Business View Magazine | February 2020

92 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2020 “The next thing that we’re going to be working on is an extension of one of our runways; we’re looking at extending runway 8/26. It’s currently 6,000 feet and, ultimately, we want to extend it to 8,500 feet. Because we’re at such a high altitude, here, we need a longer runway to support larger aircraft. For instance, the New Mexico State football team can land here in a 737-800 and disembark, but because our runway is not long enough, they’re not able to take off here. They actually have to be bused to El Paso in order to go to away games. So, overall, to accommodate larger aircraft, we have to extend the runway.” Hume reports that the Airport is also engaged in a few different studies targeting several specific needs, going forward. “We’re finishing up Phase 3 of a very in-depth survey of the entire Airport, including all of our leased parcels, all of the areas that we want to lease, all the utilities, etc. It’s a joint program between the city and our airport consultant, Molzen-Corbin, and we have five phases planned.” The NMSU UAS Flight Test Site One of 7 FAA Designated UAS/Drone Test Sites Located at the Las Cruces International Airport RESEARCH • DEMONSTRATIONS • TEST FLIGHTS The NMSU Physical Science Laboratory’s UAS Flight Test Site can host all UAS classes (small to large) and altitudes in over 15,000 sq. miles of airspace. Blue Skies and Wide Open Spaces! The Physical Science Laboratory, located on the NMSU campus, has cleared facilities for classified work, electronics design/assembly facilities, machine shop, and testing facilities. Engineering for custom solutions! Leading the way toward safe integration of UAS/Drones into the National Airspace uastestsite@nmsu.edu New Mexico COA Airspace