FAIRBANKS - An aviation airspace study in the Matanuska Valley is sparking some heated comments from aviation users, according to officials with the Federal Aviation Administration.
"I am getting e-mail and calls asking if the FAA is turning the control of the airspace over to the Mat-Su Borough," said Matt Freeman, airport project manager in the Alaskan Region of the FAA. "This is not true. The borough has control of the land, and the FAA has, and will continue to have, control of the airspace."
Freeman gave a presentation at the Aviation Expo North in Fairbanks Oct. 21 about airport planning and federal regulations.
Contrary to some rumors, the FAA is concerned about conflicts in the future, and wants to help aviators and landowners understand aircraft traffic patterns in the Valley.
The FAA instigated the study called the Mat-Su Regional Aviation System Plan, which is funded by the Matanuska-Susitna Borough with $678,858 to compile a complete list of the airports.
Several public meetings looking for input have been held for the project to inventory what is thought to be as many as 200 airports in the Valley.
Anchorage-based engineering firm Dowl Engineers is soliciting the information and input for a study called the Regional Aviation System Plan. The study will help to identify airstrips, airports, airparks, floatplane bases, heliports or any areas used to land an aircraft in the Valley.
The database and a survey will also address issues such as airspace requirements and potential conflicts to ensure aviation safety.
"Some developers are putting a lot of money into airpark type developments and never coming to us to ask if the placement of a runway and its patterns will work with the current flow of traffic," Freeman said.
Citing there is no provision by the Mat-Su Borough to require land developers to check with the FAA about the airspace above sometime leads to emotional encounters.
"There are huge financial consequences for making a bad decision about a development, and some companies are coming to me after they build to submit their plans for an airport, when they should be coming to us first," Freeman said. "Sometimes these determinations become very emotional where money is involved, and then they become very political, that's what we are trying to avoid."
The study is meant to address these types of conflicts and to plan for the future, according to Freeman.
"It will only take me a matter of minutes to look over a plan and see if it is workable, so I would suggest that developers call us before they even invest a dime in a project," he said.
For more information about airport planning and development, call Freeman at the Alaska Regional Office of the FAA at (907) 271-5455 or e-mail matthew.freeman@faa.gov.
Rob Stapleton can be reached at rob.stapleton@alaskajournal.com.
