by Hal Davis
WisDOT Bureau of Aeronautics
An airport manager often has a wide range of responsibilities, from managing hangar lease agreements and wildlife hazards to plowing snow. As knowledgeable, capable and independent as most airport managers are, I’m sure many would appreciate a little help every now and then. Fortunately, the Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) is continually working to make the lives of airport managers easier.
Sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration and managed by the Transportation Research Board, ACRP’s purpose is to provide practical solutions to common problems shared by airports of all sizes. To date, ACRP has completed or begun work on 470 research projects. Each research project involves the collaboration of multiple types of stakeholders, such as airports, consultants, regulatory agencies and professional associations. General subject areas include airport design, construction, maintenance, operations, safety, security, policy, planning, human resources, and administration.
To view all this great research, visit www.trb.org/acrp. With hundreds of projects, synthesis, legal research digests and more to choose from, the amount of information can be overwhelming at first. To help, here’s a list of 25 reports that I would recommend, especially for general aviation airport managers. All of the publications can be instantly downloaded for free or hardcopies can be purchased and mailed.
ACRP also hosts free informational webinars as well. A list of upcoming webinars can be found by clicking “ACRP Webinars” on the left-hand side of the ACRP homepage.
Don’t see any that address an issue you’re currently dealing with? Recordings of past webinars can also be viewed at any time, for free. Past webinar topics include: Topics of Special Concern for General Aviation Airports, Airport Wildlife Management, Safety and Financial Impacts of Airport Winter Operations, Aeronautical and Non-Aeronautical Event Planning at General Aviation Facilities, Managing Small Airports, and many more!
Beyond benefiting from completed research projects, you can also submit a research idea or suggest future webinar topics. ACRP wants to know what challenges face your airport, so let them know!
Want to get even more involved? You can also nominate yourself to serve on a future project panel or become an ACRP Ambassador.
Finally, I highly recommend you sign up for the TRB/ACRP e-newsletter. A link can be found at the top of the ACRP homepage. This weekly email from ACRP will include announcements for new publications as well as upcoming webinars.
Again, to take advantage of all that ACRP has to offer, visit www.trb.org/acrp.