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ENGINE RUN-UP AREAS
The long, summer months are upon us and with them come increased flight activity - over 6,000 ops for the month of June alone. While 40 acres of concrete seems like a lot, we have a multitude of businesses and private hangars located along the entire stretch of ramp.
In order to keep everyone safe, we ask that you use the pre-defined run-up areas labeled in the above map before your flight or while doing maintenance checks. Using these areas helps us all be better neighbors and makes our ramp safer (and quieter!) for visiting customers and pilots walking to and from their aircraft.
We appreciate your cooperation.
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TRAFFIC COUNTS ON THE RISE
If you think the pattern above San Marcos Regional seems a little busier, it's not your imagination. As shown in the chart above, we've seen an increase in traffic every month this year, in large part to Coast Flight's training activities. In fact, from January through June, we've seen a 38.6% increase from the same time period last year!
The increased activity reflected in these traffic counts helps us secure funding for future airport projects and improvements. We're excited to see what the second half of 2017 brings HYI!
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RUNWAY 13/31 FRICTION RESTORATION
We are pleased to announce that the friction issues associated with the overlay on Runway 13/31 have been resolved.
Upon reports of diminished breaking action on Runway 13/31 when the surface was wet, Texas Aviation Partners and the City of San Marcos began working closely with TxDOT Aviation and the engineering firm for the project to determine a solution.
In an effort to resolve the loss of surface friction, TxDOT proposed a shotblasting technique to abrade the surface which had been successfully performed at other airports and on highway surfaces.
A shotblasting contractor, Skidabrader, mobilized to the airport on Tuesday morning to abrade a test area. This area was used to support making a decision to complete the entire runway to improve friction sufficiently to the point that aircraft can land safely in wet weather.
After the test area was abraded, several tests were performed which indicated a significant improvement in friction.
To confirm the test results, McCoy's Building Supply volunteered to accelerate to approximately 90 knots in their Cessna Citation and apply their brakes over the abraded surface and continue onto the original surface. The pilot reported excellent braking action on the abraded surface compared to significantly diminished breaking action on the original surface.
As a result of these engineering and pilot tests, Skidabrader was given the green light to complete the shotblasting technique on the entire length of the runway.
We'd like to thank McCoy's Building Supply for volunteering their time and aircraft to provide real-world confirmation of the fix to the friction issue.
Thank you to our tenants and visitors for their patience during this process. We're confident that during the next rain event, our ILS runway can now safely remain open.
Please give our office a call at (512) 216-6039 if we can answer questions.
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KHYI INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CLUB MEETING
The KHYI Instrument Meteorological Club (IMC) meets the third Thursday of each month at Redbird Skyport at 6:30 P.M.
Their next meeting will be Thursday, August 17. Topics of discussion will include: new ICAO flight plan, different methods to open and close IFR flight plan, weather - blocks and caps, EAA IMC scenario, and IFR question of the month.
Complimentary pizza and soft drinks will be provided.
To learn more, or be added to the newsletter list, email Gary White.
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AIRPORT ADVISORY BOARD MEETING
Our next Airport Advisory Board Meeting will be held Monday, September 11 at 10:00 am.
The meetings are held at the Airport Management offices at 4400 Highway 21.
Come by to learn more about what's happening at your airport, meet the board, and enjoy a free cup of coffee and donuts!
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DAEDALIAN FOUNDATION ROTC SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
For several years Texas State Aviation has been working with the Daedalian Foundation to promote aviation and their ROTC scholarship program. Each year two ROTC students from local Universities are chosen based on their leadership, overall character and potential to become military aviators, to receive flight training via Texas State Aviation. The purpose of the training is to advance their eligibility to become aviators in our nation's military. The training consists of both ground and flight training and culminates in a solo flight.
Texas State Junior and USAF ROTC Cadet Cameron Hite, completed his first solo flight on June 9, 2017. Cameron soled in the Diamond DA-20-C1 trainer which is the same aircraft that the USAF uses for initial flight competency training.
Texas State Aviation will begin training with another ROTC student from the University of Texas soon.
For more information on the Daedalian Foundation or to donate visit their website www.daedalians.org.
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FREE POLOS
We had a great response from airport users regarding our
free San Marcos Airport polos. If you haven't had a chance to pick yours up, don't fret! We recently received a new order so we're stocked up.
Pictured is the men's polo which we have in large, x-large, and xx-large. We also have a women's version in small, medium, large, and x-large.
Swing by 4400 Highway 21 Monday-Friday between 8:00am and 5:00pm.
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