EXHIBIT

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CHAPTER 2: ANALYSIS OF EXISTING GENERAL AVIATION

SYSTEM

Regional setting

The SCAG region hosts several of the most active airports in the country. Los Angeles

International was ranked as the third busiest commercial service airport in 2000. The

Van Nuys Airport is the nation's busiest general aviation airport. There are 57 public-use

airports in the region, from international hubs to remote emergency landing fields. Of

these, eight are dedicated commercial airports, two are joint-use commercial/military

facilities. Two airports offer commuter service. Forty Five are general aviation airports, of

which 12 are privately owned public-use airports. The airports are presented in Table 2-1

below and displayed on the next page.

Table 2-1: Regional Airports

Imperial Los Angeles

County County

Orange

County

Riverside San Bernardino

County County

Banning Apple Valley

Bermuda Dunes Baker

Blythe Barstow

Chiriaco Summit Big Bear City

Corona Cable

Desert Center Chemehuevi

Desert Resorts Chino

FlaBob Hesperia

French Valley Hi-Desert

Hemet-Ryan Needles

March Inland Port Ontario Inti

Palm Springs Inti Redlands

Perris Valley Rialto

Riverside Muni SanBern Int'l

SoCal Logistics

Twenty Nine Palms

Yucca Valley

Ventura

County

Brawley Agua Dulce Fullerton Camarillo

Calexico

Hatfield

Municipal

HoiMlle'

Imperial

County

Salton Sea"

Brackett John Wayne OXnard

Burbank Santa Paula

Catalina

Complon

EI Monte

FoxField

Hawthorne

Long Beach

Los Angeles Inti

Palmdale

Regional

Santa Monica

Van Nuys

Whiteman'

Zamperini Field

Airports In bold Indicate commercial or commuter service

'Airport currently Not Certified by Galtrans

"Airport Temporarily Closed

The Federal Aviation Administration uses a method called the Airport Reference Code

(ARC) for classifying airports based on the type of aircraft they are designed to

accommodate. The ARC is a mix between the aircraft approach (landing) speed and the

aircraft wingspan. Airport Categories A and B are grouped for smaller and slower

aircraft. Categories C, 0 and E tend to be used for transport airports with faster aircraft.

The categories are further broken down depending upon the weight of the aircraft, types

of precision approaches available at the airport and other design factors.

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Table 2-2: FAA Airport Reference Code (ARC)

Aircraft Approach Aircraft Approach Airplane Design

Category Speed in knots Group

Aircraft Wingspan

in feet

A <91

B 91-<121 2

C 121-<141 3

D 141-<166 4

E ~~ 5

6

<49

49-<79

79-<118

118-<171

171-<214

214-<262

SOURCE: Horonjeff, McKelvey 1994

It is important to note that there are other factors besides the airport reference code that

determine if an aircraft can operate at an airport, including, but not limited to runway load

bearing capacity, local operating restrictions, instrument landing systems, etc.

Figure 2-1 provides an indication of how the region's airports are designed to handle

specific categories of aircraft based on the Airport Reference Code.

Sixteen airports are listed as either A1 or B1, suitable for most personal aviation activity

(single piston-engine aircraft mostly under 3,000 Ib).

Figure 2-1: Regional Airports by Airport Reference Code

20

15

10

5

o¥---~---~---~---~--~

A1-B1 B2 B3-C2 02-03 C4, 04-06

Typical Aircraft at Airport

A1-B1 - Recreational Personal

Aircraft « 3,000 Ibs.)

B2 - PersonaULlght Business

Aircraft (Including some jets)

B3-C2 - Corporate Jets

02·03 - Commuter Aircraft

C4, D4-06 - Commercial Aircraft

(Holtville not certified and therefore

not listed)

The majority of airports in the SCAG region are categorized as B2 airports. Aircraft

design improvements have allowed certain jet aircraft to utilize some B2 airports not

originally designed to accommodate them (depending upon individual aircraft and airfield

characteristics). These aircraft design improvements are being felt at B2 airports such as

Santa Monica, Torrance and Riverside Municipal as their jet aircraft activity increases.

Five airports are in the ARC categories B3-C2, which can comfortably support many

business jet aircraft. Airports in this category include Rialto, Hemet-Ryan, BarstowDaggett (83), Desert Resorts and Camarillo (C2)

Categories C4 airports include John Wayne airport and Fox Field. These airports can

accommodate small to midsize commercial jets.

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The D airport categories include all the commercial service airports in the region

(Palmdale and March Inland Port haven't been categorized by Caltrans, but it is probable

that they would be in the D4 category). Commuter airports such as Imperial County and

Oxnard airport are in the D2 and D3 categories respectively. Van Nuys Airport (D2) can

support Boeing Business Jets (based on B-737 platform). Chino Airport is rated D4 and

can support some commercial aircraft.

Historical Activity

Historical Annual Aviation Operations by County

Year Imperial Los Orange Riverside San Ventura Angeles Bernardino

1984 128,927 2,473,510 617,124 659,285 751,296 403,197

1993 115,800 2,332,006 552,854 612,084 769,n2 362,093

1997 113,152 2,199,752 461,654 629,137 681,962 351,731

2001 101,418 2,346,127 464,152 539,120 748,195 365,932

SOURCE: airport tabulations and estimates

Totals

5,053,339

4,744,609

4,437,388

4,561,294

Historically, general aviation activity has declined since the 19805. Much of that can be

attributed to the flying retirement of World War Two and Korean War veterans. Various

G.!. benefits that promoted flying were discontinued in the late 1970s. Until recently, the

costs of buying and insuring an aircraft were becoming prohibitive and most

manufacturers were no longer making small recreational aircraft. In the 1990s, a law was

enacted limiting manufacturers liability to 18 years after aircraft manufacture. This

revitalized general aviation aircraft manufacturing. In addition, coordinated industry

sponsored programs designed to promote flying were instituted nation wide. On top of

that, corporate aviation, particularly business jet construction, grew tremendously, fueled

in part by fractional ownership. The result is that general aviation activity, both regionally

and nationwide, grew between 1997 and 2001.

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