General Aviation Strategic Plan - Adot

TABLE 1ASummary of General Aviation FacilitiesShade and T-Hangar Positions61Shade and T-Hangar Area (s.f.)74,600Corporate Hangar PositionsCorporate Hangar Area (s.f.)Conventional Aircraft Storage and Maintenance Hangar Area (s.f.)Office and Shop Area (s.f.)1252,00038,6007,300Aircraft Tiedown Positions128Total Apron Area (s.y.)86,000VEHICLE ACCESSAND PARKINGFUELINGFACILITIESA number of existing roadways provide vehicular access to the generalaviation facilities at Yuma International Airport.The existing SunWestern Flyers apron area west of theterminal building is accessed via 32ndStreet. Fortuna Avenue provides access to the YCAA hangar facilities located at the intersection of 32nd Streetand Fortuna Avenue, the Diamond AirJet Center, U.S. Border Patrol flightoperations, and a six-unit T-hangarfacility housing FedEx and U.S. Border Patrol Aircraft. The west generalaviation apron area and new hangarfacilities are accessed via Birch Wayfrom 36th Street. Arizona Avenue conthndnects 36 Street to 32 Street. Pavedparking areas are available in severalseparate areas of the airport and totalapproximately 85 spaces. Approximately 25 spaces are located in thegeneral aviation area west of the terminal building.An additional 60spaces are located in the west generalaviation area.All aircraft fuel storage facilities atthe airport are privately-owned andoperated. Bet-Ko Air operates two10,000-gallon tanks of 100 low lead(LL) Avgas and one 20,000-gallon JetA underground fuel storage tanks.According to records maintained bythe Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), the two10,000-gallon 100 LL Avgas underground tanks were installed in 1988.The 20,000-gallon Jet-A undergroundtank was installed in 1991. Sun Western Flyers operates two 12,000-gallon100LL Avgas and three 12,000-gallonJet-A underground storage tanks.According to records maintained bythe ADEQ, the 100LL Avgas tankswere installed in 1972, while the Jet-Atanks were installed in 1982. Fuel isdispensed through mobile fuel deliverytrucks.1-4

growth in aviation activity over theplanning period. Table 1B summarizes historical and forecast populationnumbers for the City of Yuma andYuma County.POPULATIONPROJECTIONSPopulation growth provides an indication of the potential for sustainingTABLE 1BHistorical and Forecast 199920002001200220032004Avg. Annual Growth Rate2010201520202025Avg. Annual Growth RateCity of ma rce: Arizona Department of Economic Security; 1990, 2000, and 1995 Census ReportsForecasts – City of Yuma Department of Community DevelopmentBetween 1990 and 2004, the Citypopulation grew by more than 29,000,while the County population grew bymore than 73,000. The Yuma Department of Community Developmentprojects the City population to grow bymore than 59,000 new residents by2025, while the County’s population isexpected to grow by more than155,000 during the same period.PILOTSURVEYSSurveys were sent to all registeredaircraft owners in Yuma County, allYuma International Airport based aircraft owners, and all Yuma International Airport tenants in August 2004to gather local users’ perspec1-5

aircraft owners based their aircraft atother airports.The survey askedthese aircraft owners if they were considering purchasing or upgrading theiraircraft. This was done to gauge thecontinued growth in aircraft ownership and confirm changes to the regional fleet mix. Of the pilots basingat Yuma International Airport, 35percent indicated that they would bepurchasing a replacement aircraft.Three aircraft owners indicated thatthey would be purchasing business jetaircraft, such as a Cessna Citation.tives on Yuma International Airportand to gather specific input into theplanning process. The list of registered aircraft owners was compiledfrom FAA records. Airport recordswere used for the based aircraft owners and tenants. Copies of the surveyforms are included as Appendix A tothis report.As shown in Table 1C, there were 37responses to the surveys. Of the totalresponses, 34 were from aircraft owners who kept their aircraft at YumaInternational Airport. The remainingTABLE 1CAircraft Owner Survey ResultsTotal Surveys SentTotal Survey ResponsesResponse RateRespondents Based at Yuma International AirportTotal Based Aircraft of RespondentsRespondents Based Considering Upgrade or Purchaseof Another Aircraft in Next 5 Years.Source: Coffman Associates Analysis1373727.0%3410013 (35% of respondents)AIRCRAFT USETABLE 1DAircraft Owner Survey ResultsPrimary Use of AircraftBased n40Flight Instruction1100TotalSource: Coffman Associates AnalysisThe survey also collected informationon aircraft use. As shown in Table1D, the survey respondents indicatedthat the primary use of their aircraftwas for business purposes, followed bypleasure/recreation, and flight instruction. (Please note that these surveyresults are only indicative of thosesurveys and may not reflect the actualuse of aircraft at Yuma InternationalAirport.)1-6

