Archives
For your viewing pleasure, here is a stroll down memory lane in the history of Vance Brand Airport. These are mostly from the Longmont Daily Times-Call, or one of it's earlier incarnations.
1927-1970 1971-1980 1981-1990 1991-2000 2001-Present
Longmont is to have modern landing field
City looks to future, making arrangements for air travel
(originally ran 4/28/27, yes, that's 1927)
Three jumps ahead of the times - that's Longmont!
Anticipating the rapid growth of air travel, Longmont is to have a municipal landing field at the city's edge where sky travelers of the near future may park their planes and walk two blocks to the center of the business district.
Announcement of the new landing field was made today by C.D. Rue, secretary of the Longmont chamber of Commerce, who has secured a lease on the Dickens property just south of the V.S. Allen baseball grounds, following the authorization of the undertaking at a recent meeting of the Chamber of Commerce board of directors.
So far as is known, Longmont is the first city of its size to support a modern landing field. The field will be modern in every respect and may be illuminated for night landing. Work of grading the ground and erecting wind indicators and other landing signals and signs will be started at once, according to Mr. Rue.
The field will be a quarter of a mile in width and a mile in length. There will be clear approaches to it from both east and west. Longmont already boasts of one airplane, owned by Eugene M. Miller, Longmont jeweler, and it was at the instigation of Mr. Miller that the project was undertaken by the Chamber of Commerce.
In commenting on the undertaking Mr. Rue said: "The Chamber of Commerce feels that aviation is in its infancy and that any city getting in on the ground floor in establishing cross-country aviation fields will materially benefit in years to come. It is proposed to open and dedicate our new field with a series of spectacular aviation feats which we will announce at a later date."
AIR FIELD DEDICATION DATE SET FOR FRIDAY
THREE PLANES PLAN TO BE HERE FOR OPENING OF LANDING FIELD
(originally ran 5/18/27)
Longmont's new landing field will be formally dedicated Friday with a series of flying stunts and passenger service to be supplied by at least three airplanes, it was announced by the Chamber of Commerce committee in charge of the dedication today.
Among Denver flyers who found it possible to be here for the event on Friday are J.A. McInaney, sales manager of the Alexander Airplane company, and Bill Diegel and Cloyd P. Clevenger, pilots. Original plans which promised from fifteen to twenty planes and stunt flyers for event fell by the wayside when the committee decided to abandon its plan to hold the meet on Sunday, May 22, due to the opposition registered by the Longmont Ministerial association, six members of which formally called at a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce and voiced their protest.
However, notwithstanding the setback the committee is determined to make the best of conditions and promises the best show possible under the circumstances. It is said to be doubtful whether a parachute jumper can be had for the event due to the inability of the performer originally in mind to leave his work on the new date.
The first plane may be expected here Friday morning at about 7:30 o'clock and it is considered probable that he may thrill spectators with a few stunts before landing. Passengers will be carried all day at a popular price and an effort will be made to influence some of the flyers to remain over Saturday.
There will be no charge at the field and those of the public who can do so have been urged to be present.
HUNDREDS VISIT LANDING FIELD AND MANY TAKE AERIAL JOYRIDE
Rue Flies from Denver in Thirty-five Minutes; Plane Bumps Propeller Into Miller Hangar
(originally ran 5/20/27) COMING SOON
No White Elephant, Is This Municipally Owned, Modern Forward-Looking Project
(originally ran 8/22/47) COMING SOON
Part of Long-Range Plan
Longmont Airport Expansion Underway
(originally ran 3/26/66) COMING SOON
Airport Eyed for County Use
(originally ran 3/22/69) COMING SOON
Growth Forseen for Longmont Aviation
Air Action Centered at Longmont Airport
Practice Training Make Good Pilots
(originally ran 3/21/70) COMING SOON
Facility Makes $5,000 a Year for City
Longmont Airport Expansion And Improvement is Underway
(originally ran 8/4/72) COMING SOON
WHEN YOU SHOP IN LONGMONT...
