Frequently Asked Questions
The Flightpath project team continually answers questions from the community and posts them here. Check back often for new questions and answers.
Geographic
Why do we need to be concerned about what other airports are doing in the surrounding area?
I heard that the airport is only used by people who live in Park City. What value does the airport provide the Heber community?
- Emergency medical flights
- Aerial firefighting flights
- Law enforcement flights
- Flight training
- Time-sensitive cargo services
- Business travel
- Personal travel
- Agricultural functions
- Livable wage aeronautical jobs
- Public events and museums
Understanding the scope of services available at Heber Valley Airport helps to explain its critical role in travel, transportation, and infrastructure. The Heber Valley Airport also offers facilities for pilots, refueling and refreshing. Other services include offering conference rooms, flight crew quarters, and aircraft mechanical services.
In terms of aircraft and hangar owners, the demographics are as follows:
- 45% – Park City Area
- 45% – Heber Valley
- 8% – Other Utah residence
- 2% – Other places outside Utah
Is there any way to keep HCR small without shutting it down?
What can we do to move the airport? What would it take?
How will the airport affect the surrounding cities?
Is the proximity of schools to the flight path of jet traffic being considered in the Master Plan?
Is the Transfer Station location in the RPZ being considered in the Master Plan?
If my house needs to move, will I get compensation?
What does expansion mean in terms of this project? Does it mean increasing traffic? Acquiring more land?
This question will be answered as part of the Forecast, Facility Requirements, and Development Alternatives chapters.
Safety and Environmental
How safe is the airport? Have there been many accidents?
This question is answered in Chapter 2. Socioeconomic Overview and Background (Section 2.3 Aircraft Accidents, page 11).
What safety considerations will be made for surrounding area?
This question will be answered as part of the Facility Requirements, Development Alternatives, and Compliance (Land Use) chapters.
What kind of noise considerations will be made?
Will the louder traffic increase after the Master Plan is complete?
All traffic at Heber Valley Airport is forecasted to continue increasing after the Master Plan is complete. (Please refer to Chapter 4. Forecast of Aviation Demand, Section 4.8 General Aviation Operations of the Master Plan for details.) After the City has selected the preferred development alternative(s) with community input, preliminary environmental work will be performed. This will include an examination of the noise impacts for existing and future development.
What is the environmental impact of increased air traffic?
Can we instate a noise curfew or other limits?
How much fuel is burned from large craft?
If larger planes use the airfield for emergency situations at the same time as smaller craft, who dictates the air traffic considering the difference in approach speeds?
Are there any protection measures in place to prevent contraband from entering from the airport?
Operations
Is commercial service coming to the airport?
If the City makes design criteria improvements at the airport, what prevents even larger aircraft, like passenger jets (commercial air service) from using the airport?
Can the City limit the number and type of aircraft using Heber Valley Airport?
Can we prevent larger planes from utilizing the Heber Valley Airport?
Can we just close the Heber Valley Airport?
Are you putting in a control tower?
Who sets regulations for the size, speed, and noise of air traffic operations in and out of HCR?
What do B-II and C-II mean? What is HCR rated as now?
Are private jets considered commercial?
Any aircraft, including jets, can be privately (individuals or businesses, including airlines) or publicly operated (government or military).
Commercial operations include air carrier and charter/on-demand operations. During the Master Plan’s data collection time period, charter/on-demand operations were recorded at HCR, while air carrier operations were not.
How common are NetJets at the Heber Airport?
NetJets is a fractional ownership company. Fractional ownership is a common investment structure for expensive assets such as aircraft, sports cars, and vacation properties, in which the overall cost of an asset or property is split among a group of owners or users. According to flight tracking websites, fractionally owned aircraft are consistently recorded at HCR.
Cargo aircraft: what does that look like at HCR? Will it benefit the community more than trucking?
No dedicated cargo aircraft or companies were observed at HCR during the forecast data collection period.
What does expansion mean in terms of this project? Does it mean increasing traffic? Acquiring more land?
Is the data for operations made available?
