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  • 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.

Seaside beacon tower image 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.

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.


Parking and security improvements underway

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.

October 2009 Airport Parking Lot excavation "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."

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%.


Construction Complete on Seaside's first hangars

8/1/2007 -- Some local pilots (and maybe a transient now and then) can finally park their planes out of the weather at Seaside.

click for large version 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.

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.)


Runway work complete, new wind tee in place

11/16/2004 -- Repair work on the runway is complete, and the new wind tee has been erected, completing the FAA-funded airport improvement project that was facilitated by airport committee members and approved by the city council last year.

At the September airport committee meeting, Airport manager Neal Wallace reported that the area of sunken asphalt near the south end of the runway along with several larger runway cracks had been cut out and repaved. The dip in the runway had become a point of concern among pilots in recent years, and had the potential to cause control difficulty for landing and departing planes.

A back-ordered equipment problem delayed completion of the new wind tee and segmented circle project for several months, but its completion in November represents an important safety improvement, according to Airport Committee chairman and local flight instructor Jason Ketcheson. "The larger, better-lit windsock is much more visible both day and night, and that's an important safety factor, particularly at this airport, which is pretty windy a lot of the time."

The project was 90 % paid for by an FAA grant that the city applied for in 2002. Initially the city was liable for the other 10%, but the city recently secured a state airport improvement grant in addition to the FAA grant, with the result being that the city's share was less than $3000 for more than $150,000 worth of airport improvements.

"Both the FAA and State Aeronautics seem pleased to see the interest the city has recently shown for making improvements at the airport, and that translates in a greater willingness to help help financially," Wallace said.


Airport Committee takes steps to address safety and noise concerns

8/1/2004 -- Since its creation by the City Council in June of 2003, the Seaside Airport Advisory committee has taken a number of steps to improve safety and address noise issues at the airport.

"There aren't too many complaints about the airport, but we do occasionally hear from a local resident about about issues such as noise or low flying," said commitee Vice Chairman Randall Henderson. "As an advisory body, it's not our role to police the airport. But we can help get the word out to pilots about the noise and safety concerns that are specific to the airport and the surrounding community."

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.

Another issue addressed by the committee was the TV cable that runs along Lewis and Clark Road, just south of the runway. The cable was below the normal approach and departure paths, but was nevertheless a cause for concern among some pilots using the airport. Shortly after being contacted by committee member Roy Bennett, Charter Cable relocated the cable underground. "This had been a concern among pilots for a long time, but Charter never knew it," said Bennett. "All it took was for someone to bring it up with them, and they were more than willing to move it to a preexisting conduit under the bridge."

Other recent safety improvements include a new fire hydrant next to the aircraft parking area, a new pilot information board displaying airport operational information, and repairs to the runway lighting system.


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