Wingtips Volume 1 - Number 1

Your airport is the first thing that visitors see when they fly in to your community. What kind of impression do you want to make? Are the restrooms working? Is there a clean place for a tired pilot to rest? Is the grass mowed? Are the structures painted and in good repair? These are all things that can influence how a visitor sees your town. Making sure the airport looks nice and that service facilities are in good working order can be accomplished with relatively little expenditure but can yield great returns. Let us know if you need or would like assistance in addressing these issues.

The legislation authorizing the Airport Improvement Program expired on September 30, 1992. Just prior to adjourning for the election, both the U.S. Senate and House passed a bill extending the Airport Improvement Program through September 30, 1993 which the President then signed into law. Some of the highlights of the legislation are:

• the Airport Improvement Program has been authorized for Fiscal Year 1993 at a level of $2.05 billion (although the Fiscal Year 1993 DOT Appropriations Act set a limit of $1.8 billion on the AIP);
• the FFA facilities and equipment program has been extended for three more years;
• the minimum level of entitlement funds for primary commercial service airports has increased to $400,000 and the maximum increases to $22 million;
• additional funds are available for air cargo airports, noise abatement programs, and FAA research and development programs;
• certain environmental projects and relocation of FAA owned facilities are now eligible for funding;
• the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise programs have been expanded and modified;
• the number of states allowed to participate in the state block grant program has been increased from three to seven and the program has been extended through 1996.

Dave Fulton and several staff members attended a recent conference in Fort Worth of the FAA Southwest Region State Directors. At the semi-annual meeting, each state presented a status report and the FFA presented information regarding Flight Standards, Air Traffic, Public Affairs, Airway Facilities, National Weather Service, and Airport Programs. If you would like details on any of the topics discussed at the meeting, please contact us.

Fiscal 1992 was a good year for federal investment in Texas’ general aviation infrastructure. The Division of Aviation administered funding totaling nearly $16 million for improvement projects at 24 airports across the state. Funding for these projects is made possible as a result of the Federal Airport and Airway Improvement Act of 1982. The state objective of the Act is to “assist in the development of a nationwide system of public-use airports adequate to meet the current projected growth of civil aviation.”

The Division’s role in this program has been to channel federal funds to general aviation non-reliever airports for airport improvements and to act as the agent for the local airport sponsor in contracting, engineering, project management, and financial accounting. To accomplish this, the Division works closely with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), local airport sponsors, and consultants.

Federal funding comes from the FAA Airport Improvement Program (AIP), with money generated from a federal ticket tax, a federal tax on aviation fuel and federal taxes on certain aviation supplies. The money is appropriated through the airport and airways trust fund. Federal participation is at a rate of ninety percent for eligible projects. The remaining ten percent is funded equally by the state and local sponsor.

Texas was recently named as one of four additional states to participate in the State Block Grant Program. Under the program, the state will take the lead role in carrying out the Airport Improvement Program for general aviation non-reliever airports. This potentially will allow for greater state discretion in selecting and managing projects within several categories of AIP funding and will hopefully improve the delivery of federal funds to the airport sponsors. According to Ed Scott, NASAO Executive Vice President, with the state aviation agencies administering Airport Improvement Program funds, airport managers, consultants, contractors as well as the pilot community, can be assured that their airport projects will be funded in a timely and efficient manner and at less cost.

The Division of Aviation is in the process of conducting a study to determine the economic impacts of general aviation. Questionnaires have been mailed to selected sponsors and businesses. If you receive one, please take time to respond. The results of the survey are only as good as the responses. Knowing what economic impacts your airport has can be a beneficial marketing tool. If you have any questions in regard to this survey contact Linda Howard, Manager of Planning and Programming, 512/476-9262.

