NRMA NEWS FOR THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 22ND, 2000

Welcome to the 28TH issue of NRMA News - an almost weekly summary of events at New Richmond Municipal Airport. This newsletter is sent to approximately 115 individuals associated with NRMA.

WEB SITE ADDRESS . . . Check out the airport website at:

http://www.nrairport.com

AIRPORT PROJECT UPDATE 
Paving of the new parallel taxiway and taxilanes in the north hangar area is now complete. Monarch Paving put down the first layer last Wednesday and then finished the second layer on Friday and Saturday. Landscapers were busy smoothing and seeding the work area today. The pavement is scheduled to be painted and saw-cut later this week. The taxiway will not open this week, however. The electrical portion of the project is running a bit behind. The taxiway guidance signs and threshold marking signs were tough to get and were not set to ship out until the 25th of October. Look for the opening of the taxiway around the first week of November. No further airport closures are expected.

START SPREADING THE NEWS
Effective December 28, 2000 at 0901 zulu (3:01 am), the common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) and pilot controlled lighting frequency at NRMA will officially change from 122.9 to 122.975. If you were around the airport this past weekend, you probably have a pretty good understanding why the change needs to be made. NRMA had well over 250 take-off's and landings on Saturday alone. The present frequency is shared with about 11 other airports around the area which were busy too, thus causing some pretty severe frequency congestion. Only a handful of airports around the country are using the 122.975 with NRMA being the first airport in Wisconsin or Minnesota to receive a license for the newly allocated frequency. Notices of the frequency change will be sent to all airport managers and fixed base operators in Wisconsin and Minnesota in early December.

NEW INSTRUMENT APPROACH MINIMUMS
Thanks to the recent install of the automated weather observation station at NRMA, we can now expect lower minimum altitudes on all instrument approaches serving the airport. I spoke with the individuals responsible for developing and modifying instrument approaches for the FAA this week. The good news is we will definitely get lower minimums. The bad news is it will probably take 6 to 8 months to complete due to a severe backlog at the FAA. I'll keep you up-to-date.

AIRPORT BUDGET
The 2001 budget for NRMA was approved by the Airport Commission this month and is now set to be forwarded to the Finance Committee of the New Richmond City Council. The Finance Committee will review the budget early next month. One of the bigger budget items included for next year is the reconstruction of a taxilane between rows 3 and 4. That particular pavement is in poor condition and the area suffers from inadequate drainage. 

CRACK FILLING
The fuel apron, aircraft parking apron, and 2 taxilanes in the hangar area were crackfilled last Thursday. All cracks greater than 1/2" wide were routed and approximately 2,600 lbs of rubberized crack fill material was applied. 

BUILDING A HANGAR?
If you are thinking about building a hangar, checkout the new NRMA hangar info page. The page has links and phone numbers for area hangar builders, door companies, concrete and asphalt companies, insulation, etc. There are still a few hangar spaces available for lease at NRMA. If you are interested in leasing a hangar space - send me an e-mail. The hangar info page can be accessed from this link: http://www.nrairport.com/new%20hangars.htm

FUEL PRICES
Avgas and jet fuel prices are still only $1.99 for 100LL and $1.79 for Jet A. 

CALENDAR OF EVENTS
A listing of all fly-in's around Wisconsin is available in the Griggs Aviation hangar or by going to the Wisconsin Bureau of Aeronautics website at http://www.dot.state.wi.us/dtid/boa/flyin.htm
December 3rd - Airport Commission meeting at the Civic Center in New Richmond
December 28th - New frequency for NRMA 122.975

Thanks

Mike Demulling
NRMA Manager
mike@nrairport.com