Yes. Please refer to Chapter 4. Forecast of Aviation Demand for details. Data is provided regarding the number of annual operations performed and forecasted at Heber Valley Airport for the 20-year planning period (2021 – 2041). This data is broken down by aircraft type and mix, operating rules, and Airport Reference Code (ARC).
What are the current dimensions of HCR’s runway?
Are aircraft at or above C-II landing at HCR currently?
Yes. Please refer to Chapter 4. Forecast of Aviation Demand for details. Multiple data sources confirmed that aircraft at or above an Airport Reference Code (ARC) of C-II are currently landing at HCR. These data sources included motion-activated cameras, landing records provided by the Fixed Base Operator (OK3 Air), and FAA filed flight plans for aircraft flying under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR).
Which classification of aircraft is the loudest?
Project Planning and Timeline
What is an Airport Master Plan and why do we need one?
In the last few years, Heber City Airport has seen an increase in small business jet traffic. The runway at Heber City Airport was designed for aircraft with much slower approach speeds than the aircraft that now use our airport. Because we have more than 500 operations (takeoffs or landings) by these business jets each year, the FAA has strongly encouraged Heber City to prepare an update of the airport master plan so the City can make a well-informed decision about the future airport development of the airport in light of its existing and predicted future traffic.
Is a Master Plan required?
What is the process for the Airport Master Plan update?
Do you have copies of other Master Plans that you could provide?
What are Grant Assurances, and why do we have to abide by them?
When is the final decision going to be made?
How do we find out who is on the committees (CAC and TAC)?
How were the committees selected?
When is the next public meeting? Will we be notified? How?
This question is answered in part by the project timeline posted on the Flightpath website here. In addition to posting upcoming public meetings on the Flightpath event calendar, the team will also share the announcement via blog post and alert, social media, and local advertising options such as the Wasatch Wave.
Will the Master Plan facilitate growth? Is expansion part of the plan?
Does the Airport Master Plan look at future business development?
What comes after the Master Plan?
What are the issues with the current airport?
Who is currently using the airport?
Many private and public entities utilize the airport, including air medical evacuations, businesses, government, military, and individuals.
What does the forecast process look like?
The forecast methodology selected for the Heber Valley Airport Master Plan is called time series analysis. A time series analysis, also known as a trend or linear analysis, uses historic patterns of activity and projects the trend into the future. This type of forecasting is widely used and is highly valuable because it is relatively simple to apply.
After the baseline number of annual operations was established as detailed in Chapter 4. Forecast of Aviation Demand, the preferred annual growth rate was used to calculate the forecasted number of annual operations throughout the 20-year planning period (2021 – 2041).
Can the numbers be manipulated to show growth that might not take place? Could that manipulation facilitate more traffic from larger craft that would not otherwise be able to land at HCR?
The annual growth rate applied to the annual operations forecast for the Heber Valley Airport Master Plan was 1.3%, which is the annual growth rate applied to population forecasts for Heber City through 2060 by the Utah Governor’s Office of Management and Budget.
This number (1.3%) incorporated the longest planning period (40 years) and represented an approximate average of annual growth rates applied to the 2018 Utah Continuous Aviation System Plan (0.3%), the Utah Governor’s Office of Management and Budget (1.3%), and the FAA Terminal Area Forecast for annual operations at HCR (3.0%). [0.3% + 1.3% + 3.0% = 4.6% / 3 = 1.5] This number conservatively captured the community’s steadily increasing population and solid economic foundation. Please refer to Chapter 4. Forecast of Aviation Demand, Section 4.8 General Aviation Operations of the Master Plan for details.
The number of annual operations forecasted to be performed by larger aircraft (C-III or larger) throughout the 20-year planning period is as follows: 2026 – 304; 2031 – 324; 2036 – 346; 2041 – 369.
How much can the forecast change?
Forecast methodologies considered during planning are based on the best available data for the existing circumstances of an airport. Aviation forecasts may vary high or low due to unforeseen events, such as an economic recession or global pandemic.