Brookneal-Campbell County Airport Authority Seeking to Build New Hangers
As reported in The News & Advance, the Campbell County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution at their October meeting to authorize the Brookneal-Campbell County Airport Authority (BCCAA) to apply for a loan for a 10 hangar construction project. With this resolution, the BCCAA, with staff support from the Campbell County Department of Economic Development, will apply for $700,000 from the Virginia Airports Revolving Loan Fund to build 10 hangars with construction expected to be completed in 2024.
“The availability of these T-hangars are an effort to secure 10 based aircrafts that will enable the airport to get back into Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) funding that will aid in capital improvements and regular maintenance of the property,” said Nina Rezai, Director of Economic Development.
Since 2012, the airport has been unclassified in the Federal Aviation Administration’s funding system. Once 10 aircraft are based at the airport, the airport will qualify again for federal funding. Multiple airports in the area have waiting lists for hangar space exceeding the ten hangers the BCCAA plans to build, so the expectation is that the hangar building will fill quickly. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association reported the results of the Airport Support Network survey which indicated that "71 percent of the airports surveyed have a waiting list for their hangars, and at those airports with a waiting list, 72 percent of aircraft owners waited from six months to more than two years." Aircraft owners interested in adding themselves to the waiting list for the Brookneal-Campbell County Airport's hangars can complete a quick webform here.
The BCCAA hired Talbert & Bright, an airport consulting firm, to update its layout plan and find the most cost-effective location for the hangars. The FAA and the Virginia Department of Aviation (VDOA) approved this master plan revision, a neccessary step for the new hangar process. The resolution from the Board of Supervisors was another step forward for the project.
Rezai said the airport has the structure in place to be able to pay back the loan on its own, but as with any public authority, it needs the backing of the local government in order to submit the application.
County Administrator Frank Rogers described the process as the board co-signing the potential loan for the group.
“Based on their revenue, year over year and anticipated expenses, we’re optimistic they’ll be able to make the payments; but that’s functionally what you’re doing when you add the moral obligation of the county to the process,” he said.
The funding application will be presented to the Virginia Aviation board for approval in March and upon approval, the project will be put out to bid.
For more information regarding the Board of Supervisor's decision, see the article in The News & Advance by Rodney Robinson Jr. on Sunday, October 8, 2023