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CRD supports airport funding request

“They have to be kept up to a certain standard”
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The Cariboo Regional District (CRD) has approved a letter of support for the South Cariboo Regional Airport’s request to the Northern Development Initiative Trust (NDIT) for $16,500 as part of the Economic Diversification Infrastructure Program.

South Cariboo Regional Airport, a year-round facility, is located at 108 Mile Ranch and is owned by the CRD and is operated by Nick’s Rag and Tube, which is responsible for the maintenance of the airport.

The funding will cover the replacement of Automated Weather Observing Systems (AWOS), which Margo Wagner said there was a need for.

“They have to be kept up to a certain standard, otherwise we can’t get things in like medevacs and some of the people that fly into that airport - there’s certain tracking stuff they need,” she said.

“When we need a medevac to come in, they need to be able to access what the weather is like in real time, otherwise they don’t come in so it’s a critical part in whether we can get that medevac into the airport or not.”

The system at the hospital is very old, being from the 80s. The upgrade will bring the airport into the digital age, according to the airport manager, Nick Christianson. It will give the airport information such as the temperature, pressure, due point and runway visibility to be passed on to incoming pilots to maintain the airport’s GPS approaches.

“They call it up on the radio frequency so they can call it out 30-40 miles out and it’s a recording or you can phone it by telephone and it will give you info before your flight plan. It’s like having a controller on the field but it’s all automated of course,” said Christianson.

This information is imperative because if pilots can’t see the runway at 500 feet they will have to miss their approach and go around again.

The AWOS at the airport is one of two left in Canada. Every other system has been replaced. There is also no company that can do repairs in the country or North America. If the AWOS becomes damaged, the airport would have to look to Norway to replace parts.

“To get parts is sometimes extremely hard and extremely expensive to find and that’s the biggest reason for the change. It’s just to move into the 20th century,” said Christianson.

It’s is unknown when or if the grant request will be approved, but according to Wagner the earliest would be April.

It still needs to go to the NDIT and before the Cariboo-Chilcotin Regional Advisory Committee.