(originally ran 1/31/74) COMING SOON
County Planners Table Motion on Expansion of Facility
Noise Level Control at Longmont Airport Sparks Debate
(originally ran 5/29/76) COMING SOON
Pilots outline plans; seek city support in airport developments
(originally ran 7/18/77) COMING SOON
Pilot group asks council to review base applicants
(originally ran 7/18/77) COMING SOON
Merged airport here suggested
(originally ran 7/29/77) COMING SOON
Third airport FBO approved
(originally ran 9/26/77) COMING SOON
Official: Airport land-use crucial
Locating 'county airport' here seems only logical
(originally ran 10/26/77) COMING SOON
Local airport faces improvements, growth
(originally ran 8/18/79) COMING SOON
Runway, houses conflict
Airport could direct Longmont growth
(originally ran 3/14/80) COMING SOON
Airport plan draws fire
(originally ran 7/30/80) COMING SOON
Airport expansion called 'threat'
(originally ran 8/1/80) COMING SOON
Chamber backs airport expansion
(originally ran 8/2/80) COMING SOON
Area residents organize against airport expansion
(originally ran 8/13/80) COMING SOON
Residents pose questions
Airport expansion discussed
(originally ran 8/15/80) COMING SOON
Residents balk at airport growth
(originally ran 8/29/80) COMING SOON
Keep airports we have
(originally ran 8/30/80) COMING SOON
Council to look at master plan for airport
(originally ran 11/17/80) COMING SOON
Airport growth, W-470 discussed at EDAL forum
(originally ran 4/9/86) COMING SOON
Airport plans for expansion garner support
(originally ran 7/31/86)
Airport issues to be aired at city council meeting
(originally ran 8/17/86) COMING SOON
Pilots tell of Longmont airport's advantages
(originally ran 8/17/86) COMING SOON
Delay expected in airport grant
(originally ran 12/18/86) COMING SOON
Board decides runway extension top priority
(originally ran 2/7/87) COMING SOON
Commission to consider airport issues
(originally ran 4/21/87) COMING SOON
If it flies, it's probably for sale somewhere
'FBO' spells service for private pilots
(originally ran 9/11/87) COMING SOON
Airport could be major asset for business
(originally ran 9/11/87) COMING SOON
Airport Board: No flight pattern change wanted
(originally ran 12/17/87) COMING SOON
Airport board waits for word on expansion funds
(originally ran 1/3/88) COMING SOON
At municipal airport
Runway project ready to take off
(originally ran 8/20/88) COMING SOON
Airport neighbors voice objections
(originally ran 9/20/88) COMING SOON
Airport expansion bids opened
(originally ran 9/3/89) COMING SOON
Airport aims to be good neighbor
(originally ran 7/21/90) COMING SOON
Say new homes mean increased complaints
(originally ran 12/12/91) COMING SOON
City must ground airport annexation
(originally ran 3/9/92) COMING SOON
Airport flap prompts resignation
(originally ran 3/12/92) COMING SOON
Voters may get say on annex
(originally ran 3/16/92) COMING SOON
No airport quorum
(originally ran 3/17/92) COMING SOON
Airport jettisoned? FAA not ready to abandon VBA
(originally ran 3/18/92) COMING SOON
Annexation lands a big controversy
Hot issue may be put before voters
(originally ran 3/18/92) COMING SOON
Mayor's doubt lingers
Council uninformed on annexation, Wilson says
By MONTE WHALEY
Times-Call Staff Writer
(originally ran 3/20/92)
LONGMONT - Mayor Fred Wilson said Thursday the City Council might not have made an informed decision on the Meadow View annexation.
Wilson, who with Tom McCoy voted against the request by G.T. Land to annex 220 acres near Vance Brand Airport, sand an insufficient amount of information on how the development would affect the airport made it to the City Council.
"The city staff advised the council that there would be absolutely no problem," Wilson said. "But I think it's still up in the air."
Initially, the city planning staff said little about the impact of the annexation, the mayor said.
But when the council delayed its vote on the request for two weeks, more information about potential problems the annexation might pose for the airport began trickling in, Wilson said.
"When we make a decision that affects a lot of people, we'd like to get as much information as possible," he said.
The mayor said city staff members generally do a good job for the council and the relationship between council and staff members is very good.
But, Wilson said, he is troubled about perceptions the City Council relies too much on a staff recommendations.
"The council tends to follow the lead of the staff and in most cases it works out well," Wilson said. "But it can get us in the crossfire.
"To a minor degree," he said, "I'm concerned about how people perceive the relationship of the council and staff."
City Manager Geoff Dolan said he is aware of that view.
"The staff is perceived as having much more power and influence than they really do," Dolan said.
In controversial votes, such as the Meadow View annexation, city staff members are often put in a precarious position, Dolan said.
"Unfortunately, when there is a disagreement on the council, the staff inadvertently gets involved or brought into the issue," Dolan said.
Mayor Wilson said one piece of information he did not receive about the airport issue was a Feb. 12 memo from city transportation planner Sue Reed.
