Tucson International Earns High Marks on Safety Inspection
Tucson International Airport’s recent annual Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Part 139 Airport Certification inspection returned a score of no discrepancies, the best result possible.
Bonnie Allin
The three-day inspection involved intense scrutiny of the airfield environment, operations, emergency management and police and firefighter response. Inspectors also examined records and documents pertaining to safety, training and emergency planning.
“We commend you for the procedures you are using in the day-to-day operation of the airport,” stated inspector Elizabeth Louie in a post-inspection letter.
“No discrepancies is a noteworthy result,” said Bonnie Allin, president/CEO of Tucson Airport Authority. “It’s an affirmation that our employees’ training, dedication and pursuit of excellence are resulting in a consistently safe and efficient environment, benefitting our customers, tenants and the entire community we serve.”
Embry-Riddle Prescott Wins National Flight Competition
For the ninth time and the second year in a row, the Golden Eagles flight team from Embry-Riddle’s Prescott, Ariz., campus has won the Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference (SAFECON) national competition sponsored by the National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA).
Held May 6-11 at The Ohio State University Airport, the event brought together more than 300 students on 30 collegiate aviation teams from around the United States to compete in flight and ground events.
In addition to the triumph of the Golden Eagles flight team from the Prescott Campus, the Eagles flight team from Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach, Fla., campus also had a strong finish, coming in fourth overall.
The Prescott team previously won the NIFA SAFECON national championship in 1993, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2012. The Daytona Beach team won the national championship in 1992 and placed second in 2009 and 2010.
Tucson International Airport Solar Project Construction Begins
Construction has begun on a project that will make Tucson International Airport (TIA) both cooler and greener. An approximately 18-foot-tall solar array over a large portion of the daily parking lot, plus vegetated “green walls” with live plants, will help create a cooling microclimate effect for parking customers.
Additional phases are planned, and this initial section will generate approximately one megawatt of power annually, which will be used to heat and cool the airport terminal.
The FAA awarded a grant to Tucson Airport Authority (TAA) to fund the majority of the project, with matching funds supplied by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and TAA. Local firm Barker Morrissey Contracting was selected to design and build the array. Arizona-based Kyocera Solar manufactured the solar modules.
C&S Welcomes New Aviation Planner to Scottsdale Office
C&S Companies announced the hiring of Jenny Watts as a new staff planner in their
Jenny Watts
Scottsdale Arizona office. Watts has a Master of Aeronautical Science degree from Embry- Riddle Aeronautical University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Management Technology from Arizona State University. Watts will be part of the airport planning team responsible for preparing master plans and environmental studies at airports in Arizona and California.
TAA Confirms Support for Pima County Aerospace and Defense Corridor Initiative
The Tucson Airport Authority (TAA) Board of Directors today issued a resolution of support for Pima County’s Aerospace and Defense Corridor Initiative, part of the Pima County Economic Development Plan 2012-2014.
The resolution states: “Development of this Corridor will bring with it critical transportation and infrastructure investment to the region’s industrial base.”
Tucson International Airport (TIA) and its surrounding area have long served as the region’s primary aerospace, defense and manufacturing center, housing companies such as Raytheon Missile Systems and Bombardier Aerospace. The County’s plan is designed to “retain and grow new high-technology aerospace and defense jobs in the vicinity of TIA and to encourage significant science and technology-based job growth in the Tucson Technology Corridor.”
Control Tower at Gateway Extending Hours
The Phoenix –Mesa Gateway Airport (IWA) control tower will extend its hours of operation from 0600-2200L daily to 0500-0000L daily, beginning Wednesday 5/1/2013 at 0500 Local.
Arizona Student Earns EAA/Daher-Socata Scholarship
Kalena Glover of Prescott, Ariz., and William McAleer of Birmingham, Ala., will receive the work internships of a lifetime, as they have been named recipients of this year’s EAA/DAHER-SOCATA International Scholarships.
The internship program is now in its seventh year. Each recipient receives a five-week internship at DAHER-SOCATA’s Tarbes facility in France, located in the shadow of the Pyrenees Mountains, followed by a week at the EAA Air Academy in Oshkosh where they’ll help Socata during EAA AirVenture 2013. All travel, lodging, and work experience is included, as well as a side trip to the Airbus facility at Toulouse. For an aspiring student working toward a career in the aviation industry, it’s a dream situation.
