WORLAND – GDA Engineers of Cody will hold the third Worland Municipal Airport Master Plan meeting today at the Worland Municipal Airport Terminal. The meeting will convene at 4:30 p.m. and GDA will present facility requirements and development alternatives for the Worland Airport. The meeting is open to the public.

Rick Patton, GDA Principal Planner, previously provided an overview of the funding available to airports, highlighting federal funding sources from the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program (AIP), such as non-primary entitlement funds and discretionary funds. He also discussed state apportionment funds available to Wyoming airports statewide. He explained that federal funds are derived from user fees. Patton noted that when projects are funded with federal dollars, 90 percent of the costs are covered by the FAA, leaving 10 percent to be split between the state, which pays 6 percent in Wyoming, and the sponsor, which pays the remaining 4 percent.

Patton explained that 34 of the 40 airports within Wyoming are funded through the AIP. He then went on to explain the commercial service program and mentioned the EAS. Rick mentioned how the airport is struggling to keep services due to loss of pilots similar to much of the state. In the case of the Worland airport, Patton noted that the facility could use a few improvements, although it is meeting most of the needs of the current users.

According to GDA, today’s workshop will review alternatives for development on items such as additional hangars pace and taxi lanes. By applying design standards to classes of aircraft, the Federal Aviation Administration is able to a match a level of safety to a level of risk. A comparison of current standards to the current conditions of the Worland Airport will be presented during the public meeting.