Master Plans & CIP

Oklahoma Certified Airport Professional (OCAP)

Session 2 Nov 30, 2023

Regulations and Guidance

• Advisory Circulars
• 150/5070-6B, Change 2, Airport Master Plans
• 150/5300-13A, Change 1, Airport Design
• 150/5000-18, Critical Aircraft and Regular Use Determination
• FAA Orders
• 5100.38D, AIP Handbook
• 5090.3C, Field Formulation of the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS)
• FAA Documents
• Forecasting Aviation Activity by Airport
• ACRP Reports
• Synthesis 2: Airport Aviation Activity Forecasting

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Master Plan Overview

• A Master Plan is…
• A comprehensive study describing the development plans to meet future aviation demand
• A decision-making tool to guide the orderly development of future physical airport facilities
• A 20-year vision
• A layout of airport facilities meeting FAA design standards
• Identifies and reserves adequate space for future facilities
• Informs follow-on NEPA documents
• Informs city land use and transportation plans
• Flexible to allow for uncertainties
• Supported by fact and logic

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Master Plan Overview

• A Master Plan is not…
• A business plan
• A strategic plan
• A noise study
• A NEPA environmental document
• A regulatory document
• It informs policy but does not create it
• An FAA mandate
• A guarantee of FAA/OAC funding
• Rigid and inflexible

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Master Plan Deliverables

• Tangibles
• Narrative Report
• Including FAA-approved forecasts
• FAA-approved Airport Layout Plan (ALP)
• Intangibles
• Planning process and ideas
• Community connection and interaction
• Vision for the future

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Master Plan Process

• Tailored to each airport
• Emphasis on each airport’s specific needs
• When to prepare:
• Identified existing or potential shortcomings:
• Demand exceeding capacity
• New aircraft types
• Critical environmental issues
• Fulfilled all previously identified development projects
• Change of sponsor’s strategic vision
• Expansion of existing or new tenant facilities
• Outdated existing plan
• FAA recommendation

Master Plan Process

• Elements
• Stakeholder & Public Involvement
• Transparent and open process
• Inventory of Existing Conditions
• Including Environmental Inventory
• Aviation Activity Forecasts
• Facility Requirements
• Alternatives Development and Analysis
• Including Environmental Considerations
• Financial Implementation Plan
• Airport Layout Plan
• Recycling & Solid Waste Plan

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Master Plan Schedule

Inventory of Existing Conditions

• Importance
• Establishes baseline conditions from which facility needs will be evaluated and analyzed
• Provides background understanding and context to readers
• Components:
• Airport history
• Regional setting
• Description and condition of physical facilities
• Surrounding land uses/zoning
• Environmental characteristics
• Socioeconomic and demographic data
• Historical and existing aviation activity
• Airport business/financial summary

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Aviation Activity Forecasts

• What they are:
• Based on latest available data
• Provide realistic and sustainable estimate
• Reflect current conditions
• Supported by information in Master Plan
• Provide adequate justification for future development
• What they are not:
• Build it and they will come scenarios
• Guaranteed
• If anyone was truly “good” at forecasting, they would play the stock market and not be preparing aviation forecasts
• Prediction of the future solely based on the past

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Aviation Activity Forecasts

• 10-Year History
• 20-Year Projection
• Metrics
• Passenger Enplanements
• Air Cargo
• Aircraft Operations
• Commercial Service
• General Aviation
• Military
• Based Aircraft
• Peak period
• Runway Design Code (RDC)/�Critical Aircraft Analysis

Key National Aviation Activity Forecasts

• FAA’s Terminal Area Forecasts (TAF)
• Forecasts for individual airports
• Forecasts enplanements, local and itinerant commercial service, GA, and military aircraft operations, and based aircraft
• Standard by which local forecasts are compared
• FAA’s Aerospace Forecasts
• Forecasts at the national level
• Forecasts enplanements, aircraft operations, aircraft types, active aircraft, active pilots, and many others
• Provides assumptions, drivers, and reasoning behind forecasts
• Serves as a point of comparison between local and national trends

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Factors Affecting Forecasts

• Socioeconomic characteristics
• Population
• Employment
• Income
• GDP/GRP
• Geographic characteristics
• Distance between population/economic centers
• Tourism/destination centers

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• Aviation characteristics
• Availability of local services, facilities, and instrumentation
• Other
• Fuel costs
• Regulatory policies
• Pandemics

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Forecasting and RDC/Critical Aircraft

• RDC uses two components
• Aircraft Approach Category (AAC) = approach speed of aircraft on landing
• Airplane Design Group (ADG) = wingspan
• RDC is based on Critical Aircraft
• Determined by AC 150/5000-17, Critical Aircraft and Regular Use Determination
• Most demanding aircraft or group of aircraft with similar characteristics
• Regular use defined as 500 annual non touch-and-go operations