“This opportunity gives a one-of-a-kind experience for the internship recipients,” said Nicolas Chabbert, President and CEO of SOCATA North America. “They will spend time with our team in France, gaining expertise in their fields of interest – such as marketing, production, organization, design, support and service. We hope the experience will make a difference in their future careers, while also benefitting our company by working with the next-generation of aviation industry decision-makers.”
TAA’s Feld Elected President of Arizona Airports Association
Jordan Feld, Director of Planning for Tucson Airport Authority (TAA), was elected president of the Arizona Airports Association's (AzAA) annual conference April 8th in Page.
Jordan Feld
AzAA was formed in 1979 to bring together the representatives of public and private airports and others interested in the general benefit of aviation to provide information, expertise and support to all those in the state's aviation industry. The Association works to foster public recognition of airports and the airport executive profession, and to assist in the future development of air transportation in Arizona.
Feld joined TAA in 2009 and has been a member of the AzAA Board of directors since 2010.
Fast Growing Gateway Airport Expanding Again
Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport Authority Board of Directors authorized a contract with D.L. Withers Construction to build an additional two gates and an additional outdoor courtyard at the Airport’s Charles L. Williams Passenger Terminal at a cost of $4,871.600. The additional gates will increase the total number of gates from eight to ten and the courtyard, located beyond the security checkpoint, will provide another unique outdoor respite for travelers as they wait to board their aircraft.
The announcement comes on the heels of a preliminary report by Airport Council International listing Gateway Airport as the fastest growing commercial airport in America for total passengers served, based on percentage increase.
The airline passenger count for 2012 totaled 1,384,361, a 45 percent bounce from the 956,665 passenger total for the previous year.
“No other airport in the country has enjoyed the level of success as Gateway,” said City of Mesa Mayor and Airport Authority Board Chair, Scott Smith. “It’s exciting to see Gateway thrive, continue to create new jobs and build a healthy economy.”
The 2012 passenger total is more than three times the 357,165 passengers that used the airport in 2008. In 2009, the passenger count was 579,059; for 2010 it was 804,340.
The Airport’s long-term expansion plans call for a new terminal to be built near Gateway’s eastern border with links to Ellsworth Road, three Loop 202 interchanges and access from the future State Route 24, known as Gateway Freeway.
Phoenix Educator Recipient of Civil Air Patrol Grant
The Air Force Association (AFA) announced 16 recipients of the Civil Air Patrol Educator Grant, an education initiative funded by AFA and managed by the Civil Air Patrol Headquarters including Barbara Gosney, a Fireside Elementary School educator in Phoenix.
The CAP Educator Grants are each up to $250, and provided to teachers who are members of either the Air Force Association or the Civil Air Patrol. From designing model airplanes and launching rockets, to visiting Air Traffic Control towers and bases, AFA and CAP are helping teachers promote public awareness of aerospace power and the pivotal role it plays in national security. The initiative funds classroom activities or materials that benefit the entire group of students and promote knowledge of aerospace power. Grants can be applied toward field trips to aerospace museums or Air Force bases, or for books, DVDs or videotapes on aerospace topics.
“AFA is committed to supporting education programs, especially those with a focus on science, technology, and aerospace, which are critical for providing a generation of professionals in fields fundamental to defending our country,” said Jerry White, AFA Vice Chairman of the Board for Aerospace Education. “Our partnership with CAP continues to provide funding to CAP units and teachers that help fund their aerospace education programs, which inspire our youth through creative approaches to traditional curriculum.”
AFA strongly advocates aerospace education and the development of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics as the foundational skills necessary to sustain U.S. airpower, national security and economic vitality.
Below are the grant recipients:
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- Tucson International Earns High Marks on Safety Inspection
- Embry-Riddle Prescott Wins National Flight Competition
- Tucson International Airport Solar Project Construction Begins
- C&S Welcomes New Aviation Planner to Scottsdale Office
- TAA Confirms Support for Pima County Aerospace and Defense Corridor Initiative
- Control Tower at Gateway Extending Hours
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