City airport expects August increase

August is going to be a little busier than usual at the Kalispell City Airport.

In addition to the usual bump from vacation travel into and out of the city airport, Director Fred Leistiko said this August its sole runway, 33 aircraft tie-downs and array of hangars will see more use while runway work is under way at Glacier Park International Airport.

"We're right in the middle of vacation season so with transient aircraft and private planes, we're seeing an uptick in that," Leistiko said on Wednesday.

Seven or eight visiting planes were parked there at the time, he said.

Starting this week, that number almost certainly is going to grow.

Based on the calls he's gotten over the past week or two, Leistiko guessed that 15 or 20 additional planes will be parked there on and off throughout the month.

Glacier Park International's primary runway will be undergoing rehabilitation work during 12 days in August, beginning at 10 p.m. Monday, Aug. 3. Each week the runway will be closed for three full days - Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday - plus the nights before and after.

The runway closes at 10 p.m. each Monday and reopens at 9 a.m. each Friday. Weekend travel will not be interrupted.

As a reliever airport for Glacier Park International, Leistiko said the city airport can handle the overflow of light aircraft.

Twin-engine planes up to 14,000 pounds can land and take off there.

South Kalispell neighbors probably will notice more frequent noise but, Leistiko said, not louder noise.

"It will just be the 'sound] frequency of what's landing and taking off," he said. "They say airplanes don't make more noise than the siren on an ambulance or police car."

The city airport cannot handle commercial jets, but some businesses - FedEx is one, he said - are considering the possibility of temporarily using the city airport's hangars for the month.

People living on the south end of Kalispell along the approach and takeoff pattern will notice more flights throughout the day and night.

Red Eagle Aviation is the fixed-base operator and handles flights from 6 a.m. to about 8 p.m., Leistiko said. But because it's an uncontrolled airport equipped with runway lights, pilots make special arrangements if they plan to fly from there at night.

He expects a couple of helicopters to move over from Glacier Park International during August, although no arrangements have been made for those yet. If a wildland fire season ever takes off this year, only aircraft doing bucket work would be flying in and out of the city airport. Glacier Park International's fire-retardant base has been closed.

Overall, a lot of little factors will bring about the growth in August air traffic at the city facility.

"Actually, there will be an increase in flying activity not only from transient craft coming into the area that can't land at Glacier Park" International, he said. "But there will be more of the small craft coming in. There are a few aircraft from Glacier Park that [won't] have access to their airplanes during the closure."

He said he's had three calls in the last week from owners wanting to move their planes temporarily. With 15 of the airport's 33 tie-downs already taken by home-based craft, he tells them the rest of the space will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

He said Sen. Max Baucus' office called to check on a couple of dates the senator plans to fly in during August. Leistiko said he told them they were welcome, but to expect first-come, first-served access to the tie-downs.

Customs agents will not be stationed at the city airport.

International flights that need to go through customs still will be routed through Glacier Park International, an official port of entry for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

"There are two runways there" at Glacier Park International, Port Director Dave Pudelka said. "The other one will be open and we can still clear aircraft, and they will be [fully] open on the weekends. It's not going to affect us."

That secondary airstrip, the crosswind runway, will remain open to handle general aviation craft throughout the primary runway rehabilitation work.

Pudelka said there may be a three-day window - during Phase 3 of Glacier Park International's work - when the crosswind runway is closed and small craft will not be able to land.

"But they only average one or two planes a day," he said. "They can still land and continue" with their flight plans throughout the United States.

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com