NLR airport panel delays radio-sharing vote

The North Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission decided Thursday it wants more information on a proposal for its airport to share a radio frequency with nearby Camp Robinson airfield.

Officials at both airports have discussed pursuing a separate frequency so pilots can hear communications at both airports as an added layer of safety and, after a public hearing last week, the commission appeared prepared to vote on the issue Thursday.

But one member of the commission, Don Blakey, raised new objections at the commission's regularly monthly meeting.

He suggested it would be just as unsafe to abandon the frequency the airport has used for many years, especially for pilots with aircraft that are still equipped with older-generation radios that are unable to the dial in the new frequency.

Blakey also argued it would cause a loss of business and, as a result, income to the airport and the businesses that rely on airport activity.

Commission Chairman Mark Halter wanted airport staff to conduct a more comprehensive survey of pilots and business owners at the airport to gauge their support for the proposal. He also wanted staff members to press Camp Robinson officials on their amenability to sharing the frequency the airport now uses.

Jim Julian, another commission member, agreed more information was needed.

"I don't want to make a change that would make this an unsafe airport," he said.

In seeking a new, shared frequency, Camp Robinson officials have cited several close encounters between Arkansas Army National Guard helicopters assigned to the military airfield with aircraft taking off to the west from the North Little Rock Municipal Airport. About 2.5 miles separate the airports.

Both airports lack air traffic controllers to track aircraft. As a result, pilots use a system of communicating in which they announce their positions and intentions to other pilots on the same frequency when they are maneuvering near the airports.

The Arkansas Army National Guard helicopters now use a military-only frequency at Camp Robinson while pilots using North Little Rock Municipal Airport use a frequency commonly assigned to small general aviation airports.

Ten airports within about 40 miles of North Little Rock use the same frequency, which means that once a pilot is aloft he can hear pilots' radio transmissions at nearby airports.

A public hearing held last week found significant support to change the frequency, although some pilots and owners of businesses at the airport expressed opposition.

Metro on 06/19/2015

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