Although years of studies, uncertain federal action and difficult financing decisions still lay ahead, the really big problem facing Friedman Memorial Airport has been licked.
Finally, the decision has been made to replace it with a new, larger and more isolated airport.
It took more than 30 years to reach this point, however, since concerns about the Hailey airport's inability to meet safety standards were first expressed.
In 1971, as Friedman Manager Rick Baird recalls from the airport's history, the airport's governing board shrugged off the idea of a regional airport.
Then, in 1976, public apprehension was expressed that Friedman would be a victim of its own success. Literally snuggled into the city of Hailey central business district, the field was reaching its growth limits as housing and businesses developed around it and poor weather and mountainous terrain on three sides made aircraft operations difficult.
But a decision to move and build a new facility was again put off.
Then, 15 years later, the 1991 so-called Coffman study designated an area known as Moonstone east of Fairfield along U.S. Highway 20 as a potential site for a future airport.
But community leaders, once they looked at a high price tag, decided not to act on that recommendation, either.
Finally, a 1994 master plan for Friedman improvements virtually prohibited any future delays by unequivocally stating: "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."
Now, 11 years after that prescient comment, a possible site has been designated by the Friedman Memorial Airport Authority after more than a year of sometimes-contentious citizen site committee hearings and after strenuous opposition from some business interests. The recommendation has been dropped into the lap of the Federal Aviation Administration for approval.
Friedman has come a long way. Photos from 1914 show little more than a dirt patch with a few early aircraft. In 1931, the pioneer Friedman family officially conveyed land for an airport, which was dedicated in 1932. Thereafter, FAA funds helped buy more land to build a paved runway and expand Friedman, now Idaho's second busiest commercial airport behind Boise's main airport.
By the end of this year, some 50,000 flight operations will be recorded; some 80,000 passengers will have flown in and out of Friedman on SkyWest Airlines and Horizon Air, and, amazingly, some 100,000 passengers will have been carried by private and charter aircraft.
The new airport site is inside Blaine County, nearly 20 miles south of the present airport, alongside state Highway 75, and closer than two other finalist sites, one in Camas County and another one in Lincoln County. The area on state and federal lands is generally flat and obstruction-free.
Baird, who manned the Friedman control tower for two years before becoming airport manager in 1993, has specific visions of a new airport that could cost some $100 million but wouldn't open for another 10 years.
Ideally, it would have a total area of 1,200 acres (compared to Friedman's 230 acres). It would have a main runway of 8,500 feet and a diagonal crosswind runway of 6,000 feet, both with landing and takeoffs in both directions, capable of handling larger jet airliners. Friedman has only one 6,852-foot runway with one way in for landings, one way out, and a weight limit for aircraft.
Revenue-producing tenants will be vital, including not only aircraft service and repair, but flight school, package and cargo carriers, large rental auto garage, and hangars and tie down for transient and resident aircraft.
Baird also foresees an airport design that would make the field a trendsetter for the 22nd century. He anticipates a "green" airport, one that utilizes environmental assets such as the sun for the terminal's energy needs and design features that minimize impact on the surrounding area.
If such plans are fulfilled, Baird said people in the region decades from now would say, "Those guys in 2005 were the smartest guys in the community for putting the airport here (at the designated Timmerman Hills area)."
Equally optimistic and enthused is Sarah Michael, chair of the Blaine County Commission. Along with the city of Hailey, Blaine County owns the airport and decided not to attempt expanding Friedman.
"A new airport that is more reliable and capable of handling larger commercial and private aircraft will address the travel needs of Blaine, Camas and Shoshone counties" and "have greater capacity to bring visitors to Sun Valley when new hotels, a convention center and additional condominiums are built."
The Airport Authority's chairwoman, Martha Burke, who also is a Hailey City Council member, sees the new airport picking up major business support from surrounding counties as those areas grow. She also says pilots who objected to a new facility farther than Friedman "will discover more hangar space, more services that will make this a much more desirable airport than they can imagine."
Literally snuggled into the city of Hailey central business district, Friedman Memorial Airport is surrounded by housing and businesses developments. Also, poor weather and mountainous terrain on three sides occasionally make aircraft operations difficult. Photo by Willy Cook