Opponents of the annexation said Reed's memo indicates city planners never intended to limit residential growth around the airport. The also said the memo was made public the day after the City Council approved the annexation.
Reed's comments on the airport are part of a memo she gave to a subcommittee of the Planning and Zoning Commission.
The subcommittee is charged with helping to update the Longmont Area Comprehensive Plan and its work isn't expected to be complete for more than a year, said Phil DelVecchio, director of Community Development.
Since the full Planning and Zoning Commission is not expected to review Reed's memo any time soon, it was considered premature to divert it to the City Council, DelVecchio said.
In addition to Vance Brand Airport, Reed's memo also discusses other transportation issues in Longmont, DelVecchio said. Members of the Airport Advisory Board, which asked the City Council to postpone voting on the annexation, were formally invited to review Reed's comments at the subcommittee hearing on Feb. 12, but no one from the airport board showed up, DelVecchio said.
"There's never been an instance where we intentionally withheld information from the City Council," Dolan said. "We probably err in giving the council too much."
Airport backers fight back
Recall considered
(originally ran 3/20/92) COMING SOON
No sunset strip
New airport manager says future bright
(originally ran 3/21/92) COMING SOON
Wanted: Airport Board members
(originally ran 4/3/92) COMING SOON
A council reminder: The airport is crucial
(originally ran 4/7/92) COMING SOON
New airport hot topic for businesses, county reps.
(originally ran 5/13/92) COMING SOON
Stop, don't runway
Property owners want to throttle airport's growth
(originally ran 8/6/92) COMING SOON
Accusations fly at airport meeting
(originally ran 8/11/92) COMING SOON
Councilman hears lowdown on fly-overs
(originally ran 8/12/92) COMING SOON
AIRPORT'S FUTURE IN THE CLOUDS
(originally ran 8/30/92) COMING SOON
Crash victim had flown often
(originally ran 10/26/92)
Airport report on shaky ground
(originally ran 11/8/92) COMING SOON
Airport talks don't take flight
(originally ran 2/3/93) COMING SOON
At opposite poles on airport
(originally ran 2/11/93) COMING SOON
A new takeoff on controversy
Vance Brand Airport
(originally ran 3/7/93 COMING SOON
Airport plan over budget
Environmental report delayed
(originally ran 3/11/93) COMING SOON
Let's clear the air on airport issues
(originally ran 3/15/93) COMING SOON
It'd cost to close airport
(originally ran 3/18/93) COMING SOON
What's behind the airport dogfight?
(originally ran 3/21/93) COMING SOON
Airport needs avigation easement
(originally ran 3/30/93) COMING SOON
Complaints buzz about airport
Airport officials hope to compromise objections from builders and pilots
(originally ran 3/31/93) COMING SOON
Warnings won't fly
Consultant: Homeowners near airport will complain
(originally ran 4/1/93) COMING SOON
Homes near airport in doubt
(originally ran 4/29/93) COMING SOON
Meeting grounded
Airport board members angered
(originally ran 4/30/93) COMING SOON
Pilots: City is letting state money fly away
(originally ran 5/13/93) COMING SOON
Aerobats fly again today
(originally ran 5/30/93) COMING SOON
Airport firmly grounded
But council won't uproot development
(originally ran 6/2/93) COMING SOON
A MOUNTAIN OF CONTROVERSY
(originally ran 6/6/93) COMING SOON
State grants for airport in jeopardy?
(originally ran 11/5/93) COMING SOON
Airport services all tapped out
Vance Brand businesses seek water link
(originally ran 11/14/93) COMING SOON
Revised plan calls airport a business hub
(originally ran 11/27/93) COMING SOON
Airport to celebrate 50th anniversary
(originally ran 6/25/94) COMING SOON
The airport's opening
When Longmont walked on air
(originally ran 6/26/94) COMING SOON
GroundControl
Vance Brand tries to get a handle on soaring hangar demand
(originally ran 9/21/97) COMING SOON
Airport more than city's passenger
(originally ran 9/21/97) COMING SOON
Airport planning for the future
Taxiway first step to use Vance Brand's south side
(originally ran 10/17/00) COMING SOON
Officials: Extension is about safety
Vance Brand airport wants feedback on runway plan
(originally ran 4/3/02) COMING SOON
Officials want more runway for takeoffs
(originally ran 9/7/02) COMING SOON
Neighbors oppose expansion
(originally ran 1/7/03)
LONGMONT - A longer runway, a community college campus and the addition of up to 50 new hangars might shape the future of Vance Brand Airport, but not everyone is in favor of such a broad expansion.
