CAA: GA News, "Riverside, Calif., Airport Eyes Jet Growth"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Monday, October 28, 2002

Riverside, Calif., Airport Eyes Jet Growth
The Business Press, Ontario, Calif.


One of the Inland Empire's smaller airports is enjoying a big year,
churning operating revenues and federal grants into upgrades to make
Riverside's city airport a major corporate aviation center. 

The city is negotiating with Orange County-based Riverside Aviation One
LLC to develop a site map, marketing, financing and property disposition
plans for a corporate jet facility, which will cost about $12 million. 

Illinois-based Erect-A-Tube Inc. will develop a separate $6 million
general aviation facility. 

The 20-acre, 100-building network of private hangars and full-service
facilities for general aviation will be built on the airport's west
side. 

"We are a prominent player in the future of Inland Empire
transportation,"Riverside Airport Director John Sabatello said. 

Sabatello believes the Inland Empire will be best served by specializing
various airports to serve different needs rather than concentrating
every interest at one airport causing eventual congestion like that seen
at Los Angeles International Airport. 

"March [Air Reserve Base] is set up for cargo, Norton [the former Air
Force base now known as San Bernardino International Airport] is ideal
for intermodal networks. John Wayne [International Airport in Orange
County] has passenger airlines. Everything in the L.A. Basin is
overcrowded. Sabatello said. "The corporate market is looking for
somewhere to go. We're ideally suited for that."

The general aviation airport is owned by the city of Riverside and is
located in the western part of the city near the intersection of
Arlington Avenue and Van Buren Boulevard. The airport is expected to
handle 106,000 flight operations in 2002, Sabatello said, about 6
percent more flights than in 2001 and about 70 percent of the airport's
current capacity. Users include corporate and recreational flyers,
flight schools and medical transporters. 

The airport has almost doubled traffic from 65,000 operations in 1995
when the airport management first turned its focus to attracting
corporate jets. The facility has been self-supporting since 1995. 

"There's a piece of the aviation pie for everyone," Sabatello said.
"There has to be a niche for corporate aviation."

The airport occupies a 451-acre site, an area only slightly smaller than
500-acre John Wayne International Airport in Santa Ana, but only 250
acres have been developed to date. 

The corporate jet center will occupy an 80 acres parcel along the north
Central Avenue side of the airport and will include full fuel, service,
accessories and amenities facilities for corporate jet aircraft. 

Deals should be finalized by December with work beginning in early 2003.


The private developers will pay the costs of construction, recouping
their investment through rental fees. At the end of the airport's lease
agreement, not yet finalized, the improvements will revert to city
ownership, Sabatello said. 

New taxiways in front of both facilities will link the existing taxiways
and the 5,400-foot main runway. The runway eventually will be lengthened
to 6,400 feet under terms of the airport's master plan, adopted by the
city in 1999. The runway is suitable for all corporate jets, Sabatello
said.


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http://www.californiaaviation.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?conf=DCConfID2

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