.

Congratulations for a job well done!