The Heber Valley Airport and the City of Heber are excited to welcome the community to attend the first Flightpath public meeting, Wednesday, January 29th at 6 pm at Heber Valley Elementary. This initial meeting is designed to introduce the community to the Airport Master Plan update process and the project goals, timelines, funding, and methodologies that will be used to complete the study. Subject-matter experts will be on hand to answer questions, and will also share the many ways that residents can provide their feedback. This meeting will be conducted open-house style with a presentation.
The Airport Master Plan update is expected to take between 18 months and 2 years to complete. There are three main phases to the plan: inventory and forecasting, developing and selecting the preferred plan, and finalizing the Preferred Alternative.
In order to develop a master plan that properly fits our growing community, we first need to understand what’s already happening. To do so, the City, the airport, and their engineering firm will begin the project by diving deep into the existing airport facilities and operations. The team will develop an inventory of planes, establish the airport’s physical layout, and confirm companies currently using the airport, and use that inventory to determine the most likely outcomes of future activity. Many data points are used in this determination, including the types of aircraft that currently utilize the airport, the number of operations (a take-off or landing of an airplane) of each type of aircraft, the condition of the facilities and land, and the businesses and tenants that operate at the airport. Historical data and the current numbers are used to establish the airport forecast.
The forecast is a detailed idea of what future operations at our airport will look like. It is based on the current inventory, the airport’s historical data, and details about national and statewide aviation trends. The forecast forms the basis for effective airport planning decisions. The Federal Aviation Administration must approve the airport’s forecast before the airport can use it to update its master plan.
