XPost: rec.aviation.military   
   From: garrison@efn.org   
      
   Rethinking Lunken   
   Expanded runways, less noise and $58.6M in modifications envisioned over next   
   20   
   years   
      
   By Kevin Osborne   
   Post staff reporter   
      
   Nine months after Cincinnati City Council approved an ambitious master plan to   
   guide the future growth of Lunken Airport, there already are signs of change.   
      
   Procter & Gamble is beginning construction of a larger hangar at the airfield,   
   which will prompt the partial redesign of the adjacent Reeves Golf Course.   
      
   Other changes include renovations at the Airman's Club restaurant and   
   resurfacing nearby parking lots.   
      
   Larger-scale improvements are likely once federal regulators formally sign off   
   on the master plan and a separate noise study.   
      
   The plan calls for a runway expansion, noise reduction measures and a total of   
   $58.6 million in modifications over a 20-year period.   
      
   Major components include increasing the weight-bearing capacity of Lunken's   
   runways and lengthening one runway by almost 900 feet to accommodate corporate   
   users like P&G, which want to fly larger jets.   
      
   Also, the plan includes more than $1 million for blast deflection barriers and   
   other noise reducing measures.   
      
   "There are a lot of exciting things starting to happen out at Lunken," said   
   City   
   Councilman David Crowley, who heads the committee that oversees the airport.   
      
   "Lunken Airport is a valuable asset for the city, and we have to make sure it   
   is   
   used wisely," he said.   
      
   Before the plan can be fully implemented, the city needs approval from the   
   Federal Aviation Administration, which has been examining the document since   
   last fall.   
      
   The long review process isn't unusual. Lunken's last master plan was submitted   
   in 1986 and final approval was received in 1989.   
      
   This time, it took city staffers about 2½ years to draft the plan. They   
   solicited input from residents who live near the airport in an attempt to   
   address concerns about increased noise from an expanded Lunken.   
      
   Many residents worried that regularly scheduled commuter service to Chicago,   
   Cleveland and Detroit would be allowed at the airport, increasing traffic.   
      
   Ultimately, City Council was drawn into the debate.   
      
   Council approved a policy that stated it must vote on any request to allow   
   commuter service, taking the decision out of the hands of the airport manager   
   and City Hall administrators.   
      
   James Carroll, a local attorney who heads the Lunken Airport Oversight Advisory   
   Board, said the plan is reasonable and he expects FAA approval.   
      
   "At this time, we've heard nothing from the FAA that would make us think they   
   will make significant changes," Carroll said.   
      
   "I am satisfied. It was an open process," he added. "There were a lot of   
   hearings and a lot of modifications made to it."   
      
   The plan's first phase, which includes the noise mitigation measures, is   
   targeted for completion in 2006.   
      
   A second phase is scheduled for completion in 2009, with the final phase   
   completed in 2022.   
      
   City officials hope Lunken's improvements will lure more businesses to   
   Cincinnati, which has struggled with population loss and stagnant tax revenues   
   during the past decade.   
      
   Located in the East End, Lunken serves mostly small recreational aircraft,   
   corporate jets and flight training schools.   
      
   Sixty-eight businesses are located there, including 18 corporate tenants and 14   
   charter airlines. The facility has about 132,000 takeoffs and landings   
   annually,   
   city officials said.   
      
   Lunken's annual operating budget is about $1.2 million, derived from leasing   
   fees and aircraft fuel sales.   
      
   P&G is spending up to $15 million to build the hangar, as well as paying $1.3   
   million to help the city reconfigure the golf course and driving range, and   
   move   
   a bicycle trail.   
      
   The city's aviation and golf funds jointly will provide another $1.3 million to   
   complete the changes.   
      
   P&G wants the hangar to handle six new corporate jets. The facility will   
   encroach on the city-owned golf course and driving range, requiring them to be   
   redesigned.   
      
   Although P&G has indicated it wants to be able to fly larger jets into Lunken   
   that can travel farther without refueling, city officials said no changes in   
   the   
   type of aircraft allowed are planned in the next five years.   
      
   Although Lunken currently is restricted to aircraft that weigh less than 70,000   
   pounds, waivers are available to allow the takeoffs and landings of larger   
   planes on a case-by-case basis.   
      
   City officials relaxed waiver requirements in 2001, hoping to increase the   
   airport's usage. Now, it takes 15 minutes or less for most applicants to get a   
   waiver, which may be used for an entire year.   
      
   Less than 1 percent of the airport's total operations require waivers, city   
   officials are quick to point out.   
      
      
   SIDEBAR:   
      
   The first permanent airfield was established at Lunken in 1925.   
   The airport was formally dedicated in 1930. Howard Hughes, Jimmy Doolittle and   
   actress Jean Harlow attended the ceremony.   
   In 1937, the new terminal is completed.   
   The facility now occupies 1,148 acres.   
      
   http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050719/NEWS01/507190345   
      
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