airport/documents/Mesquite Master Plan Final.pdf - The City of ...

Airport has shown that when the initial
results of the formula in Table 3L are
above 0.5, there is a strong possibility
that the actual BCA ratio may be above
1.0, as the BCA considers additional
factors, not just operations, with
varying degrees of weight applied. It is
recommended that the City notify the
FAA of its desire to be included in the
ATCT program, so that an operational
count and a full BCA analysis can be
conducted.
Initial construction of a tower is eligible
for the TxDOT-Aviation Division 90/10
cost sharing program, up to $1.66
million. These funds are from of the
FAA AIP program which TxDOT
administers as a block-grant state.
Under the FAA Contract Tower
Program, an updated BCA is conducted
on a yearly basis. Should the BCA fall
below the 1.0 ratio, then the FAA would
shift to a cost-sharing program and
provide operational funding equal to the
calculated ratio. For example, if a BCA
ratio of 0.76 results, then the airport
could be expected to receive funding to
cover 76 percent of the operational
costs. The City would then be
responsible for the remaining 24
percent of the annual operating costs.
The Contract Tower Program was
established in 1982 to provide funding
for air traffic control services at lower
activity level ATCTs. At contract
towers, the FAA funds all or portions of
the cost of a qualified contractor to
operate the ATCT. Initially, low-level
FAA-operated towers were converted to
the contract tower program. However,
this program has grown to include
establishing new services at airports
3-25
which were previously without air
traffic control services. As of 2005,
there were 223 airports in the FAA
Contract Tower Program.
AIRFIELD LIGHTING
AND MARKING
There are a number of lighting and
pavement marking aids serving pilots
using the airport. These aids assist
pilots in locating the airport and
runway at night or in poor visibility
conditions. They also assist in the
ground movement of aircraft.
Visual Approach Aids
To provide pilots with visual glideslope
and descent information, visual
approach slope indicators (VASIs) or
precision approach path indicators
(PAPIs) are commonly found to the side
of the runway. These systems can
consist of either a two- or four-box unit.
Four-box systems are recommended for
use by business jet aircraft. Currently,
both ends of Runway 17-35 are served
by four-box PAPIs. These are the
recommended visual descent aids and
should be maintained through the
planning period.
In conjunction with lowering the
approach minimums to Runway 17 from
a three-quarter mile to one-half mile, a
more sophisticated approach lighting
system will be needed. The Medium
Intensity Approach Lighting System
with Runway Alignment Indicator
Lights (MALSR) is commonly used. A
MALSR is used by pilots to align the