Noise, additional traffic and an enchroachment on the area's quality-of-life tops the list of worries for people watching the plan update.
Neighbors, pilots and others who are interested in the future of the airport are expected to turn out at the Longmont City Council meeting tonight to weigh in on the aspects of the Airport Master Plan.
The council is scheduled to give direction on the plan so it can be completed, said airport manager Tim Barth.
"Once they make the decisions, we can come up with a pretty accurate forecast of what the airport will look like over the next 10 years," Barth said.
Front Range Community College is considering locating a campus on 30 acres of the airport's south side. But Barth said the campus, which might include an aviation school, is contingent upon another 20-acre annexation that is still in the works.
The possible extension of the airport's 4,800-foot runway to 5,650-feet is one of the most touchy subjects in the plan. The runway extension to the northwest would cost more than $2.5 million and would have no target construction date until a Federal Aviation Administration matching grant could be won.
Airport officials have said they extension is for safety, giving pilots the extra runway to abort a take-off if needed.
But Vance Brand does not have a history of safety problems.
Creighton Stewart, who lives to west of the airport, said he is most concerned about the lengthening of the runway.
Stewart said the added length is likely to shift the flight pattern used by pilots, causing additional noise. He also said that, although it is not the stated intent of the project, larger airplanes might come to frequent the airport.
"The runway can accommodate them now, but I believe the length is a limitation to the (larger) aircraft now," Stewart said.
Suzanne Webel, president of the Table Mountain Association, which represents as many as 1,000 families who live west of the airport, has followed the progress of the master plan update but said the idea of a possible community college campus at the airport is a surprise.
"We're concerned that expanding the airport will deteriorate the quality of life here," she said.
"We're on record as opposing the lengthening runway," Webel said. "The big issue now is the...school."
Barth noted that the council will be able to limit the number of new hangars developed onsite. He said the airport is roomy enough to be the base for 500 aircraft and that right now it has about 345 - at two planes per hangar.
Already, 32 additional hangars have been approved on top of the original ones since 1999, and up to 50 more can be approved. But Barth said the recommendation is for only enough hangars to accommodate 500 total aircraft, or about 25 additional hangars on top of those already approved.
Barth said the airport accommodates 112,000 operations - take-offs and landings - a year. If all 50 hangars were built out, operations would increase to 130,000, he said.
Stewart believes city council, which does not represent residents outside of city limits, will hear neighbors' worries.
"We're at their mercy as far as (city council members) recognizing us as people who have a problem," he said.
Council rejects extension of airport runway
(originally ran 1/8/03)
LONGMONT - In two split votes, the Longmont City Council on Tuesday night rejected both a proposal that would allow the extension of the runway at the Vance Brand Municipal Airport and another that would have left it the way it is.
The possibility of including an extension of the runway from 4,800 feet to 5,650 feet was left to the council for possible inclusion in the update of the Vance Brand Municipal Airport Master Plan, a document that provides direction on the airport's development and lays the groundwork for federal and state grants to achieve that development.
The council last night was asked to settle three outstanding questions to allow airport staff and consultants to solidify a preliminary draft of the document.
Dozens of pilots and airport neighbors packed the council chambers at the Civic Center and argued both for and against the long-contentious issue. Pilots said they believed the 850-foot extension would provide added safety in the event of an aborted takeoff, while neighbors claimed en masse that air traffic at Vance Brand already causes intolerable noise and a runway extension would only serve to increase traffic and noise.
The council split similarly, ultimately neither accepting an extension nor accepting that the runway should be left alone.
"None of the documents here tonight are really compelling that there is a safety issue," said Councilman Marty Block, who moved to reject the runway expansion after the hours long public hearing and discussion.
Block, along with council members Greg Winger and Tom McCoy, supported that motion, which was defeated with Mayor Julia Pirnack and council members Roger Lange, Doug Brown and Fred Wilson dissenting.
Pirnack's later motion to accept the extension failed, with Block, Winger, Lange and McCoy dissenting.
Both Lange and Brown said the airport's board should find an alternative to lengthening the runway to address safety concerns. Airport manager Tim Barth said the Federal Aviation Administration asked that the master plan address the issue of a possible extension.
"They realize that it is a local question, and if you do not want to lengthen it, the FAA will be OK with that," Barth said.
