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The new airport terminal at the Neil Armstrong Airport in New Knoxville.
NEW KNOXVILLE - The Auglaize County Neil Armstrong Airport's runway will be closed for a minimum of 10 to 14 days in June for a seal coating project.
Also at the Auglaize County Airport Authority's regular meeting on Tuesday night, board members learned Armstrong Air & Space Museum is partnering with Liberty Aviation Museum to bring Ford Tri-Motor flights to the Neil Armstrong Airport for Wapakoneta's Summer Moon Fest in July.
Nearly $800,000 in improvements designed to enhance safety and extend the life of the runway are expected to begin soon. Airport officials said 95% of the expense will be covered through federal infrastructure and Ohio Department of Transportation Airport Improvement Program grants.
This will be the third phase of an initiative to rehabilitate the airport apron, an area where aircraft are parked. The concrete pavement will be repaired, patched and in some areas removed and replaced.
Auglaize County Commissioners in February awarded a $426,853.39 contract to Fenson Contracting of Fort Jennings for the apron rehabilitation work. The project is scheduled to get underway May 27 and run for 21 days, according to airport manager Ted Bergstrom.
Also JJ Cunningham of Shavertown, Pennsylvania, will be moving in to seal coat the airport's grooved asphalt runway, which measures 5,501 feet long by 100 feet wide and is capable of handling aircraft weighing in excess of 50,000 pounds.
Commissioners agreed to award a $308,002 contract to JJ Cunningham for the work designed to maintain the runway, averting more costly expenses down the road.
Seal coating had initially been scheduled to commence on June 9 but might get started on June 4, board members learned on Tuesday night. The runway will be closed for the entire stretch of the seal coating project.
"JJ Cunningham wants to get it done in 10 days, but it's a 14-day contract and then another technically 14 days for punch list," Bergstrom told board members. "I wouldn't expect that to go that long. We could do punch lists concurrently. So realistically, providing weather holds, 14 days continuous until they're done."
The project will entail sealcoating of the entire runway and the addition of new markings, Mike Vannatta, a project manager with BF&S Civil Engineers, said at last month's regular meeting.
The airport and the engineering firm are also finishing up work on a master plan highlighting long-term operational and land uses as required by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The goal is to have the plan finished by the end of the year.
Bergstrom was also excited to talk about the Tri-Motor public flights coming to the airport in a few months.
"This is the first opportunity in a long time that Ford Tri-Motor will be available for rides," he told The Daily Standard after the meeting.
Flights will be available 3-5:30 p.m. Friday, July 18; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, July 19; and 9 a.m.- 3:30 p.m. Sunday, July 20, according to a post on the space museum's Facebook page. Tickets are $99 for adults, $75 for children 3-17 and free for kids 2 and under.
"This is the same type of plane that Neil Armstrong got his first plane ride in! Guests not wanting to fly can come look at the plane at the airport during scheduled hours for free," the post reads.
Liberty Aviation Museum's 1928 Ford Tri-Motor 5 was reportedly the world's first mass-produced airliner.
In other news, Bergstrom highlighted current fuel prices at the airport. 100LL is $5.85 per gallon, compared to the area average of $5.52. The average price has decreased 2 cents since the April meeting, according to Bergstrom.
The airport currently has an inventory of 5,700 gallons of 100 LL. The last delivery was April 1.
Jet A is $4.53 per gallon, compared to the area average of $5.11. The average price, Bergman noted, has decreased 8 cents since the April meeting.
The airport currently has an inventory of 4,300 gallons of Jet A. The last delivery was April 16.
"People are still stopping in and buying, so it's helpful that we're moving through that inventory," he said. "I was hoping the barrel price was going to help us with some of this fade off, but it hasn't really. Having trucking coming from Chicago kind of locks us into this price range."
Neil Armstrong Airport is located at 7776 State Route 219, New Knoxville. It's owned by the Auglaize County government and governed by a nine-member airport authority board appointed by county commissioners.
It is staffed by a full-time airport manager, Bergstrom. It also has another full-time employee and two part-time employees, Bergstrom said. Crown Equipment Corp. also maintains a crew of employees on site for its flight department.
