Meadow Lake Airport is seeking approval from the county for updates to the facility. The airport is also hosting a slew of events this summer.ìMeadow Lake is part of the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems, which is a network of federally obligated airports,î said Dave Elliott, president of the Meadow Lake Board of Directors. Although they are a private airport, Elliott said they are open 24 hours, seven days a week for public use. Meadow Lake is also a relief airport for the city of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport.As part of the NPIAS, the airport is expected to plan for growth, which it has by updating its airport layout plan. ìWe are what is called a B-I airport. It’s an airport reference code,î Elliott said. ìB is the speed, and (B) 1 is the size of the planes that come in.î He said the plan approved in 2008 included upgrading the airport from a B-I to a B-II and a new runway. ìNormally, under Federal Aviation Administration rules, the master plan and layout plan showed us growing to be a B-II, with a new runway,î Elliott said. However, he said the new runway would need more clear space around it. ìThe current runway doesn’t have the room to be able to do that,î he said. ìWe would need to put in a new runway. That would have been $10 to 12 million, which the airport doesn’t currently have.îElliott said throughout the winter they have been working on updating the master plan. ìInstead of becoming a bigger airport, we will stay a small airport but become a better one,î he said, ìThe next improvement in line is to resurface the runway in 2017, which is roughly a $1.9 million project.î Elliott said about one-third of the expense will come from the FAA, and about two-thirds will come from the state of Colorado. ìWe will have to put in between 5 and 10 percent,î he said.During the resurfacing project, the main runway will be closed for a couple of weeks. Smaller craft will still be able to take off and land on the smaller strip, Elliott said, adding that traffic on the streets around the airport will not be affected.ìFor the first time in the 50-year history of the airport, the master plan needs approval from the county,î Elliott said. ìWe have to have approval for zoning. We got them to recognize that Meadow Lake is an FAA obligated airport, and the planning for the AIP is done under FAA publications. It is good for the county to consider the federal airport when making zoning decisions.îIn addition to obtaining approval from the county for the updated master plan, Meadow Lake starts out the summer with an open house scheduled for June 13. In August, the Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 72 is holding a ìyard saleî for anyone interested in items mainly related to flight. On Sept. 26, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association has its regional fly-in in Colorado Springs, which Elliott said is primarily for pilots but is open to the public as well. Meadow Lake plans to host the pilots who attend the event.
