..... \11111... st.petersburg www.st ete.oro Cit y of St. Peters burg ALBERT WHITTED AIRPORT NEWSLETTER SUMMER2008 New Terminal in Operation, Tenants Move in On November 15, 2007, Bay Air Flying Services, Inc. started operations out of the new Terminal building. As luck would have it, the very first flying customer to use the building was Florida Governor Charlie Christ who happened to be flying into St. Petersburg for the weekend! Since relocating to the new terminal, Bay Air Flying Services, changed the name of its FBO operations to St. Petersburg Flying Services, Inc. (see related story on pg. 5). Since the November opening, Avis Rental Car and Bay Air Charter have both moved into the building and started operations, Avis in February and Bay Air Charter in May. After lengthy negotiations, the City and Rising Sun II (i.e. owners of Arigato's) reached agreement on a lease for a new restaurant on the 2nd floor of the new terminal. The lease was approved by City Council in February and went into effect in March. At the time of publication no opening date has been established and an official name for the restaurant has not been released. Rising Sun is currently working through its design plans for the new facility. Under the terms of the lease, Rising Sun has 240 days from the start of the lease to complete design, permitting and construction. Stay tuned for more details. In an effort to try and accommodate multiple tenants in the new terminal, Airport Manager's Corner by Richard Lesniak I have heard the term "Community Airport" used in much more frequency the last few years as an alternate term for describing general aviation airports. This term certainly has a much more inclusive meaning behind it, particularly for the local community that the airport resides in. However, a true "community airport" is more than just a term, it is hoe airport opens up accessible opportunities for the general public (both the flying and non-flying) to come experience and use their public asset. The opening of the new terminal provides great improvements to the aviation users, but also provides new services to the non-flying public through the future restaurant and new rental car operator. The airport's local groups such as AWAPS and EAA provide great community even ts through monthly pancake breakfasts, Young Eagles and other events. In addition, the annual St. Petersburg Airfest provides a great opportunity for the entire community to come celebrate their airport and man's fascination with flight. Now, with the observation areas on the new terminal and the recent opening of the aviation-themed, Albert Whitted Park, the community has even more ways to come and experience THEIR airport.. I think Albert Whitted Airport truly embodies what a "Community Airport" is. Speaking of im provements, check out pg. 4 to see a ll the projects completed on the Airport since 2003. Have a safe Summer! the City has looked at some ways of accommodating additional tenants. The City is currently in negotiations with Bi Plane Rides to establish some kiosk space in the common area on the first floor of the building. Special points of in terest: Airport Capital Project Updates (pg. 2-4) Tenant Happenings (pg. 5) Airport Events (pg. 5) Other Points of Interest (pg. SJ Airport Statistics (pg. 6) Operational Issues (pg. 6)
CITY SECURES $1 MILLION EARMARK FOR AIRPORT In November 2007, the announcement was made that the City of St. Petersburg would be the recipient of a $1,000,000 earmark for the Albert Whitted Airport. This earmark was sponsored by Congressman C.W. "Bill" Young and came through a request from the City for the completion of airfield improvement projects, primarily the design and construction of a new parallel taxiway on the north side of Runway 7-25. The funding is currently programmed to be processed by the FAA, through the Airport Improvement Program (AIP). Under the AIP program, the FAA provides up to 95% of an eligible project's funding for qualified (general aviation) airports. The AIP program is currently the primary federal funding source for many of the projects com pleted at Albert Whitted Airport within the last few years. AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL TOWER PROJECT Workin g in conjunction with the City's design engineer, PBS&J, the City is getting close to completing the base design plans for the new tower. At the time of publication, base design plans were approximately 95% complete. In conjunction with completing the base plans, PBS&J is evaluating aesthetical enhancement of the structure using pre-cast architectural designs that would go on the sides of the building. Once the feasibility is complete, the City and PBS&J will complete some design concepts for further consideration. The next phase of the design process will be to submit the plans to the City's Development Review Department for review and approval. The City has also started some preliminary site studies including utility and dem olition (environmental) surveys. One of the first construction phases of the tower project is the relocation of the existing Automated Surface Observation System (ASOS). The current site of the ASOS is "ground zero" for the new tower. The FAA will be coordinating and completing this work, independent of the City process. The ASOS has been approved to be relocated to the west side of the approach to Runway 18. We anticipate the FAA to start this work as early as this summer. One major issue this project is facing is funding. Based on the latest cost estimates the City does not have enough funding to complete construction. The City is analyzing different strategies and opportunities to make-up for the shortfall in hopes $ TOP OF RAILING EL. - 72' - 2' (80.27' M.S.L. EL) $ TOP CAB. FINISH FUl EL. 55'-o \_ (63.1' M.S.L. EL) $ CAlWALJ< LEVEL I EL 52'-8' (60.77' M S.L EL.) $ $ UPPER EQUIP. LEVEL EL J7'-6' (45.6' M.S.L EL.) OWER EO!,!IP. LEVEL EL 25'-o' (JJ. 1' 1.1 S L EL.) $ QfrlCE I BREAK ROOM EL 12'-6' (20.6' M.S L EL.) (8. 