Friedman Memorial Airport: key component of the valley’s economy
Improvements, rather than expansion, on the horizon
By HANS IBOLD
Express Staff Writer
Friedman Memorial Airport , looking north,
photographed from an altitude of about 500 feet. The airport's future and the area's
economy are intertwined. Expansion, noise and safety issues need to be resolved. (Express
photo by Willy Cook)
Friedman Memorial Airport’s well being is critical to the success
of the valley’s growing resort economy. Even so, the Hailey-based airport is
entangled in other important valley issues, too, including noise and safety questions. How
the airport and the community resolve them will determine the future course of the
airport, the state’s second busiest landing field.
The preamble to the airport’s master plan is a telling document.
"The goals of this master plan are to eliminate as many of the
safety deviations as possible while not expanding the impact on the adjacent
community," it reads.
"We seek the highest quality and safest airport possible within
the physical limits imposed by the geography and the human use of adjacent lands. As
pressure for use reaches the physical limits of the facility, we need to look for
alternatives away from the valley cities rather than expansion at the present site."
At present, a search for alternatives has been abandoned and
improvements at the current airport are ongoing.
That investment could translate into both benefits and problems for the
community.
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Many safety deviations were eliminated by the runway shift completed in
late June, and more deviations will be eliminated when facilities are moved to the
southwest corner of the airport.
The runway was shifted 300 feet to the south to allow for safety areas
at both ends of the runway.
One of the most glaring safety problems at Friedman had been that
aircraft did not have an impediment-free safety area at both ends of the runway, airport
manager Rick Baird said.
With those areas now in place, safety at the airport has been
"substantially enhanced" and Friedman has been brought into compliance with
Federal Aviation Administration safety requirements.
A 40-acre parcel from Eccles’ Flying Hat Ranch, south of the
airport, was purchased to make the shift possible. The parcel cost the airport $4.3
million.
The next phase of the master plan involves construction of a large
ramp, or tarmac, at the southwestern edge of the airport. Almost all general aviation
aircraft will be parked there once the ramp is complete.
That project, which will also make landing and take-offs safer, will
cost approximately $1.8 million.
Funding for master plan improvements comes from three sources. The
airport received about $4.5 million in federal grants this year. The rest of the funding
came from operational funds generated by the airport and from passenger facility charges.
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Service to Friedman, often hindered by lack of access and high costs,
could get a boost from a recent action by the Idaho Department of Commerce to join a
coalition working on increasing regional jet service to Idaho’s rural airports.
Adding regional jets, which the master plan supports, could be a boon
to Friedman and to the resort economy, according to Sun Valley Company spokesman Jack
Sibbach.
"As a resort representative, I would love to see the airport grow
in this regard," Sibbach said.
Regional jets—or "RJs"—are part of a new family of
jets that carry 50 to 70 passengers, far more than the typical commercial aircraft serving
Friedman, according to airport managerBaird.
RJs are as quiet as the Dash-8 passenger aircraft that currently use
Friedman. In addition, they are more economical and carry more passengers than the
commercial aircraft serving Friedman now, Baird said. And, he added, Friedman is designed
to accommodate them.
"RJs can hop in from places like Los Angeles, which is an easy RJ
run," said former airport authority president Tom Blanchard.
Labor disputes between airlines and pilots are hindering the
development of RJ service.
"The success of the RJs will be related to how successful airlines
are at buying and implementing RJ service," Baird said.
Heavier and louder aircraft, however, are restricted from using
Friedman because of a 1990 classification by the Federal Aviation Administration. Only
aircraft with approach speeds of 91 to 121 knots—such as the Dash-8, Falcon 50 and
Gulfstream III—may use the airport. Aircraft like the Boeing 737 are prohibited from
landing because of weight.
Other service-oriented enhancements that will be coming to Friedman
include a remodel of the passenger terminal and, potentially, a mass transit access that
would link the terminal to surrounding communities and reduce automobile traffic.
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Improvements do not, however, mean expansion.
Despite a push from airlines like Horizon and from Sun Valley Company,
the runway will not be lengthened at the current site to accommodate larger aircraft.
"The authority’s position is that if we have to take more or
larger aircraft than we do today, we’ll do it at another location," Baird said.
"The authority is committed to implementing this master plan."
The master plan, Baird reminded, is "not a document that increases
the airport’s capability to house, service, or take larger aircraft than the airport
does today."
Furthermore, Baird said it was the authority’s position that land
negotiations with Spencer Eccles—the landowner to the south whose farm land would be
required for a runway extension—were to be "one time and one time alone."
Those negotiations have already occurred, Baird said.
The airport currently tallies about 70,000 take-offs and landings
annually, just over half its capacity.
That figure has leveled off in the past four years and is expected to
remain steady, Baird said.
