May 2011 - Lewiston-Nez Perce County Regional Airport

LEWISTON-NEZ PERCE
COUNTY AIRPORT
AUTHORITY
VOLUME I, ISSUE 2
A I R P O R T
R E P O R T
MAY 25, 2011
SOUTHSIDE DEVELOPMENT UNDERWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tenants and users of the
Lewiston-Nez Perce County Regional Airport are once again feeling the vibrations of bulldozers
and trackhoes biting into basalt
rock as what could well be the
airport’s largest expansion in its
67-year history gets underway.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
HILLCREST EXPANSION
2
AIR FAIR UPDATE
3
MYSTERY
PHOTO
3
BUSINESS
3
Albright Construction began
moving their heavy equipment on
site in late April; City engineers
almost immediately issued them
a notice-to-proceed.
STATISTICS
CONTACT INFORMATION
4
(Continued on Page 2)
NEW AIRPORT DISPLAY
NATIONAL
LEARN TO FLY
DAY!:
May 21st is National
Learn-to-Fly day.
Stout
Flying Service will offer
adults an introductory
flight lesson. Call them at
(208) 743-8872 for information. The Experimental
Aircraft Association will
once again conduct its
Young Eagles program
introducing youth to the
world of aviation.
Friends of the Airport have
unveiled their newest display in
the airline terminal building.
Entitled “Zimmerly Air Transport
School of Flying - The Beginning
of an Era,” the display chronicles
the wartime foundations of airline service in the Lewis-Clark
Valley. Materials and information for the display were provided by Bert Zimmerly, Jr. of
Hillsboro, Oregon, the son of the
Zimmerly Air Transport founder,
Bert Zimmerly, Sr., who died in a
plane crash on February 17,
1949.
It was the late 1930s and the
world was on the brink of war.
Congress passed the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 (CAA),
thereby creating a trial program
that would evolve into the
Civilian Pilot Training Program.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt unveiled it on December
27, 1938, providing a needed
boost to general aviation by
increasing military pilot training.
Recognizing the program’s
potential, Bert Zimmerly
leased the Asotin County Airport in Clarkston, constructed
a hangar, and founded
Zimmerly Air Transport. He
then partnered with the Lewiston Normal School (now
calledLewis Clark State College) creating the most successful of 133 Naval/Civil
(Continued on Page 3)
VOLUME I, ISSUE 2
Page 2
HILLCREST AIRCRAFT COMPANY ANNOUNCES FACILITY EXPANSION
The Hillcrest Aircraft Complex
at the Lewiston-Nez Perce
County Regional Airport
Gale Wilson, President of
the Hillcrest Aircraft Company recently announced
plans to add at least two new
hangars to the company’s
Lewiston complex. Designed
to accommodate larger corporate or executive-type aircraft, construction is scheduled to begin this summer .
Mr. Wilson shared his
plans with the Airport Authority Board which welcomed
the news.
“Gale Wilson does quality
development,” said Board
Chairman William V.
McCann, Jr.
The Hillcrest development
includes taxiways, water,
sewer and storm water systems, along with all the necessary supporting infrastructure.
Board Treasurer Pat
Nuxoll pointed out, “Hangar
development to accommo-
date this category of aircraft is
good economic news for the
entire region.”
The Hillcrest Aircraft Company has been located at the
Lewiston-Nez Perce County
Regional Airport almost continually since the facility
opened in the mid-1940s. It
continues to evolve to this day
as one of the elite in an everchanging aviation industry.
SOUTHSIDE DEVELOPMENT (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1)
(Continued from Page 1)
The project’s first phase
will level an area of approximately 80 acres for future
development. Plans include
the installation of a sewer
system and a water distribution system backbone.
Conduit for electricity, gas,
and telecommunications
lines will be installed for use
by future tenants.
The largest portion of the
project’s funding to date
comes from a U.S. Economic
Development Administration
(EDA) grant of approximately
$1.935 million. The State of
Idaho provided an additional
$500,000 with the idea that
the project would ultimately
enhance the economic viability of the entire region. Additional support is and has
been provided by the City of
Lewiston and Nez Perce
County. Both contributed
generous cash matches and
invaluable in-kind resources—
engineering, manpower, and
equipment.