ience. That is, these aircraft ownerspreferred to base at the airport locatedclosest to their home or office. Theavailability of suitable hangar facilities was the second highest rated category, followed by the availability ofFixed Base Operator (FBO) services.The aircraft owners ranked runwaylength, navigational aids, and hangarcosts lower.BASING PRIORITIESThe survey respondents were askedthe primary reason for choosing tobase at their home airport, and rankon a scale of one to ten, with one beingthe highest priority, several criterions.Table 1E summarizes the responsesby the actual number of responses ineach category. The number one response of aircraft owners was convenTABLE 1EAircraft Owner Survey ResultsBasing PrioritiesHangarRankConvenience e2.13.8Source: Coffman Associates AnalysisFBOServices0710111160004.7These survey responses were not unexpected. It is often found that aircraft owners choose an airport first forits proximity to their home and secondfor the type of shelter available fortheir aircraft. These are importantconfirmations for the forecasting effort, as it can be reasoned that thearea from which Yuma InternationalAirport would draw future/potentialbased aircraft is most likely confinedto the communities closest to the 005.9HangarCosts123031260006.0NEEDED IMPROVEMENTSThe survey respondents also rankedthe type of facility improvementsneeded at Yuma International Airport.The survey respondents ranked theneed for improved FBO services, ageneral aviation terminal building,and aircraft hangars as the top threeneeded improvements at the airport.Expanded apron, runway/taxiways,and navigational aids were rankedlowered. Table 1F summarizes thesurvey results.1-7

TABLE 1FAircraft Owner Survey ResultsNeeded Improvements at Yuma International 90000100000Mean2.83.84.65.1Source: Coffman Associates 700005.7craft operational. Interestingly, hangar costs ranked the lowest of all factors in choosing where to base theiraircraft.AIRCRAFT OWNERSURVEY SUMMARYThe aircraft owner survey summaryprovides a profile of general aviationactivity in the Yuma metropolitanarea. It also provided an indication ofthe priorities and improvements of thegeneral aviation community usingYuma International Airport.Improved FBO services were identified as the highest ranked improvement needed at Yuma InternationalAirport. Survey respondents indicateda desire for added services such as upholstery repair and additional avionicsservices. A deficiency at Yuma International Airport is the lack of suitablehangar facilities to conduct these activities. A general aviation terminalbuilding was the second highest ratedimprovement. There is no specific general aviation terminal building atYuma International Airport. Generalaviation passenger needs are met atthe various FBO facilities.It was evident from the survey thatgeneral aviation aircraft were usedmore for business purposes thanrecreational purposes. The highestranked factor for considering where tobase an aircraft was convenience. Thesurvey respondents indicated thatthey preferred to have their aircraftlocated as close to their home or business as practical. The availability ofsuitable hangar facilities and FBOservices were ranked second and third.This clearly demonstrates that theaircraft owners prefer a welldeveloped airport that provides theservices they desire to keep their air-While the availability of suitable hangar facilities was the second highestrated priority for where an aircraftowner would choose to base their air1-8

craft, it was the third highest ratedimprovement needed at Yuma International Airport. This suggests thatthe recent hangar development atYuma International Airport has metmany of the demands of the local aircraft owners. This is further supported by the fact that there arenearly a dozen vacant hangars atYuma International Airport. This suggests that hangar demands have beenmet, at least for the short term.of 143 based aircraft was reached twoyears earlier than predicted in the1999 Airport Master Plan. The 1999Airport Master Plan projected 140based aircraft in 2005. Therefore,based aircraft have been growingfaster than projected in the 1999 Airport Master Plan. While some of thegrowth in based aircraft can be attributed to increases in individual aircraftownership, much of the based aircraftgrowth can be attributed to growth inaviation services at the airport, including air ambulance services.The aircraft owners also indicated aneed for additional apron space (mostlikely needed to position transient aircraft) and taxiway improvements (anextension of the parallel taxiway tothe Runway 35 end to eliminate theneed to back taxi to this runway end).Annual operations have only recentlygrown. With the exception of 1997,when general aviation operations exceeded 33,000, general aviation operations remained near 25,000 each year,from 1998 to 2002. In 2003, generalaviation operations increased to over40,000. The 1999 Airport Master Planprojected that the airport would notreach 40,000 annual general aviationoperations until 2010. Again, thisshows that general aviation activity isgrowing faster than projected by the1999 Airport Master Plan. The following subsections first discuss recent national trends and the outlook for general aviation, then further examinegeneral aviation forecasts for YumaInternational Airport.FORECAST GENERALAVIATION ACTIVITYGeneral aviation activity at an airportis measured by the number of basedaircraft and annual operations. General aviation is the second highestuser of the Yuma MCAS airfield,ranked only lower than the militaryusers. General aviation activity accounts for more airfield operationsthan commercial airline and all-cargooperations combined.NATIONAL GENERALAVIATION TRENDSThe 1999 Yuma International AirportMaster Plan projected general aviationbased aircraft to increase by 73 aircraft between 1995 and 2020. By2003, (only eight years later) thenumber of based aircraft had grown by31, which is 42 percent of the totalprojected for the 25-year planning period of the Master Plan. The 2003 totalFollowing more than a decade of decline, the general aviation industrywas revitalized with the passage of theGeneral Aviation Revitalization Act in1994, which limited the liability ongeneral aviation aircraft to 18 years1-9

