WWW.AIRPORT.HURONCOUNTY-OH.GOV NORWALK-HURON COUNTY AIRPORT A NEW BEGINNING FOR A SMALL AIRFIELD
NORWALK-HURON COUNTY AIRPORT AT A GLANCE THE NORWALK-HURON COUNTY AIRPORT WHAT: A publicly-owned, public-use regional airport WHERE: N ear the City of Norwalk in north central Ohio WEBSITE: www.airport.huroncounty-oh.gov A NEW BEGINNIN SMALL AIRFIELD REALIZING THE CAPABILITIE 1 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 12, ISSUE 01
NG FOR A D The Norwalk-Huron County Airport, a growing publicly-owned, public-use airport is located a few miles east of the City of Norwalk, in north-central Ohio. Norwalk-Huron caters to an average of 28 general aviation and/or corporate flights per day and is ideally located for travellers with their GPS set for Cedar Point, the world’s largest amusement ES 2 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 12, ISSUE 01
park, just 36 miles to the north on Lake Erie. The airport caters to tourists throughout the year. Norwalk-Huron is even closer to Kalahari Resorts in Sandusky, home to Ohio’s largest indoor water park. Adding to the tourist draw, at the eastern end of Runway 10/28, is Summit Motorsports Park, a drag racing facility that draws a lot of jet traffic when it hosts National events. BETTER RELATIONS Scott Sparks, Airport Manager with Norwalk-Huron County Airport and a former 35-year Senior NonCommissioned Officer for the United States Air Force with a degree in Aviation Management from The Ohio State University started as a volunteer Airport Manager in March 2021.After taking the reins, Sparks saw great potential for his airport and began to lobby County Commissioners, emphasizing the airport’s capabilities and possibilities. His efforts paid off after convincing them that regional airports are, and can be, local economic engines, and reminding them that any forthcoming funding from the county would be supplemented by federal (FAA) and state (ODOT) monies. “I can say that this year has been extraordinary regarding our relationship with the county,” Sparks reports.“They know we have potential out here and they’re very supportive.” Last fall, the commissioners reviewed the airport’s ten-year, capital improvement, master plan, which is projected to cost a total of $6 million by 2032. Its projects include: runway, taxiway, and apron design, rehabilitation, and construction; airfield lighting rehabilitation design and implementation; design and construction of perimeter wildlife fencing; design and bid for an Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) to collect and process weather data, such as wind speed and direction, visibility, temperature, and cloud coverage; design and bid for a Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI), a system of lights that help pilots guide their aircraft onto the runway during landing; and a bid for hangar design and construction. A NEW AGENDA This current year has been one of renewal and momentum. “We just finished a project,” Sparks shares. “We had a crack sealing and marking of our 3 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 12, ISSUE 01 NORWALK-HURON COUNTY AIRPORT
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runway, our taxiways, and our ramp, and it’s beautiful. And we did that with FAA dollars (a little over $130,000) in order to extend the life of our runway so that we can get it to the point for a rehab in 2027. The project right now is the design of the electrical vault for all new LED lighting. (An electrical vault is a sealed enclosure that houses electrical equipment and power cables, such as transformers, switchgear, and regulators.) It’s a huge project so it’s in design right now and next year we’ll go into construction. Right after the electrical vault, we have AWOS as a project, and we have PAPI on the master plan, but the FAA asked us to move that down until we get our lighting done.” “The other project that we have right now is obstruction removal,” Sparks continues.”We’ve got a lot of trees on airport property that need to come down. We got a grant from the Department of Transportation and we’re just waiting to pull the trigger on that project. For next year, we’re going to do phase two for another area of trees that will be removed. And we have a beacon on a 90-foot pole right next to the field that will get moved; the helicopters hate it. We are well under way on this project and I strive for continuous improvement.” GRADUATION DAY Sparks says that the solar eclipse on April 8th, 2024 proved to him that the airport was clearly moving ahead. “It was kind of a graduation day for us here,” he recalls.“We had 44 aircraft on the ground; we had a system to get all these people here, and we got them out of here within an hour. It validated what we can do.” Now, he’s focused on getting the word out to investors and companies who also see the airport’s capabilities and potential. “We don’t have any organic maintenance on the field,” he notes. “We have a couple of people who are A&P mechanics that we call on. So, we’re trying to get that capability. We have a big hangar that is open and we’re looking for companies to bring their maintenance here. We’d also like to have a flight school here. We do have flight instruction from our Aero Club; they started here about four years ago and lease space from us. They have a Cherokee and they now added an Ercoupe to their fleet. But we would 6 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 12, ISSUE 01
love that capability. It would really help increase our operations and fuel sales.” CARGO IS KEY Another key action item, according to Sparks, is to capitalize on the airport’s ability to move cargo. Its location in that regard is extremely opportune: it lies at the heart of a triangle whose points are home to the area’s three large commercial airports. Cleveland is 70 miles to the northeast, Toledo is a 68 miles to the northwest, and Columbus is 102 miles due south. “We’re in a perfect place,” he declares. “We’re within an hour’s flying of Cleveland, Columbus, and Toledo.” The airport has already proven its cargo carrying skills when it managed a last minute operation for a local branch of the Autoneum company, a Swissowned automotive manufacturer and supplier of multifunctional and lightweight components for use in vehicles that reduce noise and protect against 7 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 12, ISSUE 01 NORWALK-HURON COUNTY AIRPORT
excessive heat. “We had a situation last fall, where a production line in Greensboro, Mercedes Benz, I’m told, was getting ready to shut down because they did not have these panels,” says Sparks. “The company called up and said, ‘we’re going to send an airplane in there to pick up those panels. And we need to move on this quickly.’ We opened up the gates and helped them load the airplane. They were going to shut down at midnight and they got there about 11:15. It was our seed for us to capitalize on this cargo capability that we already have.” Now, Sparks says he wants to the airport to get a forklift to handle heavier items. GOING FORWARD Sparks doesn’t envision that the airport will ever handle commercial traffic. “It would be nice, but I don’t see it happening, unless we can get into the Essential Air Services Program. (The EAS is a federal program that guarantees a minimal level 8 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 12, ISSUE 01
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PREFERRED VENDOR/PARTNER n Richland Engineering, A division of The Mannik & Smith Group, Inc. www.manniksmithgroup.com Richland Engineering (RE) is a multi-discipline engineering firm within The Mannik & Smith Group, Inc., specializing in civil, environmental, and transportation engineering. With a commitment to innovation and sustainability, RE provides tailored solutions that enhance infrastructure and promote community wellbeing, ensuring quality and client satisfaction in every project. of scheduled air service in certain underserved communities.) Anyway, right now, we are more geared toward cargo.” Nonetheless, he maintains that the airport is “open for business.” Recently, it received a land donation from a nearby owner and now has plenty of room to grow. “We are ripe for development,” he avers. “We have a lot of land here that we can develop and our master plan has a lot of expansion in it; one of our ramps is pretty good-sized and we have three commercial hangars planned for that area. It would also be nice to have a hotel out here; it would do very well.” Meanwhile, the current project agenda is being fulfilled. “The next 18 months are going to be exciting,” Sparks declares,“once our obstructions start coming down and we start getting the new lighting in.And we’re going to keep pushing for companies to come in here and bring their business to us and this county. It’s going to be challenging, but it’s going to be fun. We’re going to keep making improvements and get our name out there. I’m excited to see in what direction we’re going to go. I want good things to happen for this airport; I want to see this place succeed.” 10 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 12, ISSUE 01
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