Published in Midwest Flyer – Dec 2016/Jan 2017
SPRINGFIELD, OHIO – The City of Springfield, Ohio, has contracted with Woolpert to provide a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airport Master Plan and an Airport Layout Plan for Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport. The plan will outline and detail the existing configuration of the airport, as well as how it will evolve over the next 15-20 years. The project will evaluate existing and future airport infrastructure needs, including roadways, runways, taxiways, navigational aids and buildings. It will also look at the airport’s administrative functions, finances, economic development opportunities, environment and wildlife management, modernization and sustainability, facility alternatives and implementation, and public outreach.
The 178th Wing, a unit of the Ohio Air National Guard (ANG), stationed at the airport, transformed from a Fighter Wing to an Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing. It supports the Predator Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Combat sorties abroad and is home to a NASIC unit connected to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Airport Manager Don Smith said the airport is ramping up its support of UAS flight activity, especially with the Air Force Research Lab and various educational/research partners, and is trying to attract more UAS activity to the airport. Sinclair Community College is a teaming partner with Woolpert on the Master Plan project, lending its expertise to the UAS planning aspects.
