Aviation officials have released the final details of a plan to upgrade Stinson Municipal Airport (SSF).
Revealed during a meeting at the Southside airport on Thursday, the 20-year master plan includes short and long-term targets that call for runway improvements and new hangars.
The plan also describes a 9-acre land acquisition required by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for safety purposes.
It’s important to create an efficient layout of space at the historic airport, even if some elements could change, said Nathan Polsgrove, aviation planning leader with the aviation consulting firm Garver, who has been working on the SSF plan.
“It never serves an airport well if they intentionally under-plan,” Polsgrove said. “You don’t want to ever say, ‘Hey, nothing’s ever going to happen’ and not plan for anything. You want to think about what the future could be, and then have a flexible implementation plan.”
Opened in 1926, Stinson is the second longest continuously operating airport in the United States. As a general aviation reliever airport, it serves small private charter flights, helicopter tours, pilot training, law enforcement and medical services flights, and a place to maintain and store aircraft.
Stinson averages about 100,000 takeoffs and landings a year, and in recent years has contributed nearly half a million dollars to the city aviation department’s bottom line.
Planning for the future of the airport began last year, and following a process mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration, the city hosted a public input session focused on Stinson in January. It also circulated a survey asking what people wanted to see in the airport. Community and airport stakeholders were asked to give feedback on various airport layout options.
With that input, the planners landed on a layout for SSF that includes extending the main runway by 1,000 feet, adding an instrument approach to the other end of that runway, and making way for multiple new hangars throughout the airport.
The plan also sets a goal to relocate a taxiway that parallels the main taxiway and is too close to the runway centerline, Polsgrove said.
The runway extension was included in a master plan completed in 2012 and yet isn’t needed today, Polsgrove said. “Eventually, maybe 20, 30 years from now, maybe that runway is needed, and then at that point, we want to make sure that we’ve accounted for that in the plan … to be able to support that development when needed.”
But the new instrument approach, which helps pilots land safely when the weather is poor, is needed sooner, he said. Stinson currently has only one instrument approach, limiting options when the wind changes or other weather patterns occur.
As for aircraft storage hangars, the airport could accommodate several different sizes, from T-hangars to very large size buildings, Polsgrove said.
The land acquisition effort at Stinson is already underway with officials reviewing the required steps and approaching three landowners. The area is located southeast of the airport near runway 32 and East Ashley Road.
“That land we need to acquire for safety reasons for the runway protection zone,” said Ryan Hall, principal planner for the aviation department. “TxDOT, who gives us most of the money for improvements at Stinson, is mandating that we take care of this issue because it is a safety concern.”
Altogether, the upgrade projects are estimated to cost over $100 million, some of which could be supported by developers that lease ground space and build hangars.
The plan will go before TxDOT and the FAA for approval along with City Council, likely before the end of the year, Polsgrove said. Having an airport layout plan in place also makes it possible to request funding support from those agencies.
Contractors interested in bidding on future Stinson projects — and the redevelopment work at the San Antonio International Airport — should check the city’s procurement system for those opportunities, said Joe Gonzales, diversity development coordinator for the aviation department.
“Get registered and make sure that registration is active so that you can receive the upcoming information on all the solicitations,” he said. Gonzales also encouraged contractors to seek out certifications that make them eligible for city, and even state and federal, contracting opportunities.
“If you’re certified as small, minority, woman-owned business [or] African American business, that aids in that participation because those prime [contractors] are looking for those certifications to be able to get involved in these upcoming opportunities,” he said.
It’s a great time in aviation, said Earl Jackson, vice chair of the airport advisory commission and a retired 40-year air traffic controller.
“This is the best that it’s ever been right here,” he said. “The things that we’re doing are at the airport, this whole Frankfurt thing is a big deal, the new terminal coming in, investing money at the Stinson airport and making that long range — it’s a big deal.”
