CAA: GA News, "Hailey, Idaho, Airport Must Wait for New Landing System"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

October 5, 2001

Hailey, Idaho, Airport Must Wait for New Landing System
The Times-News, Twin Falls, ID


HAILEY, Idaho--Pilots flying in and out of Hailey's airport will likely
have to go one more winter without a precision navigation system to
guide them during inclement weather.

That's the word from Fred Isaac, a consultant with the Eugene,
Ore.-based Sixel, Boggs and Associates consulting group.

Isaac said he thought the earliest the transponder landing system can be
up and running is spring 2002 -- probably sometime in April. It will
take at least two months to install it if installation isn't hampered by
bad weather.

In the meantime, it's important for airport authorities to keep the heat
on the Federal Aviation Administration, said Isaac, a former regional
administrator with the FAA.

That said, the transponder project would likely not have gotten this far
this fast had it not been for an earlier report by Sixel, Boggs and
Associates that concluded the FAA was dragging its feet, said Rick
Baird, Friedman Memorial Airport manager.

Carol Waller, executive director of the Sun Valley/Ketchum Chamber of
Commerce, agreed.

"They were instrumental in getting the FAA to focus on the TLS
(transponder landing system) more intently. I'm disappointed it won't be
up and running this winter, but at least we can see light at the end of
the tunnel now," she said.

An FAA spokesman this week said the agency was too busy with security
measures to comment on landing systems.

Hailey's transponder landing system, one of six pilot projects to be
installed nationwide, should cut down on the number of flights diverted
to Twin Falls during snow and fog. It also is expected to reduce some of
the noise complaints surrounding Idaho's second busiest airport by
reducing missed approaches and repeated attempts to land.

But it won't cut out noise completely, warned Isaac.

The FAA will likely not approve restrictions on noisy Stage 2 aircraft
weighing 75,000 pounds or less without the benefit of a study, he added.
And it may not approve restrictions even then without congressional
legislation, he added.

The problem centers primarily around corporate jets -- not Horizon Air's
or SkyWest Airline's commercial aircraft.

Congress eliminated local airports' ability to restrict aircraft in
1990. At the same time, it began a program to phase out Stage 2 aircraft
weighing more than 75,000 pounds. But it left untouched aircraft
weighing less than 75,000 pounds, said Dave Schaffer, a senior counsel
for the Department of Transportation's aviation subcommittee.

Isaac said he was impressed with the effect Friedman Memorial Airport's
voluntary noise-abatement program has had and recommended airport
authorities continue educating pilots who aren't aware of the airport's
curfews between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. and other noise-abatement efforts.

He also recommended that the community be educated about the airport's
value to its economy, that government bodies enact compatible land-use
policies and that the airport board work with Idaho's congressional
delegation on legislation that phases out Stage 2 airplanes.

Local authorities could also make a case that they need legislation for
relief from Stage 2 noise based on the airport's unique valley
environment, which affords few visual cues in the dark, he said.

The noisy Stage 2 jets will eventually be replaced by newer planes. In
the meantime, Isaac suggested, the airport board should document Stage 2
operations to get a handle on how prevalent they are.

   Post your opinion on this story in the CAA General Aviation Forum
http://www.californiaaviation.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?conf=DCConfID2

*****************************************