Much needed upgrades are on the way for the Coleman Municipal Airport.
An airport advisory board recently met recommending the City Council move forward with a Capital Improvement Project worth over $700,000.
The City Council agreed to pay their share to help fund the improvements.
Since its beginning as a World War II air base, the Coleman Municipal Airport has gone through many changes.
Throughout though, there's been one thing that's a constant.
"It's imperative, it's absolutely essential that, from time to time, you upgrade your airport," said Coleman City Manager, Paul Catoe.
That being said, it still has it's rough patches.
Any time there's this much pavement, over a period of time they'll of course have recurring issues.
It's when you're actually in an airplane though that you understand how important maintaining the airport becomes.
From up in the air you get an idea at just how much ground the airport has to maintain.
Making sure the pavement is smooth is one thing, it's the essential elements of flight that carry the most weight.
"The lighting is a big problem," said John Vance, who helps run the airport. "Because it's been here approximately thirty years."
Over those thirty years the wiring along with some of the infrastructure of runway lights has deteriorated.
The airport experiences frequent light failures.
Pilots have to line up with the runway from a distance depending solely on the lights.
If you still don't get the picture, imagine yourself in a car without any lights navigating down a dark road at night.
"It's a major deal for them, it's just like you trying to drive around the parking lot in the dark," said Vance. "If you're not familiar with that parking lot and you don't have very good lights, you don't know what you're doing."
Knowing what you're doing and where you're going can be a matter of life or death in an airplane.
The city recognizes the airport has a large economic impact on the future of their community, which is why they agreed on the 90-10 grant.
The state will pay for 90% of the cost. The city will make up the last ten percent.
Here's what the airport receives in the improvement project:
Replace rotating beacon and tower - $40,000
Environmental Evaluation for Lighting Project (if necessary) - $9,000
Install PAPI-2 RW 15-33 (aids pilots in rate of descent) - $175,000
Replace MIRLS (Medium Intensity Runway Lights) -$240,000
Engineering/Design Install MIRLs, PAPIs, signage RWY15-33 - $95,000
Contingency, RPR, admin - $80,000
Install Runway Hold & Exit Signs (10 signs) - $55,000
Install Segmented Circle - $5,000
Install Lighted Wind Indicator - $15,000
The city will pay $71,750 total in their portion of the grant to make these improvements.
An airport advisory board recently met recommending the City Council move forward with a Capital Improvement Project worth over $700,000.
The City Council agreed to pay their share to help fund the improvements.
Since its beginning as a World War II air base, the Coleman Municipal Airport has gone through many changes.
Throughout though, there's been one thing that's a constant.
"It's imperative, it's absolutely essential that, from time to time, you upgrade your airport," said Coleman City Manager, Paul Catoe.
That being said, it still has it's rough patches.
Any time there's this much pavement, over a period of time they'll of course have recurring issues.
It's when you're actually in an airplane though that you understand how important maintaining the airport becomes.
From up in the air you get an idea at just how much ground the airport has to maintain.
Making sure the pavement is smooth is one thing, it's the essential elements of flight that carry the most weight.
"The lighting is a big problem," said John Vance, who helps run the airport. "Because it's been here approximately thirty years."
Over those thirty years the wiring along with some of the infrastructure of runway lights has deteriorated.
The airport experiences frequent light failures.
Pilots have to line up with the runway from a distance depending solely on the lights.
If you still don't get the picture, imagine yourself in a car without any lights navigating down a dark road at night.
"It's a major deal for them, it's just like you trying to drive around the parking lot in the dark," said Vance. "If you're not familiar with that parking lot and you don't have very good lights, you don't know what you're doing."
Knowing what you're doing and where you're going can be a matter of life or death in an airplane.
The city recognizes the airport has a large economic impact on the future of their community, which is why they agreed on the 90-10 grant.
The state will pay for 90% of the cost. The city will make up the last ten percent.
Here's what the airport receives in the improvement project:
Replace rotating beacon and tower - $40,000
Environmental Evaluation for Lighting Project (if necessary) - $9,000
Install PAPI-2 RW 15-33 (aids pilots in rate of descent) - $175,000
Replace MIRLS (Medium Intensity Runway Lights) -$240,000
Engineering/Design Install MIRLs, PAPIs, signage RWY15-33 - $95,000
Contingency, RPR, admin - $80,000
Install Runway Hold & Exit Signs (10 signs) - $55,000
Install Segmented Circle - $5,000
Install Lighted Wind Indicator - $15,000
The city will pay $71,750 total in their portion of the grant to make these improvements.
