Runway Weight Limit to be Decided by Election?

It might happen…. Residents in Douglas County in California might decide via election what the aircraft weight limit should be at the Minden-Tahoe Airport. Normally such decisions are made by engineers. :)

The problem comes down to federal grants. Most airports are funded through federal grants and often as much as 95% of development costs come through those grants. By accepting them you also agree to keep the airport running at that level for a certain amount of time. You also normally agree that you won’t discriminate against aircraft of a certain size if they can operate there without safety issues. If they do not increase the weight limit they could loose federal funding and possibly even have to pay some back.

“The FAA could stop giving us grants and if they want us to refund the money, Douglas County doesn’t have it,” he said. “If we can’t get a new weight limit approved during the next election and the FAA won’t fund improvements, we may have to close down operations at the airport.”

landed on record courier.