Drake Field can accommodate jet aircraft traffic

By RUSTY GARRETT
Times Staff Writer

Local air passengers who prefer the speed of jet traffic may not have to wait for the 1998 completion of the regional airport to use it.

Drake Field officials received a letter from consultants last week advising them the airport can accommodate service by regional jet aircraft becoming popular among commuter airlines.

Leslie V. Sagar, project manager with Greiner Inc., the Fort Worth, Texas-based firm preparing a new master plan for Drake Field, wrote in the May 2 letter the airport's 6,006-foot runway is long enough for Canadair RJ/ER and Embraer 145 aircraft to operate between Fayetteville and current destinations.

The aircraft could also allow potential future service to other hubs within 500 nautical miles, such as Houston, Chicago, Atlanta and Cincinnati, according to Sagar.

The Embraer 145 could also serve airports up to 600 nautical miles away, including Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul. With weight modifications, the Canadair jets could also handle those flights.

Rudy Furr, marketing director with Drake Field, said he has had conversations with five airlines, three which now serve Fayetteville, about implementation of regional jet service.

At an earlier airport meeting, Furr said it is possible regional jet service could be available at Drake within the year.

Furr released Sagar's letter Monday in response to published statements by former congressman John Paul Hammerschmidt last week concerning the new regional airport.

The article said Hammerschmidt maintained the new regional airport is needed "to handle the regional, jet aircraft planned for the next generation of commuter service."

Furr said airport officials were "quite disturbed" to see Hammerschmidt alluding the regional jet issue.

"Drake Field is quite capable of handling the new generation of regional jet aircraft," Furr said. "If that is the justification for building a new airport, it is not correct."

Scott Van Laningham, spokesman for the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport Authority, said while Drake Field could provide regional jet service, other conditions at the Fayetteville airport, including weight restrictions and morning fog, may still limit aircraft ability "to get in and out on a regular basis."

Van Laningham pointed out Hammerschmidt has long been a staunch supporter of Drake Field, and that the former congressman also had praise for Drake Field as "a great airport" that "serves the community very well."

Van Laningham said there is ample justification for the regional facility in numerous studies, which "all point to the need for a new airport."