Rifle Garfield County Airport is a general aviation airport with charter, private and business aircrafts coming and going regularly. The Sopris Sun caught up with its director, Brian Condie, ahead of the finalization of its master plan.
And just in case some readers are wondering, as this reporter had, there’s not really a chance that the Rifle Airport would ever host commercial airplanes. According to Condie, “Usually the target market for a commercial airline is a 3-3.5 hours drive to the airport, and we’re within an hour drive of three.” He added that the airlines wouldn’t be interested in adding the extra infrastructure.
There are 21 aircrafts based at the Rifle Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report. However, roughly 32 airplanes arrive each day and 32 depart, which is relatively busy for a general aviation facility.
“The master plan is a required document from the FAA that they recommend every 10 years,” but that timeline can vary, according to Condie. If in five years an airport has achieved the goals set in its master plan, the airport can submit another one. Alternatively, the timeline may be extended if an airport’s standing master plan has yet to be fulfilled, in which case the FAA wouldn’t have to put up funding at the time.
In the case of the Rifle Airport, it’s high time for an updated plan. “I’ve been here 22 years and on an average we’ve had one application for a new hangar every three years,” stated Condie. “This past 18 months, I’ve looked at six applications and this system just wasn’t designed to accommodate that workload.”
That increase is primarily due to a demand for more large hangars which house jet aircrafts. Condie explained that there are three tiers to classify airplanes at the Rifle Airport: one through three. Group One, light aircrafts, have a wingspan under 50 feet, whereas Group Three’s wingspan can reach up to 102 feet. Approximately 8,000 Group Three aircrafts come and go each year.
“This master plan will [address] how to preserve land for the local pilot and also maximize the interest in large hangars from the national and the corporate aircraft market,” Condie summarized.
The airport is made up of 520.65 acres total, but not all of that land is usable. There are 89 acres available for development, which is outlined in the Airport Layout Plan.
Condie wouldn’t speculate as to why there’s been an increase in demand, but said that it’s not unique to the area. “It’s a phenomenon going around the United States,” he explained.
The final proposed scope of work outlined within the master plan was recently approved by the county commissioners during a work session and has been sent off to the FAA for its review. “If the FAA concurs, then they will send back the grant and the scope of work,” said Condie. “Then the commissioners accept it or reject it. If they accept it, that’s when the official start date of the master plan will begin.” The federal grant is for $600,000.
Many of the local pilots are business owners and use the planes to commute. “They’re bankers and construction workers, hedge fund investors … that’s who makes up the community and they’re here because of the quality of life and access to an airport,” said Condie. “The jet, or corporate aircraft, pays 98% of all the bills at the airport. The local pilots pay 2%.” He added that the airport is self-sustaining and does not use county funds to operate.
“We want to keep the local pilot happy and in Garfield County because of the tax generation” in the community, he continued. “And we want to keep the corporate pilots happy because they pay the bills of the airport.”
Other than the business tax generation, there are emergency services based at the airport, including flight for life and wildland firefighting aircraft at the ready.
Comparing the Rifle and Glenwood Springs airports would be like comparing Denver International and Rifle Airport, said Condie. The Glenwood Springs Airport is intended primarily for Group One aircrafts, but can accommodate a limited number from Group Two. There is no lighting system, so really no nighttime operations. He said that the space in Glenwood is meant for local pilots and that there’s still not enough room, so some of those planes end up in Rifle.
For more information, visit www.rifleairport.com