FAA awards VW airport $449,000 grant

VW independent/submitted information

The Van Wert County Regional Airport Authority recently received a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for $449,689 for Phase 1 of the construction of the south side aircraft parking apron and partial taxiway.

The FAA is funding 90 percent of the project, with 5 percent coming from a grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Aviation Division and a 5 percent local match. The project represents the first steps towards a new airport terminal development area at the airport, and this funding will install all needed drainage infrastructure and perform grading for the future pavement areas.

The FAA funding comes from the Airport Improvement Program (AIP, which provides grants to public agencies — and, in some cases, to private owners and entities — for the planning and development of public-use airports that are included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS). These programs are funded from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, which is self-funded by aviation users using revenues from aviation-user taxes on such items as airline fares, air freight, and aviation fuel.

The Van Wert County Airport, after years of planning, is moving forward with the development to open up the south side of the facility. Elks Drive will be extended and become the new entrance to the airport, while planning is currently underway to construct a new terminal building at this location.

Efforts to improve the airport’s functionality to corporate users will be addressed with the new terminal, as well as goals to add a large hangar to accommodate jet traffic.

The history of the airport dates back to 1935, when the City of Van Wert and the Van Wert Area Chamber of Commerce purchased 100 acres of land at the west edge of the city for an airport. In 1939, the city built two identical concrete block aircraft hangars. The west hangar is still in use today as the administration building and maintenance hangar. A storm in March 1948 leveled the east block hangar, which was replaced by a small metal T-hangar that is also still in use today.