The Peachtree

City Airport Authority is putting the finishing touches on updating the

master plan for Falcon Field so it can accommodate local growth in the

coming years.

The top priority

is finishing the third phase of Hanger Area B, which will provide three

more sites for hangers at a total cost of $400,000, said Airport Manager

Jim Savage. That project should be completed in 2001 to bring the total

number of hangar sites there to six, he added.

Next on the

authority's wish list is a combination of projects which will enhance

safety and add more room for the airport to grow in the near future. The

good news is that federal funds should be available to hopefully pay for

the majority of these projects along with matching funds from state and

local sources, Savage said.

The authority

wants to pave a runway overrun area which will give jets more room during

takeoff which is often needed during the summer months, Savage said. The

estimated cost of that project is $4 million, but that could come down

some if the authority purchases nearby land it wants for a future hangar

area so dirt from that site can fill the sloped area where the overrun

area will be located.

Savage pointed

out that although the overrun area will be added to the runway, it is

not intended to expand the airport's capabilities to accept larger jets.

"The runway

overrun will provide a better safety margin for departing planes,"

Savage said. "Especially in the summer when jets eat up a lot of

ground getting airborne."

Another safety-oriented

project the authority wants to complete is upgrading the existing lighting

and signage at the facility. This would cost a more modest $220,000, Savage

noted.

The authority

also wants to extend its transient ramp so it can expand its parking availability

for corporate jets, Savage said. This project will cost an estimated $675,000,

but more local companies (and their parent companies) are using Falcon

Field to fly into and out of Peachtree City, Savage said. The airport

also services parts of Coweta County, he added.

A little further

down the line, the authority wants to acquire more easements or property

if necessary, to expand the airport's clear zone. That would allow pilots

to use a precision approach to the runway, meaning they could fly at lower

altitudes than currently available.

The use of

precision approach methods would allow planes to land at Falcon Field

on some occasions when cloudcover would otherwise prevent such landings,

Savage said. Pilots also prefer using precision landings and it enhances

safety, he noted.

If the authority

has to use land acquisition for the entire precision landing project,

it could take up to $3.3 million to purchase land at both ends of the

runway, Savage said. Installing ground equipment for the project could

add another $1.6 million, but the way technology is developing that equipment

might not be needed, Savage said.

Currently,

using non-precision landing approaches, airplanes must level off to gradually

lower altitudes as they near the runway. With precision landing approaches,

pilots will essentially be able to take a straight path from the air to

the ground without having to level off at the lower altitudes when it

nears the runway.

Another project

the authority would like to complete in the next five years is the acquisition

of property for the remainder of Hangar Area B, tabbed at $1.3 million,

and adding a taxiway for Hangar Area B, estimated at $697,000.

Since the airport's

inception, close to $10 million in funding has been received through federal

and state sources, Savage said.

The airport's

goal is to serve corporate aircraft for local businesses and industries

while also relieving Hartsfield International Airport of some of its light

plane and corporate aircraft traffic, Savage said. It also services recreational

aviation participants also, he added.

The airport

is also touted as a recreation area with a playground nearby and a area

where local families can picnic and watch the planes fly in and out, Savage

noted.