Originally published in 1994
And it could be without you if you do not maintain or start to build a reputation for a clean, safe airport, and a pilot-centered attitude of service. A little can do a lot.
There are many things that cost little more than commitment and a lot of elbow grease that will make an airport one that pilots want to use, and that a community can be proud of. While some repairs, maintenance, and services can mean considerable expense to an airport, others can be accomplished with moderate expenditures.
Pilots rely on word of mouth to know where the best service is. The best service is where the planes tend to go. When you travel the highways you look for a well- kept service station with clean restrooms and a reason- able price on their gasoline. You look for a rest stop that has well-maintained grounds, snacks and drinks avail- able, and maybe even a picnic table under some shade trees so you and your family can get out of the car for a while and refresh yourselves. When you identify these clean, safe, pleasant places, you have a tendency to plan your trips around stopping at them…even if it means driving thirty minutes further up the highway. It is no different for pilots when they plan their trips. You want them to stop at your airport, not the one thirty minutes further up the “airway”.
If you build it they will come doesn’t have to mean a larger facility or expensive amenities. The reality is you may not be able to extend your runway right now, but you can extend your services. You may not be able to build a new terminal right now, but you can build your reputation– a reputation for having a good attitude of service, one that says you take pride in your airport by maintaining what you’ve got.
The Aviation Division is working very hard to gain additional funding for general aviation. We are optimistic that in the near future, funding for airport improvements in Texas will increase dramatically. The passage of the limited liability for aircraft manufacturers means more general aviation aircraft are going to be built, which means more pilots will be taking to the air. The market for corporate aviation is expanding very quickly. There is no better time than now for you to position your airport to take advantage of this inevitable growth.
An informal telephone survey of several airport managers and their assistants provided some very specific, candid, common sense suggestions on maintaining high standards whether you operate on a low budget or not. We appreciate their willingness to express their opinions.
“ • Clean restrooms–always stocked with appropriate items • Clean floors, windows, and mirrors; dusted counters and shelves • Furnishings like couches and chairs; they don’t have to be new–just clean and in good repair • Orderly appearance of an uncluttered terminal area, counter, and yes–even the airport manager’s office • Newspapers and magazines accessible, but displayed neatly • Bulletin boards with posted items arranged in an orderly manner, kept free of unnecessary clutter, and that contain no outdated information • Grass mown once a week, and always trimmed around runway lights and taxiway areas • Mowed, clean parking area for pilots when they leave their car to fly out of your airport • A courtesy car–doesn’t have to be fancy, just clean and reliable • Landable runways — Cracks in the runway are inevitable with the constant heating and cooling of the pavement. Don’t let them go untended allowing grass to grow up through the runway and break the pavement. Keep cracks filled and level with the runway surface. It doesn’t help much to fill the cracks if a pilot now has to come in on a “washboard” runway. • On-site personnel to sell and pump fuel. You won’t make a pilot want to return if he stands freezing or frying at the pump while he waits for someone to show up with a key to the pump • A place for a pilot to change clothes. If you can’t provide a separate dressing room and it has to be your restroom, you could provide a bench for sitting, and a wall hook for hanging clothes • Flight planning area, unlocked for access 24 hours a day. Provide a map and a toll restricted telephone line inside, with a pay phone available outside for long distance needs. • Tie downs — real ones not half broken pieces of re-bar buried in the pavement, where the pilot has to provide his own rope. Because it rusts and deteriorates, re-bar can break off in a high wind causing considerable damage to an aircraft • Fresh paint on all facility buildings, inside and outside • Runway designations and centerline markings sharply and discernably painted. • All bulbs on runway lights in working order • Security lighting for parking ramp • Repair services available. • A good, serviceable windsock if the end of a windsock is blown out, it won’t trap air, it will just flop around, leaving a pilot to guess which direction it is flopping the most — Besides, a deteriorating windsock is an eyesore hoisted up like a flag at your airport. • At an airport where the community support is high, many items may be donated by members of the community, including volunteers to help with cleaning or groundskeeping at the airport. All you may have to do is ask.”
