KEAU and KRNH Visits 7/14/2009



KEAU and KRNH Visits 7/14/2009

Arden and I visited KEAU and KRNH. We met with KEAU Airport Manager Charity Speich who took us around the airport to meet one of the people in charge at the Fixed Base Operator (FBO) and up into the Air Traffic Control Tower.

KEAU Highlights:

- KEAU runway configuration is 04/22 and 14/32. Runway 04/22 is 8101 feet long versus 14/32 which is 5000 feet long. The difference in length makes 04/22 the preferred runway, especially for larger commercial aircraft and any time braking action might be an issue. Runway 22 is used during light wind (5 kts or less) situations as it is ILS equipped.

-3 to 6 commercial flights a day through Mesaba/NWA/Delta

- Mayo Clinic medical helicopter service (now equipped with an IFR capable helicopter)

- Fixed wing medical transport service through the FBO (around 100 per year)

- Menards (the home improvement store) has 9 aircraft based at the airport which fly nearly every day.

- Other corporate aircraft

- KEAU is a frequently used alternate airport for commercial traffic during bad weather. There are many occasions where there will be multiple commercial aircraft (NWA, AirTran…) parked at the airport fueling or waiting for an opening at KMSP

- Usually a few emergency landings by commercial traffic each year

- Abundant General Aviation traffic at the airport as well, especially on weekends when the GA pilots tend to fly to keep themselves proficient.

- KEAU has a tight budget when it comes to snow removal. They do not use any de-icing fluid on the runways. They rely on sand to keep the runway from being too slippery. The forecast for freezing precipitation or change in precipitation type is critical because they need to put sand down before anything freezes on the runway for it to be effective. They view the evening forecast (TAF, public) as the most critical so they can be prepared for what happens overnight. They usually begin plowing once they receive about an inch of snow and continue until it ends. They do not have the time crunch that MSP has because of the lower traffic volume but they need to be prepared for scheduled arrivals as well as potential diversions.

- The Chippewa River curves around the airport from the S to W to N to NE and the low hills surrounding the area results in parts of the airfield being susceptible to fog, especially near the ASOS.

- KEAU tower is a “contract tower” with personnel supplied by Midwest Air Traffic and has a staff of 6 controllers and one supervisor. Their hours of operation are 5 am to 9 pm.

- The pilot we talked to at the FBO provided some good insight on how they use the forecast. The medical flights are on demand type flights and they need to go when the call comes in. He emphasized the importance of TAF updates and the need for the latest information in part due to the on-demand nature of the medical flights. They have little time to plan their flights and they could be significantly affected by changes in the forecast. He emphasized that they like updates. When asked if it came down to spending our sometimes limited time on getting the details correct and updating forecasts in the first six hours or having better details in the longer time frame of 12-24 hours or 12-30 hours, there seemed to be little hesitation in his response to spend more time on having the first 6 hours as accurate as possible and doing more frequent updates.

KRNH Highlights:

We met with Mike Demulling, who we have met with before and he had nothing but positive things to say about our forecasts and cited several examples where the forecast was right on and timely updates were made. He said that the pilots who use the airport are very happy with the forecasts. KRNH continues to work on expanding its role in the business aviation community. Mike discussed many of the changes occurring at the airport. The downturn in the economy did affect the number of airplanes and operations at the airport. Things are starting to look brighter though with corporations beginning to use their aircraft again. A company who is going to produce diesel based aircraft engines is also going to build a factory adjacent to the airport next year; plans for this are still on track. The main KRNH runway is 14/32 which is 5,505 ft long. They also have a grass runway which is 2,110 ft long. Other highlights include:

- AWOS will be upgraded in 2010 (no specifics)

- 44 new cameras will be online by the end of August. We will be able to access these over the internet!! He said they are positioning several to look at the airfield for our use.

- Improved main runway last year to handle 60,000 lb aircraft

- Approach lights are being added to the northwest

- Precision GPS approach is also being added

Mike is also a corporate pilot and flight instructor and provided the following insight:

- Emphasized the need for updates when things are expected to change. Corporate pilots will look at the forecast 18 hours in advance (TAF/Public). They need to plan their flight around the weather and around the schedule of the business people they are flying so it is important that they have some lead time on the weather.

- Corporate pilots do not like to de-ice the aircraft if they don’t have to because it’s expensive and it makes a mess of the aircraft. Mike said that if they can find a safe window of time to take off to avoid de-icing then they will adjust the schedule by an hour or two hours, etc.,. This is another example of why updates are very important. If the timing of the onset of precipitation changes or the timing of a precipitation type change changes this may affect the schedule of a corporate type pilot. It is important to convey information such as this as soon as you are able to. Mike indicated that there is a lesser need for smaller jets to de-ice because they can be at their cruising altitude (usually 40,000 to 45,000 ft) in less than 10 minutes which translates to less time spent in icing conditions on departure.

- FZRA/FZDZ forecasts are critical because they can add a great deal of danger on approach and may alter the flight plans as well. Of course runway conditions during these types of precipitation are a great concern as well.

KRNH uses de-icing fluid on the runway. The precipitation forecast is critical to them because they need to apply it at the right time and they don’t want to waste it. Mike provided some basic information regarding wind thresholds for pilots:

>20 kts recreational pilots will not fly

30-35 kts will keep corporate pilots from flying

A strong southwest wind can quickly shutdown RNH because it would be a crosswind.

10 kt cross wind will ground recreational pilots

20-25 kts will ground a corporate/professional pilot

Bottom line from these visits: We need to be conscious of the different needs of the different types of pilots that use the airports we forecast for. The 6 to 18 hr forecast period is very important to corporate pilots. Their planning window is a little different than for commercial traffic. Updates are very important to corporate pilots and they appreciate any update that we issue. Changes in the forecast, even if it is some minor adjustment in timing during more significant type weather (precip, precip type change, wind speed increase, wind shift, change in cross wind…) can have a big impact on their flight plan and the costs involved, not to mention their safety. The latest information is also critical to medical air traffic as well. There is usually little lead time for helicopter or fixed wing medical transport so changes in the forecast need to be conveyed as soon as possible.

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