By Tom George, AOPA Alaska Regional Manager
Most of us lucky enough to own airplanes keep our planes on an airport and fly to many others. Airports also supply homes for the businesses that maintain and upgrade our planes, sell us gas, and occasionally let us dine at an airport restaurant. Keeping the network of airports healthy is important for the future of general aviation. Alaskan airports don’t typically have some of the problems that threaten airports “outside.” As the population increases, however, and communities expand closer to the airports, we are not immune from experiencing lower 48 problems.
One tool AOPA launched to help keep airports healthy is the Airport Support Network (ASN) Program. For almost 25 years, AOPA has asked our members at many public use airports to become engaged in issues at their home airport. These members typically monitor activities and when appropriate get involved to ensure that a general aviation perspective is included in the planning and operation of the airport. These projects may range widely from short duration activities such as participating when airport master plans are being revised or taking part in an airport open house, to more long-term efforts like organizing a local airport group to advocate for airport safety and support.
ASNs serve as eyes and ears for AOPA, to watch for problems that might threaten the airport, such as incompatible land use. Nationally, this is a leading cause that limits airport operations—or even threatens airport closure. One ASN in Alaska got wind of a plan to locate a community garden near the airport, which would have attracted wildlife (read here, moose) onto the airport. After obtaining information from AOPA, he managed to educate both airport officials and the community group--and helped find a better place to locate the garden. While actions like these almost never make the headlines, they play a key role in keeping the airport viable over the long term.
At another airport, the ASN organized a pilot-based group which holds meetings twice yearly to inform members about issues and changes at the airport. Established over fifteen years ago, the group has good working relations with airport management and is periodically invited to investigate specific general aviation issues and make recommendations on how to address them. This direct line of communication allows our voices to be heard when critical decisions are being made that can affect our access and enjoyment of aviation.
What do volunteers do?
To be effective as an ASN at your airport doesn’t require a lot of time and effort. First, get to know the people that manage and maintain your airport. Finding out who the airport manager is takes nothing more than looking your airport up in the AOPA Airport Directory and scrolling to the very bottom of the page. There you will find the airport manager’s name, and the entity that owns the airport. The majority of airports in the state are owned by the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, however a handful of public use airports are operated by city or municipal governments. Introduce yourself to the airport manager, and express interest in understanding local issues. Don’t worry about getting in over your head with responsibilities - part of my role, as the AOPA Regional Manager in Alaska, is to support our ASNs and help them develop strategies to address airport issues. Sometimes this is focused on a specific problem, but more often it is to develop a plan to work proactively with other airport stakeholders to help keep the facility healthy. AOPA has a wealth of resources on our website that address a wide variety of activities to help the ASNs support airports of all sizes.
ASN Volunteers may also be invited to help AOPA address state or national issues. I send out a periodic email newsletter to the volunteers in Alaska with details about issues that I am working across the state. Occasionally I invite volunteers to participate in surveys, identify critical mountain passes, or test new weather products and provide feedback to help shape new products so that they will benefit the entire aviation community.
How to get involved
If you would like to get involved at your local airport, just Google “AOPA airport support network.” Click on the Find an ASN Volunteer link, type in your airport name or code, and see if there is already an ASN assigned. If so, look them up and offer to help. If there is no volunteer at your field, click the Volunteer Today link, answer a few questions, and hit the submit button. That will come to my attention and I will reach out to you and we can talk more about the program, and what is happening at your airport. If you have questions about the ASN program, feel free to email or call me, and I would be happy to provide more information. As we approach a quarter century of the ASN program, I welcome you to consider joining our ranks to help keep a robust airport system in Alaska for the years ahead!
Tom George serves as the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association’s Regional Manager for Alaska. He resides in Fairbanks and flies a Cessna 185. He may be reached at tom.george@aopa.org or 301-695-2092