R.A. Wiedemann & Associates, Inc., participated as part of a team on the Business Plan for Franklin County State Airport in 2008. With a 3,000 foot paved runway and a non-standard turf strip adjacent to the runway, the Airport competed for general aviation traffic with commercial service airports in Burlington and Plattsburgh (New York). Due to the Airport’s location near Interstate 89 and the ease of access for pilots residing in the Greater Montreal area, a significant percentage of the 94 aircraft based at the Airport were owned by Canadian residents.
As part of the Business Plan, the effects of a runway extension proposed by the Airport Layout Plan was considered in terms of the operations and the fleet mix at the Airport.
A runway extension significantly increases the types of business aircraft that could utilize the Airport as opposed to the other commercial service facilities.
In addition, the provision of U.S. Customs services, the relocation of ultralight operations, increased marketing of the Airport, and the introduction of a restaurant to the facility were considered. A five-year financial outlook was developed based on the recommendations of the Business Plan and projections of future costs at the Airport showed the potential revenue impacts as a result of these recommendations.