Anyone taking a drive along Franklin Road in the past few weeks has certainly noticed something special going on - and coming up - at
the Russellville-Logan County Airport. A major project to construct a new terminal building at the airfield is progressing close to schedule and should
be completed sometime in March, according to airport board chairman Steve Dilliha.
“The new terminal is going to be a showcase structure for Logan County,” he said. “Just as with roads, bridges and water lines, modern airport
facilities are a major component for economic development. The terminal building will give our airport an identity and provide a distinction for the
community.”
The construction schedule of the 3,000-square-foot terminal building has been met by only a handful of weather days in December, according to Dilliha,
and should be ready for occupation and use by the start of warming weather, which typically signals increased airfield usage.
The terminal project was funded at $865,000, all of which is covered by the Kentucky Department of Aviation with a 10-year bond issue. The project is
part of a larger initiative statewide to update facilities at 10 small, regional airports. Other airports near Logan County to be updated include
Hopkinsville-Christian County and Greenville-Muhlenberg County.
Dilliha said the statewide revitalization came about during the administration of former Gov. Ernie Fletcher. Fletcher, a former Air Force pilot, got a
good look at airport infrastructure in his executive duties across the state and saw to it that the needs were met.
“I don’t know that the aviation community around Kentucky would have seen these dramatic changes without having an aviator as governor,” Dilliha said.
“Gov. Fletcher recognized the invaluable resource airports are in developing a community’s economy and image.”
The new Logan County terminal building is distinctive, with an exterior look reminiscent of a log cabin or a lodge often seen at the commonwealth’s
state parks. The building is designed by JKS Architects & Engineers of Hopkinsville, whose president is Logan County native Keith Sharp. The
general contractor on the project is John Cates’ Circle C Construction of Russellville, which bid the project at $682,106.
The facility will be major improvement over the current terminal building, which is basically an office trailer. The new building includes a lobby with
reception counter, an office area for the fixed base operator, a pilot’s lounge, a training room, a flight planning space, a community meeting space,
restrooms with showers, a break room and a records storage area. Dilliha said the airport board is especially happy to have a secured-access area for
the storage of board documents, which at this time are kept in a plastic storage bin.
A portion of the planned upgrades has been completed with the installation of two 12,000-gallon fuel tanks, one for aviation gas and the other for jet
fuel. The av gas tank is currently in use, while the jet fuel tank will be utilized once paving of an aircraft apron is completed near the fueling
point.
FBO Steve Wilson, of Wilson’s Flying Service, said the addition of jet fuel will be beneficial to several local industries - such as Logan Aluminum and
Emerson Electric - which are currently forced to land corporate and customer jet aircraft in Bowling Green and then drive to Logan County.
Also part of the immediate work at the airport is an access road to the new terminal and airfield, which moves entering vehicles away from the western
end of the runway. The Federal Aviation Administration, for safety and security, requires the new road. The price tag for the access way is $164,000,
with 95 percent coming from the FAA, 2-and-a-half percent from the state and 1-and-a-quarter percent each from the city of Russellville and Logan
Fiscal Court. Holland Inc., of Rockfield, has been awarded the contract for the work.
Dilliha said as part of the airport’s long-term federal Airport Improvement Plan, a $150,000 per year FAA funding stream will pay for the expansion of
an aircraft parking area this year, though there are plans to extend the runway an additional 1,000 feet.
Extending the runway to 5,000 feet will allow the accommodation of most small jet aircraft used by corporate America, but would require acquisition of
property at the western and eastern ends of the runway for 500 feet of extension each way.
“We would not be looking at acquiring additional property until at least 2010, but extending the runway is a goal,” he said.
In addition to Dilliha, members of the airport board are treasurer John Alcott, Judge Sue Carol Browning, Maj. Gen. Jerry Humble (USMC ret.), Ronnie
Wood, Wayne Yount, Harold Jessup and board attorney Justice William G. Fuqua.
The Russellville-Logan County Airport is the home field for 16 aircraft and is serviced by Wilson Flying Service.