The project’s second
phase will begin this summer
with the engineering of taxiways and aprons. The bidding process should take
place in the winter with construction to follow in spring.
storming, then rapidly gained
the support of individuals,
economic development and
business organizations, and
governmental entities in
three states. Without it, the
airport had no room to grow.
With it, comes the ability to
attract living-wage jobs in the
Aeronautical industry, something for which the Lewis-Clark
Valley has often been sought
out because of it’s wonderful
flying weather, excellent navigational aids, and superior
aviation support capabilities.
Coincidental with the airport construction are two
related projects: A water
pump on the golf course and
a 16” line connecting the
pump to the airport’s existing
water distribution system.
Drawing water from a colocated well, the pump will
provide more than enough
volume and pressure for full
build-out of the airport’s
south side.
Dubbed the “The Southside Aviation Airpark,” the
project began several years
ago as the result of brain-
Lewiston’s Albright Construction is the prime contractor for the
airport’s “Southside Aviation Air Park”
VOLUME I, ISSUE 2
Page 3
FRIENDS DISPLAY (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1)
(Continued from Page 1)
Aviation Administration air
training units. By the end of
1943, the Lewiston-Clarkston
unit had trained over 1,500
pilots, more than any other
training center in the United
States.
Included in the display is
Bert Zimmerly’s original flight
suit. Also included in the
display is Henry Thomas’
World War I vintage U. S.
Army Gas Mask (dated September 18, 1918) and a
World War II U. S. Army Air
Force leather flying helmet &
oxygen mask, both donated
by Mike McCreary.
The Friends of the Airport
is an informal group of four
volunteers whose mission is
to promote public awareness
of the Lewiston-Nez Perce
County Regional Airport
through information, created
with the approval of the Airport Authority Board of Commissioners.
AIR FAIR UPDATE
The Commemorative Air
Force will be returning to the
Lewiston-Nez Perce County
Regional Airport this summer. They’ll be here for the
Air Fair July 22nd through
the 24th according to Air Fair
organizer Frank Miles, bringing two of their famous flag
ships: the B-17 Flying Fortress and the B-25 Mitchell.
Also featured in this
year’s Fair is a Navy P-3
STATISTICS
MYSTERY PHOTO
Year-to-Date
2010
2011
10,638
9,267
Air Traffic
Operations
→
Scheduled
Airline
Boardings
Guess who?
18,481
16,943
(Answer in next Airport Report)
Orion and an Army Apache
helicopter.
There will be refreshments and rides and as always, admission is by donation!
The Air Fair wouldn’t be
possible without the help of
the Experimental Aircraft
Association, Stout Flying
Service, and local sponsors,
so please show your support!
Page 4
VOLUME I, ISSUE 2
We are on the web:
www.lcairport.net
LEWISTON-NEZ PERCE
COUNTY AIRPORT
AUTHORITY
406 Burrell Avenue
Suite 301
Lewiston, ID 83501
Phone: 208-746-7962
Board Meetings
Feedback
Though (as expected) the Authority’s Board of Commissioners has been meeting almost
weekly during its first six
months, their by-laws call for
an official meeting on the third
Wednesday of each month in
the Authority Board Room on
the third floor of the Airport
Administration Building. For
up-to-date information on
meeting schedules, check the
Public Meeting section of the
Lewiston Morning Tribune.
Feedback isn’t something we
put up with. The Authority
Board and Staff appreciate
input and suggestions—not just
about this newsletter, but
about ways we can improve our
airport and the service provided you.
Fax: 208-798-0591
C O M I N G
S O O N :
A L L N E W W E B S I T E !
D E D I C A T E D C U S T O M E R
E M A I L
A D D R E S S !
LEWISTON-NEZ PERCE COUNTY REGIONAL
AIRPORT AUTHORITY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
William V. Mc Cann, Jr., Chairman
Mike Martin, Vice Chairman
Pat Nuxoll, Treas urer
Verl Lon g, Sec retary
Ch ris Haye s, Co mmis sione r