down 4.7 percent to 2,994. The 2002shipments were down an additional10.2 percent to 2,687. Aircraft shipments in 2003 were down less than 1.0percent from 2002, declining only to2,686. However, 2003 billings weredown 15.5 percent, declining for thethird straight year.from the date of manufacture. Thislegislation sparked an interest to renew the manufacturing of generalaviation aircraft, due to the reductionin product liability, as well as renewedoptimism for the industry. The highcost of product liability insurance wasa major factor in the decision by manyU.S.-based aircraft manufacturers toslow or discontinue the production ofgeneral aviation aircraft. The industryresponded as expected.Most notable about 2003 shipmentswas that single-engine piston deliveries were the only category to increase.Single-engine piston deliveries increased to 1,825 from 1,601, or 14.0percent. This is most likely the resultof new product offerings and the age ofthe single-engine piston aircraft fleet.Turboprop and turbojet deliveries declined. Business jets were down 23.4percent, the second year of decline.This is the result of slowing demandby fractional jet companies, and alarge used market for turboprop andturbojet aircraft. Table 1G summarizes aircraft shipments and billingssince 2000.According to the General AviationManufacturers Association (GAMA),between 1994 and 2000, general aviation aircraft shipments increased atan average annual rate of more than20 percent, increasing from 928 shipments in 1994, to 3,140 shipments in2000.However, the growth in thegeneral aviation industry has slowedconsiderably since 2000, negativelyimpacted by the national economic recession and the events surrounding9/11. In 2001, aircraft shipments wereTABLE 1GAnnual General Aviation Airplane ShipmentsManufactured Worldwide and Factory Net BillingsNet BillingsYearTotalSEPMEPTPJ( .120032,6861,825712725189,994.8Source: GAMASEP – Single-Engine Piston; MEP – Multi-Engine Piston; TP – Turboprop; J – Turbofan/TurbojetThe decline in aircraft shipments isnot expected to last long. According tothe National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), there are more than2,700 aircraft still on order. NBAAcites a study by Honeywell that aircraft shipments will recover to recordlevels by 2004, and that 8,400 business aircraft will be delivered over thenext 10 years.1-10

At the end of 2003, the total pilotpopulation, including student, private,commercial, and airline transport, wasestimated by the FAA to decline to625,011 from the 625,358 pilots in2002. However, the total pilot population is expected to grow 1.6 percentannually over the next 12 years. Alarge portion of this growth is from theexpected certification of approximately16,100 currently unrated pilots, between 2004 and 2005, as sport-ratedpilots. Excluding this influx of pilotsdue to new regulations (many of theseare existing ultralight pilots whichnow are not certificated), the annualgrowth rate for pilots is 1.4 percent.Student pilots increased 1.5 percent in2003. The number of student pilots isprojected to increase by 1.9 percentannually through 2015.On July 21, 2004, the FAA publishedthe final rule for sport aircraft. TheCertification of Aircraft and Airmenfor the Operation of Light-Sport Aircraft rules went into effect on September 1, 2004. This final rule establishesnew light-sport aircraft categories andallows aircraft manufacturers to buildand sell completed aircraft without obtaining type and production certificates. Instead, aircraft manufacturerswill build to industry consensus standards.This reduces developmentcosts and subsequent aircraft acquisition costs. This new category placesspecific conditions on the design of theaircraft, to limit them to “slow (lessthan 120 knots maximum) and simple”performance aircraft. New pilot training times are reduced and

military aircraft operating from MCAS Yuma. Runways 17-35 and 8-26 serve primarily civilian aircraft and military helicopter operations. The runway system is capable of serving all gen-eral aviation aircraft. EXISTING GENERAL AVIATION FACILITIES As shown on Exhibit 1A, general aviation facilities are concentrated in