1' 1.1.S.L. EL) 6 ".. of minimizing any delays from starting construction. BASE TOWER DESIGN - EAST ELEVATION T.O. EQUIP. ROO!.I WALL EL. 8-4" A.F.F. Page 2
CITY SECURES GRANT TO START TAXIWAY "D" DESIGN On June 5, 2008, the City Council approved an ordinance to accept a grant from the FAA to provide 95% of the funding to complete the design project for a new parallel taxiway on the north s ide of Runway 7-25. The new taxiway is identified in th e latest Master Plan for the airport and is necessary due to the recent opening of the new terminal building. Due to the curren t configuration of the airfield, an aircraft landing on Runway 7 may have to make up to three (3) runway crossings to get back to the terminal. This increases the risk of a runway incursion and puts more workload on the ground controller. Portions of this taxiway are already in existence on the terminal ramp, pit lane an d north side of th e approach to Runway 25. This project would tie a ll the existing pavement together including adding the required markings, ligh ting and signage. In addition, expansion of aircraft parking areas (i.e. ramp and tie-downs) will also be designed for the terminal and portions of pit lane. Finally, Runway End Identification Lighting (REILs) will be added to the landing threshold of Runway 7. Currently, all other runways at the Airport have REILs. F t 3E,. iii -..l,.-r I.......?'.,.., RUNWAY "6-24" CHANGES TO RUWNAY "7-25" In April, the City completed the Runway 6-24 remarking project. The project was necessitated due to the change in the magnetic declination of the runway and the addition of a GPS-based, nonprecision approach to Runway 7 (former 6). The project was originally slated to be completed in December, but had to be delayed as it was determined the condition of the existing pavement would not hold up to conventional obliteration techniqu es of the existing markings. As "blacking- out" of old markings is no longer permitted by FAA, the City h a d to "rejuvenate" the asphalt prior to being re-marked. The project was coordinated to occur during the closure of Runway 7-25 for the Grand Prix, which minimized the runway closure time for the project to only one extra day. The project was funded using a FAA grant that was secured in 2007. Page 3
Airport Capital Projects Completed Since 2003 It has been a busy couple of years since the referendum vote to keep the Airport. In that time the City has completed approximately $6.8 million in capital projects on the Airport. With the designs of the Air Traffic Control Tower and Taxiway "D" projects underway, the City has approximately another $4 million in capital projects planned for the near future. The below map illustrates all the capital projects that have been completed from 2003 (since the referendum vote) through today. The funding for all the projects was a combination of FAA, FDOT, City and private funds. Page 4
Tenant Happenings BAY AIR FLYING SERVICES, INC. CHANGES NAME Since securing the FBO con tract, Bay Air Flying Services, Inc. has m ade some major organizational changes. One of the most notable is the renaming of the FBO portion of the business to St. Petersburg Flying Services, Inc. The flight school and maintenance components will remain under the Bay Air Flying Services m oniker. Visit www.spflying.com to view the new FBO website. Airport Events AWAPS PANCAKE BREAKFASTS The Albert Whitted Airport Preservation Society ("AWAPS"l has a number of events scheduled for the coming m onth s including Young Eagles, a 4th of July party and the regular, monthly pancake breakfasts. For m ore information, visit www.awaps.org or call 727-822- 1532. ST PETE AVIONICS This summer Bay Air Avionics expects to receive its FAA Repair Station Certificate. By being a certified FAA Repair Station, Bay Air Avionics will be able to broaden the type of services offered to aviation cu s tomers including repairing and recertifying of radios and other avionics equipment. Currently Bay Air Avionics is restricted to the installation of avionics equipment only. In addition, Bay Air Avionics will change their name to "St. Pete Avionics". For more information EAA CHAPTER 47 - SOth ANNIVERSERY 2008 will mark the 50th year of the existence of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Chapter 47 at Albert Whitted Airport. A celebration is being planned and tentatively scheduled for October 25th to be held in Hangar # 1. For more information, please contact Terri Griner at AWAPS at 727-822-1532. please contact Daren Remmert at 727-822-4217. PILOTMALL ACQUIRES AVSHOPS In 2007 PilotMall acquired AvShops, which was the very first online pilot supply