Airport Master Plan Update
An airport master plan is a comprehensive study of an airport and usually describes the short-, medium-, and long-term development plans to meet future aviation demand. Airport master plans are prepared to support the modernization or expansion of existing airports or the creation of a new airport. The master plan is the sponsor’s strategy for the development of the airport.
The goal of a master plan is to provide the framework needed to guide future airport development that will cost-effectively satisfy aviation demand, while considering potential environmental and socioeconomic impacts.
Master planning studies that address major revisions are commonly referred to as “Master Plans,” while those that change only parts of the existing document and require a relatively low level of effort tend to be known as “Master Plan Updates.” The GON project is an update. In most cases, the master plan will include the following elements:
- Pre-planning
- Public Involvement
- Environmental Considerations
- Existing Conditions
- Aviation Forecasts
- Facility Requirements
- Alternatives Development and Evaluation
- Airport Layout Plans
- Facilities Implementation Plan
- Financial Feasibility Analysis
What types of aircraft operate at Groton-New London Airport?
Two specific categories of aircraft routinely operate at GON; general aviation and military. While most people understand what a military aircraft is, the best way to define general aviation is to begin by listing what it is not. General aviation is not military aviation and it is not scheduled commercial aviation. To a great extent, all other uses of aviation in the United States fall into the category of general aviation. These uses include, but are not limited to, private and sport flying, aerial photography and surveying, crop dusting, business flying, medical evacuation, flight training, and the police and fire fighting uses of aircraft. The airplanes used in general aviation range from small, single-engine, fabric-covered aircraft to multi-million dollar business jets. They also include helicopters, restored warbirds, and homebuilt aircraft designed to use advanced composite technology. The term general aviation came into use during the 1950s. Before that time, commentators talked of private flying or business flying. Regardless of the term or terms used, the non-military and non-commercial airline uses of aviation date back to the very early history of powered flight.
Typical aircraft operating at GON include a wide-range of small recreational aircraft with reciprocating engines, and larger business aircraft, both jets and turboprop powered. General aviation aircraft can range from airplanes that are less than 20 feet long and wide, and weight less than 1,000 pounds, to large business jets exceeding 100 feet in length and wingspan and weighting in excess of 60,000 pounds. Included in this group are Gulfstream III, IV, and V aircraft, and Embraer 120 and 135s. Occasionally, large aircraft, typically used by airlines will operate at GON, such as Boeing 737 and 757. These aircraft are usually chartered non-scheduled flights.
Military aircraft that typically use GON include a wide-range of helicopters, such as the Army Blackhawk, UH-60 and the CH-47 Chinook, as well as several fixed-wing aircraft, like the C-130 Hercules and C-17 Globemaster III.
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