The following Texas general aviation airport sponsors have recently received a grant of federal funds for FY 93 airport improvement projects:

• Angelina County Airport – Lufkin
• Cherokee County Airport, Jacksonville
• Cuero Municipal Airport – Cuero
• Decatur Municipal – Decatur
• Dumas Municipal Airport – Dumas
• City of Eden
• Gained County Airport – Seminole
• Garner Field – Uvalde
• Grayson County Airport – Sherman
• Kendall County/ City of Boerne
• League City
• Mount Pleasant Municipal – Mount Pleasant
• Perryton-Ochiltree County Airport – Perryton
• Post-Garza County Municipal Airport – Post
• Slaton Municipal Airport – Slaton

We have received tentative allocations for the following airport sponsors:

• L. Mangham, Jr. Regional – Nacogdoches
• Center Municipal Airport – Center
• Commerce Municipal Airport – Commerce
• Harrison County Airport – Marshall
• Houston County Airport – Crockett
• Majors Field Airport – McGregor
• Mid Vallet Airport – Weslaco
• South Padre Island Intl. – Brownsville

Welcome to the first edition of WINGTIPS. We are going to use this newsletter as a means to communicate our plans to promote aviation and further aviation development throughout Texas. Having recently joined the TxDOT Division of Aviation team, I am excited about the challenges ahead and am confident that together we can make great strides in improving the Texas Air Transportation System. In that regard, I encourage you to take an active role in helping us achieve our goals and would appreciate any thoughts or comments you may have at any time.

“Certainly the State of Texas, with its proud heritage, deserves an aviation system the equal of any other state in the nation. Building that type of system is, and will remain, our first and foremost priority.”

Over the years ahead, we must improve our statewide aviation facilities by building better runways, taxiways, and aprons at our airports, installing new and better lighting systems, adding new and better navigational aids, providing better fueling capabilities, adequate public facilities, and the list goes on and on. Obviously, reaching our goal will require a substantial financial investment. As time goes by, I will be sharing with you some of my thoughts as to how we might obtain the necessary funding.

I also need your assistance in helping educate the general public as to the role that our general aviation airports play in contributing to the economic welfare of our state. Together, we must better inform the public as to the benefits of general aviation if we are to obtain the financial support that is so vitally needed.

In future editions of this newsletter, I also plan to discuss national aviation issues which may be of interest to you. If there are particular subjects about which you would like to hear, please contact our office and I will be glad to include them in my future comments.

Finally, I would like to offer my thanks for the outstanding hospitality I have received since my recent move to the great state of Texas. I am delighted to be here and look forward to working with each of you in making Texas the national leader in the field of aviation.

David S. Fulton joined TxDOT this June from the Tennessee Department of Transportation where he worked for sixteen years with the Tennessee Office of Aeronautics, serving as agency director for ten years. Senior level management responsibilities there included aviation promotion, development, and regulation for state and annual budget preparation and allocation of $25 million state and federal funds for facility development and maintenance of Tennessee’s airports. Dave managed a state-owned airport and held approval authority for the planning, site selection, design, and construction of the state’s publicly owned airports. He was the State of Tennessee’s representative to the U.S. Department of Transportation for air transportation matters and was Director of the Tennessee Flight Department. Prior to his appointment as agency director in 1981, Dave was assigned increasingly responsible positions with aviation agency as Director of Development and Operations and Assistant Chief Engineer.

For over eleven years Dave was a naval officer with pilot designation; he was captain of a 17-person crew in the military version of the Lockheed Electra; and was assigned a variety of duties including administrative officer, personnel officer and operations officer for a 360-member squadron. He has been a naval flight instructor and a squadron standardization officer.

Dave’s many accomplishments include establishing the Tennessee “Transportation Equity Fund,” an effort which resulted in a 400% increase in state funds for air transportation development by creating a user fund from sales tax revenues on aviation fuel. He implemented a statewide program to improve public facilities at Tennessee community airports through the construction of modern terminal buildings; initiated a statewide program to investigate underground storage tanks and hazardous runoff at Tennessee airports; and implemented a program to ensure compliance with EPA regulations. He also led a successful effort to establish a strong aviation coalition among aviation interests in Tennessee.

As can be seen from the qualifications listed here, Dave Fulton brings extensive knowledge of the field of aviation to his new position as TxDOT Director of Aviation. He is well versed in state and federal legislative processes, having testified frequently before state and congressional committees on aviation issues. He is a past president (1986) of the National Association of State Aviation Officials.

Dave graduated from Vanderbilt University (1958) with a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering. He received an MBA from the University of Tennessee in 1979 and holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the Nashville School of Law (1985). He is licensed to practice law in the State of Tennessee and before the federal courts. He is a captain in the U.S. Naval Reserve and holds an Airline Trasport Pilot Rating.

Dave Fulton’s thorough knowledge of airport development, operations, planning principles, and FAA regulations, as well as his management background in state aviation systems, will be a tremendous asset to the Division of Aviation.