store. Thanks to the acquisition, the retail store got a bit smaller (in space), but Pilotmall now offers over 4,000 aviation and pilot products! Everything is warehoused at Albert Whitted Airport and is available for walk-up purchase or online. The retail store hours are now 8AM - 6PM M-F and 11AM - 4PM Sat. PILOTMALL OPEN HOUSE Pilotmall has locked in December 13th for their 3rd annual open h ou se. The open h ouse is a daylong event with a wide variety of aviation vendors and speakers providing seminars on a variety of aviation related topics. For more information, please go to www.pilotmall.com. Miscellaneous CITY OPENS ALBERT WHITTED PARK In February the City held a Grand Opening Ceremony for the new Albert Whitted Park. The Grand Opening ceremony was attended by members of City Council, the Mayor and other VIPs. The Park is on the immediate north side of the airport on the site of the former "Lot 51" which served as an overflow parking lot for the former Bayfront Center Arena. Although not part of the airport property, the park still h as a direct tie-in to the airport. In coordination with the Albert Whitted Airport Preservation Society (AWAPS) the City designed aviation related features into the new park including an aviation-them ed playground, airport observation areas and a park-wide sound system that can be tuned into the tower frequency. AWAPS has already used the n ew park for the last few "Young Eagles" events. There are also plans to add another jungle gym in the future to resemble a "National Airlines DC-3" in another homage to the Airport's rich history. AWAPS currently has an on-going commemorative brick campaign to raise funding for the expansion of the playground. Please visit www.awaps.org for more in formation. AIRPORT WEBSITE Over the last year we have been making periodic changes to the Airp ort's website to keep it current and informative. If you have not looked at the site in a while, please take a few minutes to see for yourself. Go to www.stpete.org/airport. We always welcome comments and suggestions, so please feel free to sh are your s with us. Page 5
Albert Whitted Airport 107 8th Ave SE St. Petersburg, Fl 33701 Albet Witted.Airpat (SFq.Aircrat Qlerai<rs-am Phone: 727-893-7654 Fax: 727-822-4767 E-mail: airport@stpete.org Hours: Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm Airport Security is everyone's responsibility. Airport tenants are the eyes and ears of an effective airport security program. If you note any suspicious behavior please report it to the Airport Admistration office or Port Security (after hours). Marina Security (Patrol Airport After Hours) @ 727-639-5790 or 727-423-3241 & Port Security @ 727-224-9640 (7 days per week, after hours 9pm-7am) Air Traffic Control Tower (7 days per week, 7am-9pm) - 727-893- 3715 AOPA Pilot Wa tch - 1-866-GA SECURE St. Petersburg Police Department - 727-893-7780 (Nonemergency) Tc:ta Airport Operational Issues 2,5461 2.m3i 3,133 3, 3,crnj 3,1 2.m a 0 q 21, Tc:ta 0.00'/o 1.00'/o 94.31% 3.74% 84,451 7 L.a:a NA NA 54.fe'/o 75.00% ltirere1 NA J\l'A 45.41% 24.02% *Aircraft Operations as recorded by the Tower. Does not include operations between the hours of 9pm - 7am. Airport Staff Airport Manager - Richard Lesniak Airport Maintenance - Tod Bubenhofer, Tom Downing AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE Although this is a subject that has been addressed in past newsletters, it bears re-visiting. The City has received formal complaints of certain individuals conducting unauthorized, commercial maintenance on the airport int-hangars and other areas. While the City recognizes an aircraft owner's right to chose who performs maintenance on their aircraft, it does not m ean that any individual or company is allowed to conduct this work on the airport property. Just as the City has an obligation to the righ ts of aircraft owners, it also has an obligation to assure that there is a fair playing field for all those commercial entities who lease property on the airport and are expected to meet.minimum standards to provide particular aviation ser vices, including air- craft maintenance. In order for an operator to provide commercial maintenance services on Albert Whitted Airport, th ey must have the authorization of the City to do so and must meet the minimum standards established for such an operation (please stop by the Airport Manager's office if you wish to view a copy). The only exception is if the person providing the com - mercial maintenance services can be claimed as a direct employee to you or your organization (i.e. you submit a "W-2" form for that person to the Federal Government). Currently, there are five entities approved to provide commercial maintenance on Albert Whitted Airport: Aristiz, Inc., Bay Air Flying Services, Inc., Romac-Air, Skyway Aircraft, and West Florida Helicopters. T-HANGAR USAGE The T-hangars on the airfield were built as storage facilities for aircraft only. Th ey were not built as full maintenance shops or intended as storage facilities for non -aviation and other personal items. Th e Airport Rules and Regulations, fire codes and T Hangar subleases prohibit certain activities from occurring inthangars. Both the City and the FBO have an obligation to enforce these rules and regulations and m ay do so if a violation is witnessed. Page 6