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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Airport director wants revitalization of Felts Field

An art deco-style clock stands 40 feet tall in memory of Lt. N.B. “Nick” Mamer next to the Skyway Cafe and main terminal at Felts Field.  (File)
Mike Mclean Journal of Business

Ryland P. “Skip” Davis, interim director of Spokane International Airport, said he wants to launch an effort this year to revitalize Felts Field Airport.

The plan would hinge on landing a fixed-based operator (FBO) to provide support and maintenance services to private and commercial aircraft and expand the customer base at the airport, which has a 97-year history in aviation, Davis said.

“This is a community asset, not just an airport asset,” he said.

Since Felts Field has been without an FBO, customer service at the airport has been lacking for people who fly in business aircraft and for traveling pilots arriving after normal airport operating hours, Davis said.

The airport hasn’t provided on a consistent basis such amenities as toilets, phones and compressed air to inflate airplane tires. The airport also lacks 24-hour lounge facilities for pilots who need to rest and obtain weather reports.

The airport is attempting to provide those services on an interim basis, he said.

“It is my hope that shortly we will have an FBO on the field that could provide those services in a more consistent way,” he told the Spokane Airport Board during a regular meeting in August.

For a time, the airport had intermittent problems providing fuel due to antiquated equipment and tanks, he said. That problem has been resolved, but it might have harmed the airport’s reputation, he added.

Total air traffic at Felts Field for the first seven months of this year was about 5.1 percent higher than the year-earlier period, but traffic just for June and July was down 4.9 percent and 14.3 percent, respectively, compared with the prior year, an airport traffic and operations report said.

Providing basic services dependably will go a long way toward improving the airport’s reputation and increasing traffic, Davis said.

FBOs typically refuel and service planes, and often rent aircraft and provide flight training and flight-planning resources, as well as other amenities for pilots. They also often provide charter flight service.

Felts Field Aviation Inc., which had been the FBO at Felts Field for 34 years, closed most of its operations, other than fuel service and charter flights, this past spring after it was unable to negotiate a lease with the airport to continue as FBO. The board had issued a request for proposals for an FBO in summer 2009 but didn’t receive a single response.

Davis said he expects the airport board will issue another FBO proposal request this fall.

The board maintains and operates Felts Field Airport at the north end of Fancher Way on the east edge of the city of Spokane and Spokane International Airport on the West Plains. Both airports are owned jointly by the city of Spokane and Spokane County.

Larry Schmedding, Felts Field Aviation’s general manager, said he’s waiting to see the request for proposals before deciding whether the company will pursue the FBO contract.

“We would have to take a look at the scope of the request,” Schmedding said.

He declined to disclose details of the earlier failed negotiations with the board, but said the board’s lease requirements weren’t economical.

“It didn’t make sense before,” Schmedding said. “That’s why there were no responses.”

Davis said he would like to see an FBO in place at Felts while he’s still in charge of the airports. “I want a solution before the end of the year,” he said.

The Airport Board is accepting applications for a permanent airport director and hopes to fill the position in the first quarter of 2011. Davis, who is a pilot and owns an airplane based at Felts Field, was appointed interim director of Spokane International Airport in July, when former director Neal Sealock resigned.

Davis said the minimum specifications for an FBO at Felts will be more reflective of the current economy.

The new request for proposals likely won’t include minimum square footage for commercial sales and services, hours of operation, and staffing requirements, which might have discouraged potential applicants from responding to the 2009 request, Davis said.

The new request also likely will allow more flexibility for independent operators who might want to provide services at the airport, he said.

Davis said he would prefer that an FBO or other fuel supplier extend hours during which trucks will deliver fuel to aircraft at hangars in the late afternoon. The current mobile fuel service at Felts Field operates just from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The short hours for mobile fueling aren’t convenient for jet and turboprop aircraft operators that might need fuel for later flights and currently have to taxi to a stationary pump for after-hour fueling, Davis said.

Felts Field, which opened in 1913, has a rich history in aviation, starting as a landing field in a park area next to the Spokane River. In the 1930s and ’40s, Felts Field served as Spokane’s municipal airport, and the original airport terminal there is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Today, Felts Field is home to several flying groups, including a group of four Stearman biplane pilots who recently won national competitions for formation and aerobatic flying.

Davis said he expects that an upcoming class of airplanes, called light sport aircraft, or LSA, will play a large role in the future of Felts Field. The Federal Aviation Administration defines LSA as one- or two-person planes with a maximum gross weight of 1,320 pounds, an unpressurized cabin, and a top level-flight speed of 138 mph.

Davis hopes to see three or four annual fly-in events and some static displays at Felts Field to promote aviation there.

“I think that would excite more people about the potential at Felts,” he said.