California Airports

LIVERMORE — After two weeks moored in the muck at Livermore Municipal Airport, MetLife chief blimp pilot Bret Viets eyed the afternoon’s dark clouds, waiting for a break in the weather. The previous day, Viets’ lighter-than-air vessel, “Snoopy Two,” provided aerial coverage of an Oakland Raiders game. His work finished, he bided his time before heading south to San Diego.

An airship pilot for five years, Viets is a rare breed. He estimates there are only about two dozen such pilots in the U.S.

“It’s fun,” Viets said. “I enjoy meeting new people. That’s as much a part of our job as flying.”

Runway 13/31 will be closed on December 26th to December 29th 2012. Please check the NOTAMS before your flight.NOTAMS will be posted shortly. This information may change with the weather but we will keep you posted with the most up to date information as possible.

Jolie Lucas, Region 3 Vice President testified before Santa Maria Airport Board to encourage solution versus eviction for long-time airport business ArtCraft Paint.

Teresa Venegas Arredondo has been doing business at the Santa Maria Public Airport for 28 years as the owner of ArtCraft Paint Inc., and Thursday night friends and business associates made an appeal to the Board of Directors to let her continue.

Greater government oversight. Rising expenses. Rents below market value.A combination of those factors, according to Sutter County officials and supervisors, is what took the county’s airport off a “fiscal cliff” of its own in recent years, and a situation those same officials said they hope it’s emerging from now.

To Supervisor Stan Cleveland, two developments emerged about a decade ago that put the airport’s finances on shaky ground. The first was the post-Sept. 11, 2001, environment in which the federal government’s push for homeland security led to greater oversight of general aviation airports like Sutter County’s.

LAX runway separation plan advances, over groups’ objections – Some neighbors and Ontario airport supporters oppose a plan touted as improving safety and the handling of the largest new aircraft at Los Angeles International.

A controversial plan to separate the two northern runways at Los Angeles International Airport by 260 feet advanced last week when airport staff recommended the proposal for further environmental review over other runway options.

Notice Number: NOTC4478
ALERT BULLETIN: SUBJECT: RWY 31L – Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) Activation

FACILITY: Palm Springs International Airport (PSP)

TRIGGERING EVENT: Replacement of VASI Navigational Aid (NAVAID) equipment on left to PAPI on right.

NARRATIVE:

On December 15, 2012 the Palm Springs International Airport, Air Traffic Control (ATC) will activate the newly installed RWY 31L Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) system. This equipment replaces the Visual Approach Slope Indicator (VASI) system for RWY 31L, previously on “left” side of runway.

The Federal Aviation Administration will take back $2.1 million in stimulus funds that it gave to San Francisco International Airport because the money was used improperly, according to the Department of Transportation’s inspector general.

The airport received $14.5 million in stimulus funds to improve runways and taxiways, which was completed in 2010. But the inspector general said in a report earlier this month that $2.1 million was used for unauthorized construction. It is unclear what specifically the money was spent on.

California’s Long Beach Airport LGB plans to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony on December 5 to unveil the results of its $140 million renovation. Established in 1923 as the first municipal airport in Southern California, the airport (known also as Daugherty Field) has five runways ranging in length from approximately 4,000 feet to 10,000 feet, and sees some 300,000 operations a year. While it hosts its own commercial traffic and serves as an alternative to Los Angeles International, 20 miles to the northwest, LGB also ranks as one of the world’s busiest general aviation airports.

The clock is ticking for residents living around Bob Hope Airport to tap a federally funded program to soundproof their houses before a shrinking noise-impact zone renders them ineligible, officials warned last week. 

With fewer flights coming in and out of the airfield, and quieter aircraft taking to the skies, the noise-impact zone is expected to shrink significantly at the north and south ends of the runway, meaning homeowners who currently qualify for grant-funded soundproofing may soon find themselves outside the boundaries for the program.Dan Feger, the airport’s executive director, said homeowners who qualify should act quickly.

VICTORVILLE – The Southern California Logistics Airport Authority announced Thursday that it plans on issuing a notice to its bondholders informing them the authority expects to be $2.9 million shy of its debt obligation come Dec. 1.

“The default has been anticipated by SCLAA largely due to legislative maneuvers by the state of California to shift redevelopment funds and eliminate redevelopment agencies to satisfy the state’s budgetary shortfalls,” said Victorville Mayor Ryan McEachron, who is SCLAA chairman, in a statement Thursday.