ARLINGTON AIRPORT

KAWO Quarterly Update

December 1, 2022

Message from the Arlington Airport Director

I hope this article finds you well during this holiday season. We’ve had some outstanding breaks in flying weather for this time of year! From my office window I still enjoy watching planes take off and land just as much as I did when I was a kid at my local airport.

It’s been a year of changes. We’ve lost airport tenants dear to our hearts and gained new tenants that I hope will make Arlington their permanent home.

Your airport staff members have been very busy this year with a host of projects, some of which you see and many that you don’t. I’m so proud of the team we have here and hope you’ll join me in sharing a kind word with them when you see them. As you may know, Monroe Whitman left our team to manage the airport at Bremerton. We wish him the best of luck, and I know he will bring to PWT the same outstanding attitude and work ethic he showed us all here at AWO.

As I mentioned, it’s been a busy year! From Skyfest to our Airport Community Day, where the Young Eagles introduced 196 kids to the world of aviation, there hasn’t been a week that something wasn’t being planned or implemented.

The runway 16/34 Mill and Overlay Project was about as smooth as they come. We finished on time and a little under budget! Additionally, the new south automated gate, the building of several access roads for firefighters and maintenance, remodeling the pilot lounge to completing our 5-year Capital Improvement Plan with the FAA and WSDOT Aviation have left little room for rest.

We have been able to secure millions in grant funding for these and future projects and have leased approximately 45 acres in the Airport Business Park. Once these leases have been developed into actual buildings, the airport will receive almost 1 million annually for these leases alone. We also just completed our biennial budget and have planned for several new projects in the next couple of years. Again we ended up “in the black” and were able to transfer the surplus into our reserve fund.

I hope your year has been as fulfilling as ours and that next year brings even more blessings.

Blue Skies,

Dave Ryan

If you have items for this newsletter, please send an email to LeAlyce Miller at lmiller@arlingtonwa.gov.

Remembering Mac

We were all saddened to hear of Donald “Mac” McGugin’s recent passing.

He was a friend to most and a great mechanic to many, always with a smile and usually a story to accompany.

He was an institution here at the airport and will be missed by all!

Pilot's Lounge Remodel

The Airport Staff has recently given the Pilot's Lounge a much needed facelift! Out with the old and in with new furniture, new paint and photos of local area pilots and planes, thanks to photographers Bob Hafford and Terry Green. Coming soon is a new vending machine with snacks and drinks. We think it looks pretty great and hope you get a chance to check it out!

Mission Aviation Training Academy

Mission Aviation Training Academy (MATA) has been operating from Arlington Municipal Airport (KAWO) for 24 years. They train evangelical Christian pilots for mission aviation service all over the world, and the graduates are serving or have served as pilots and mechanics in Africa (Cameroon, Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Uganda), Asia (Indonesia), Oceana (Papua New Guinea, Palau, Federated States of Micronesia), North America (Alaska, Florida, Kansas, Mexico), and South America (Brazil, Suriname).

"KAWO has provided a good training environment for our purposes, with nearly every class of airspace and type of special use airspace within 35nm, an international border 50nm away, mountain airstrips within 75nm, and numerous relatively short and narrow runways and turf strips nearby. Although we often wish for more days of good flying weather, conditions allow instrument students to get a fair amount of flying in actual IMC. All told, operating from KAWO allows us to prepare pilots for most of the flying environments they will encounter on their fields of service."

Arlington also is a good departure point for their summer trips up north, supporting a Bible camp in western Alaska by flying Native Alaskans to and from their remote villages. Another summer event is the week-long Aviation Summer Camp for high-schoolers, conducted at KAWO from 2007 through 2022 (excluding 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions). The camps have put 225 young people at the controls and exposed them to using light general aviation aircraft for mission support ministries.

"We would like to thank all our friends, neighbors, colleagues, and airport staff at KAWO for their support over the years!"

Great KAWO Gifts for the Aviation Enthusiast

Come get your KAWO Airport merchandise! Our selection of T-Shirts and Hats would be the ultimate gift for the holiday season. The new airport challenge coin makes for a great stocking stuffer! Don't miss out on this opportunity to get something for that special aviation lover in your life, or even for yourself. Stop by the airport office today!

Vehicle Gate Damage

Recently, our north 59^th Drive gate was breeched by a person in a dark blue Chevy pickup. Luckily there was minimal damage to the gate, but the way in which it was damaged caused some real concern about the incident.

This person drove through the gate after attempting to exit from the airfield. The gate tried to open but the vehicle was too close and stopped it from opening. The driver then got out, folded back the mirrors on the truck and crashed through the gate.

The incident was unreported by the person, despite happening during normal business hours. The Airport has video of the incident.

If anyone has knowledge about this incident, please contact the Airport office.

KAWO Photo of the Quarter

Arlington Municipal Airport has seen a steady increase in larger traffic over the years. Recently a Bombardier Challenger 300 visited us from southern California. The pilots were very friendly letting one of our staff onboard to see the cockpit.