The last of three open houses for the Chehalis-Centralia Airport’s master plan update process was held on Wednesday, March 20, inside of the airport’s Scott Crossfield Terminal.
Airport staff were joined by consultants from the Aviation Planning Group (APG), who shared the airport upgrade options they selected following months of public input gathering beginning last fall.
Chehalis-Centralia Airport Director Bradon Rakes said they ultimately decided to expand parking in the airport’s observation area, build a new multi-use building on the southwest end of the airport by the observation area, create a hydrogen development area and more.
“We’ve got solar panels and more hangars on the northwest, and on the northeast, you’ll see the advanced air-mobility pad, two verti-pads, three designated tie-downs for electric or hydrogen aircraft, and the rest is really flexible,” Rakes said. “A lot of this is just to nail down the footprint of what it could be, with a lot of flexibility.”
With companies such as Airbus and ZeroAvia pioneering hydrogen-powered planes and Joby Aviation making strides with its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, Rakes wants the Chehalis-Centralia Airport to be able to handle all types of future private aviation forms.
“We’re trying to get this information out way before anything is physically in the ground to get people to see it,” Rakes said. “Once people understand the technology, it’s easier to implement.”
Along with the new eVTOL landing pads, the master plan update also includes upgrades to the lights and signals at the Chehalis-Centralia Airport, and new aprons for more plane parking space.
According to APG Project Manager Leah Whitfield, they will still be accepting public comments on the master plan update, but the next step is submitting the airport layout plan to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
“They’ll have 90 days to approve the airport layout plan, and that becomes a chapter in the airport master plan … and the FAA has been involved in this whole process, so it’s not like they’re going to recommend some big change, but they still have to sign off on it,” Whitfield said.
Once the airport layout plan has been approved along with the airport’s flight traffic forecast, the entire updated master plan draft will be published later this spring for the public to review.
“We’re wrapping up the alternatives chapter, and then in April we will do the implementation chapter,” Whitfield added.
Required by the FAA to get federal grant funding, airport master plans are comprehensive studies describing the short-, medium- and long-term development goals for future aviation demand at an airport over a 20-year period. The last time the Chehalis-Centralia Airport’s master plan was updated was 2001.
Public comments and suggestions will be accepted throughout the remainder of the airport master plan update process. Whitfield said the draft airport layout plan, flight traffic forecast and updated master plan will be available on the airport’s website later this spring.
To submit a comment and sign up for master plan update notifications, visit https://www.chehaliscentraliaairport.com/public-engagement-1. For other documents, including the 2001 Chehalis-Centralia Airport master plan, visit https://www.chehaliscentraliaairport.com/documents.
To learn more about the APG, visit https://www.theaviationplanninggroup.com/.
