Advancing the Practice of State Aviation System Planning

A state aviation system plan provides agencies with an important planning tool to optimize overall system performance. FAA Advisory Circular 150/5070-7, The Airport System Planning Process, outlines the basic elements of a system plan, yet it does not address specific components that may be unique to individual states. While the advisory circular provides a good base from which to work, research is needed to guide practitioners on how system plans can better reflect emerging trends, optimize increasingly limited resources, identify roles and responsibilities in managing state aviation systems, and scope system plans that meet the unique needs of each state. The objective of this research is to develop a guidebook for scoping, developing, and implementing state aviation system plans. The guidebook should build on FAA Advisory Circular 150/5070-7 and allow states and practitioners to tailor their plans to meet their specific needs and governance structures. At a minimum, the guidance should help to: (1) Set goals, objectives, and strategies; (2) Assess the potential effects that emerging societal, commercial, economic, and technical trends (e.g., unmanned aerial systems, urban air transport, spaceports, on demand cargo) could have their aviation system; (3) Identify value-added studies (e.g., economic impact, sustainability, obstruction mitigation, compatible land use) to complement aviation system planning; (4) Define the system [e.g., airports and related assets and services, airports in the FAA’s National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) vs. non-NPIAS airports]; (5) Identify and establish means (e.g., advisory committee) to engage stakeholders (e.g., FAA, various state agencies, state and local officials, airport managers, tenants, users, general public) throughout the process; (6) Inventory the system and collect, store, and analyze data; (7) Define system performance metrics; (8) Conduct market studies and demand forecasts (e.g., unconstrained vs. constrained); (9) Determine facility requirements; (10) Assess funding opportunities, including, federal, state, local, and other sources; (11) Select a method (e.g., priority rating model) to assist in selecting projects for funding; (12) Identify methods for monitoring system performance and determining when an update is needed; and (13) Incorporate these topics in a system plan scope of work (e.g., for an RFP). The guidebook should also: (1) Be easily used and understood by practitioners with varying degrees of expertise, including a non-aviation audience; (2) Feature graphics and tools (e.g., decision trees, flow charts); (3) Include an introduction to state aviation system planning, and its value, and the benefits of integrating the plan with other plans (e.g., master plans, comprehensive plans, state transportation plans, FAA NPIAS); (4) Allow users to target and focus on particular aspects of the system (e.g., cargo, sustainability, geographic areas); and (5) Include supplemental resources (e.g., example scopes of work, glossary, sample stakeholder outreach materials, suggested advisory committee membership).

• Record URL:
  http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=4416

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $299999
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 01-36

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Airport Cooperative Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC    20001

  Federal Aviation Administration

  800 Independence Avenue, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20591
• Project Managers:

  Griffin, Matt

• Performing Organizations:

  Kimley-Horn and Associates, Incorporated

  12660 Coit Road, Suite 300
  Dallas, TX  United States  75251-
• Principal Investigators:

  Schnug, Regan

• Start Date: 20190429
• Expected Completion Date: 20201031
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• Source Data: RiP Project 41848

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Airport operations; Airport planning; Civil aviation; Federal aid; Needs assessment; Resource allocation
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Finance; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01642751
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 01-36
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: Jul 31 2017 11:16AM