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Master Plan Summary

• Airport Master Planning is as much a process as an outcome
• Process defined by the planning objectives of the sponsor, stakeholders, and FAA
• Project scope and fee customized to the specific planning objectives of the study
• Planning objectives supported by variety of development goals
• Capital improvements
• Safety enhancements
• Land use compatibility
• Financial and economic conditions
• Stakeholder input and recognition
• Public interest/investment
• Master Plan Report and ALP Drawing Set deliverables document the recommendations of the planning process

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What is a CIP (Capital Improvement Plan)��

• At its simplest, an airport CIP identifies project priorities and funding sources over a period of years and is used to plan for future projects and required funding needs.
• A document that serves as a planning tool for maintaining, developing or expanding an airport.
• The CIP also serves as the basis for how the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and state funds are distributed. If a project is not included in your airport’s CIP, it will not be considered for federal or state funding.

CIP Framework

• The FAA prepares a national CIP each year based on collective information gleaned from each of the nine regional CIPs across the U.S. Each region has an office that gathers the CIPs completed for the airports in their region.
• Likewise, each regional CIP is assembled from information provided by individual state airport CIPs. To make sure funds are apportioned appropriately, it’s important to be in contact with your local department of transportation and FAA representatives early and often.

CIP Framework

• For a CIP to be most effective, you should include 20 years of projects. This helps to illustrate to your local and state governments the need for aviation funding. The U.S. Congress provides funding to many programs throughout the country. If Congress does not see a need beyond the next five years for aviation funding, they may use the money they have for other initiatives. It’s important for airport sponsors to show a need for funding into the future to continue to receive state and federal funding support for their airport projects.

Parts of a CIP

• The year the project is expected to occur. Make sure you're considering the federal, state and your local fiscal years and accommodating them appropriately. 
• A description of the project. Include an easy-to-understand title of your project.
• The type of project. For example, is the project going to occur on the runway, taxiway, apron or access road? Is your project a planning project or for equipment?
• Total cost of the project. Cost is the most important element of a CIP.
• Funding split. Projects eligible and justified for federal funding will most commonly be funded at 90% with federal grant dollars and 10% with local dollars. Some states also participate in the local share of projects. Federal projects need to meet the eligibility and justification requirements explained in the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) Handbook. Depending on the type of project, certain criteria need to be met to receive federal funding. In other words, just because you want a runway extension, doesn’t mean your project is justified or that it is eligible for federal funding.

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Funding Sources

• Federal Airport Improvement Funding
• Entitlement
• Discretionary
• State Funding
• ODAA grant program
• Local Funding
• User fees
• Ramp/tie down fees
• Landing fees
• Fuel sales
• Fuel flowage
• Hangar/land lease

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CIP Schedule

• Timelines can vary between the federal, state, and local calendars.
• Know who to submit to and when for ease of funding.

CIP Process

• Develop your own calendar – The calendar year is one of the hardest parts to figure out when developing a CIP. There is the calendar year, the State Fiscal Year and the Federal Fiscal Year – and none of them are the same. Do yourself a favor and develop your own calendar to figure out the best timing for putting projects on your airport’s CIP.
• Meet with federal and state agencies often – It is important to coordinate with your federal and state representatives, including the planner, environmental specialist and program manager, to best plan your projects and to determine if environmental work or other projects will push the year of receiving funding to a later date. For environmental and engineering projects, it is important to ensure all planning is complete prior to initiating and requesting a grant for these projects.

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CIP Process

• Plan early and review your Master Plan and Airport Layout Plan (ALP) – Confirm with the FAA program manager that the proposed project location and layout shown on your ALP still makes sense with current guidance, especially if your ALP is older.
• Coordinate with local governments – Explaining the purpose and need for funding to your local government agencies is important. Making sure the local share of funding is available the same year as the federal or state grant is available is important for the project to move forward as planned. Bring your local governments along as projects are justified and ready for implementation.
• Put your projects on the CIP four to five years before you’ll need the funding – Just as it takes time for you to plan for your local share, the FAA and states need to plan for their share. It is important to have an accurate CIP for the near-term (five years), especially if you intend to use federal discretionary or apportionment funding.

Last Considerations

• Is your planning complete for the project, and is it shown on your ALP?
• What environmental work needs to be completed before you can begin your project?
• What is the local funding balance needed for the project and what year will it be available to use?
• Have you presented your project to the decision makers and stakeholders for support and approval?
• Is your local department of transportation (DOT) and the FAA aware of your project?
• What type of funding can you use for your project?
• Ensure your airside needs are met for the next three years if you would like to start a landside project with federal dollars (hangars, fuels systems, snow removal equipment).
• How can you best phase your project to balance minimizing impacts to users and project cost?