The Airport Advisory Board recommended to the council that the extension be included in the master plan. Such inclusion would not have meant that the extension would be completed in the near future, but would have stood as the vision for the airport's growth.
The council also was asked to approve the designation of 30 acres of the airport's south side for "non-aviation development," a question apparently triggered by Front Range Community College's interest in possibly locating its long-planned Longmont campus on the property. But Lange said he felt he didn't have enough information on the proposal.
College President Tom Gonzales told the council that the 20 acres left of developable land off Quail Road near the Longmont Recreation Center simply isn't enough for the campus.
"We want to be here," he said, adding later, "What you have here is an opportunity for us to work with you."
The council voted unanimously to ask Barth to bring back additional information on the proposal, thus delaying the full development of the master plan's preliminary draft for at least a couple of weeks.
Airport plan in the works
(originally ran 1/13/03)
LONGMONT - With the City Council's direction that the runway at Vance Brand Municipal Airport should not be expanded, the issue about the dedication of 30 acres for a new community college campus is still outstanding.
The Airport Advisory Board and airport staff are about midstream through the process of updating the local airport's master plan, a basic outline of projects and improvements. Airport manager Tim Barth said the last update, in 1993, missed the mark on just how many aircraft would be using the airport at this point, and adjustments are due.
"We've exceeded most of the forecasts, if you will, up through the year 2013," he said.
The Federal Aviation Administration requires airports to maintain master plans. Once approved, the documents are used to back up grant applications to the federal agency.
The requirement is backed with federal money. Consulting firm Knight-Piesold of Denver is working on the update for $150,000. The FAA paid for 90 percent of that, the state picked up 5 percent and the balance was paid locally.
The master planning process to date has acknowledged that the airport utility is strong and growing, with recommendations for additional hangars, the extension of the runway and use of some property for Front Range Community College.
Vance Brand serves as a regional hub for recreational aviation and is home to dozens of small aircraft.
"The noise is kind of like having the guy three houses down mow his lawn for 12 hours a day," said Chris Martinson of the Boulder Hills Home Owners Association, testifying to the council in opposition of airport growth.
The council on Tuesday approved the inclusion of a voluntary noise-abatement plan to help alleviate the problem of residents having their homes "buzzed" by recreational pilots, but the plan cannot be enforced. Once a plane leaves the ground, it is out of the city's jurisdiction.
Barth said the airport boomed with the economy and has slowed again with it. Many argue that Vance Brand is vital to the economic health of Longmont, allowing business people and consumers to fly directly in and pump in outside money from people who use the airport and shop in Longmont, but who don't live here.
"The growth of the airport is pretty well following the growth and vitality of Longmont," Bob Leyner told the council, while lobbying for the runway extension.
"A good plan is to keep your options open."
Others argue that the airport is already a bad neighbor and allowing it to grow will only make it worse.
The Longmont City Council last Tuesday decided, 4-3, to reject a recommendation to extend the 4,800-foot runway by 850 feet to give pilots more room to stop in the case of problematic takeoffs. However, in a puzzling turn, the council also rejected, 4-3, a motion that would have left the runway as it is.
Airport neighbors turned out in force to oppose what they saw as the first step to more traffic with larger planes, although pilots testified that they would feel safer with the additional asphalt and that the grade of the runway wouldn't be able to sustain the weight of the larger planes.
The extension had been a major discussion point as part of the public meetings on the update, but the possibility of allocating space to Front Range Community College for a Longmont campus turned out to be a last-minute question.
"All they have done is put in a letter of intent," Barth said of Front Range.
The council deferred the decision to allocate the acreage until additional information could be provided.
Barth and the airport board asked the council to consider allocating 30 acres of airport property to "non-aviation" development.
Tom Gonzalez, president of Front Range Community College, told the council that the property at Longmont's Quail Campus, near the recreation center and museum, is too small for the campus that the college wants to build.
Along with the 30 acres from the airport, the college would have to secure another 20 acres from another property owner to have enough room for the full campus, which would be a full-service school that might include an aviation program.
"We really want to be here; we've said that for years," Gonzalez said.
The college now operates out of a strip mall on North Main Street.
"The Boulder County campus really has experienced significant growth," Gonzalez said.
Along with the designation of land for new development, the plan might also include additional hangars for aircraft based out of Vance Brand. Right now there are 124 hangars, Barth said, and they are all full.
Barth said the board and consultants need the council's direction to complete the master planning process. The community college point is still outstanding, but should be settled sometime in the next couple of weeks when Barth returns with a more complete presentation.
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