- Parking and Security Project Complete [more]
- Construction Complete on Seaside's first hangars! [more]
- Runway repair work and wind tee upgrade project complete [more]
- Airport Committee takes steps to address safety and noise issues [more]
- Seaside featured in Pilot Getaways Magazine
Parking and Security Improvement Project Complete
2/10/2010 -- Seaside's airport is looking a much spiffier and more secure these days, thanks to a just completed improvement project.
The project, funded by FAA and the City of Seaside, includes a new automobile parking lot closer to the highway in what was previously a mostly unused area of dirt and gravel. Security fencing was also installed, along with a new tower for the rotating beacon.
The new steel beacon tower is also a significant improvement, and replaces the old, increasingly unstable tower which was made up of two telephone poles with a plywood platform mounted between them at the top. "The tower would shift in the wind and point the light at the wrong angle, and the public works guys who have to maintain it did not like to go up there any more," Henderson said.
The Seaside Airport Advisory Committee worked with airport manager Neal Wallace and consulting engineers W&H Pacific to define the specifics of the project. The work was performed by Clean Sweep Paving and Maintenance. The committee is currently working on a project for 2010 which will include more fencing, drainage improvements, aircraft parking area improvements, updated runway lighting, and signage.
10/7/2009 -- Pilots who park their planes outside at Seaside Airport will breathe a little easier in the future, thanks to improvements underway at Seaside Airport.
The project, funded by FAA and the City of Seaside, involves creating a new automobile parking lot west of the existing
lot, and installing security fencing.
Henderson thinks the fencing will increase use of the airport by overnight tourists. "Many of them are uncomfortable leaving their planes outside here for fear that they will be tampered with. This project is the first step in addressing that."
The Seaside Airport Advisory Committee worked with consulting engineers W&H Pacific to define the specifics of the project. Although the grant funds available were not enough to cover all of the improvements they were hoping for, planning is already underway to complete the improvements with another grant allocation next year. Among the things remaining unfinished are removal of the existing cable fence around the current parking lot, re-grading and paving the old lot for aircraft use, and a re-layout / replacement of the aircraft tie-down pads to take advantage of the extra space and bring the spacing into compliance with FAA standards.
The project is being funded by a grant from FAA's Airport Improvement program, which provides 95% of the funds. The City of Seaside agreed to provide the remaining 5%.
8/1/2007 -- Some local pilots (and maybe a transient now and then) can finally park their
planes out of the weather at Seaside.
This has been a long time coming for our little airport.
In the airport's entire 50 year history, there has been no place for people
to park planes out of the weather. Largely for that reason, few aircraft have
historically been based at Seaside, with the count hovering
between two and zero in recent years. The new hangar building changes that equation,
and seven airplanes now call Seaside home. And a sweet home it is, with electricity, insulation, water, sewer, and electric bi-fold doors -- a cut above the typical Tee hangar.
The building sits on airport land which is leased from the city. The bays are
individually owned in a "condominium" arrangement. Owners may rent or sub-lease (or occasionally sell) their hangars. If you are interested in any of the above, contact
Immelman Hangar Developments LLC, immelman4hangars@aol.com. (Note: Per the lease agreement, the hangars are for aircraft storage and aviation use only and are not to be used as general purpose storage units.)
The improvements should make the airport more inviting to fly-in tourists, according airport committee chairman Randall Henderson. "Pilots take notice when a place looks well-maintained, and they also like to know that their planes are secure from random vandalism and equipment theft, especially when staying overnight," he said.
Parking and security improvements underway 
"The parking lot has always been in an awkward place," said Airport Advisory Commitee Chairman Randall Henderson. "Moving it to the west will open up the ramp area, giving us more space to park airplanes or build new hangars." It also makes it simpler to add security fencing, a key element of the project, he said. "We've had incidents in the past with people tampering with aircraft, leading to a very dangerous situation in at least one instance."
Construction Complete on Seaside's first hangars
The hangar project, contracted by Immelman Hangar Developments LLC and facilitated
by the Seaside airport advisory committee, city council and staff, took more than
a year to complete.
One such step was the installation of signs at the ends of the runway advising pilots
to climb to 1000 feet before making any turns, to reduce the noise impact of planes
flying over local neighborhoods. 1000 feet is twice as high as the FAA's "standard"
turnout altitude, and even though the final decision of when and where to make turns
is ultimately up to the individual pilot, most are willing to make adjustments in
order to comply with requested local guidelines, according to Henderson. "Pilots
want to want to be good neighbors," he said.