Mead & Hunt team members are super excited to be headed to the 39th Annual Texas Aviation Conference in San Marcos, TX.
Mead & Hunt Aviation Planning Manager, Stephanie Ward, AICP will be presenting on several topics.
Both of which are areas that she is passionate about. First, she’ll be presenting on aviation education and how we get the next generation of aviation professionals interested in our industry. Secondly, she’ll be discussing the topic of tree mitigation for runway approaches. She’s leading a team of ACRP researchers who are working on this topic and she wants to hear from Texas airports about their experience with tree removals.
Aviation Education Strategies for your Airport (Presentation)
Thursday, August 5 from 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm (CST) in the Spring Lake Salon A.
This session will focus on the many pathways for engaging your local community and encouraging and developing interest in aviation. The session will be based on work performed by the Airport Cooperative Research Program. The work is intended to help educators and aviation enthusiasts understand the need for encouraging interest in aviation. It offers guidance on developing a program of activities to fit particular needs and provides activities for developing a program that can be scaled and tailored for various age groups and resource availability. Resources to help promote interest in aviation among younger populations ranging from 10 years old to 25 years will be discussed.
The session will explore the pathways for promoting interest in aviation and engaging students at an early age to pursue aviation at some level and continue the cycle by promoting aviation to others. Challenges to establishing and maintaining these pathways will be identified as will opportunities to overcome them. The report also provides support for developing and executing single events and activities when they are the most practical means for exposing young people to the aviation industry. During the breakout session, participants are encouraged to share their experiences. The exchange of information is encouraged and can be helpful to others who may be looking for ideas to try at their own airport.
Airport Maintenance Beyond the Pavements (Breakout Session Discussion)
Thursday, August 5 from 3:15 pm – 4:15 pm (CST) in Veramendi F-J.
Stephanie Ward will be joining Ed Mayle, Project Manager, TxDOT, Aviation Division
While airport pavement remains the largest single expense on an airfield and garners the majority of our attention, there remains a number of areas where preventative maintenance on our airport is critical. Airport managers should be cognizant of all the infrastructure on their airport and be vigilant with respect to their condition. This includes airport drainage, lighting, signs, markings, terminal facilities, fuel facilities, hangars, fencing, and vehicles. In addition, tree obstructions can have a large impact on the operations of an airport. The session will also address strategies to monitor, manage, and mitigate these obstructions. Managing all the systems and assets on the airports will ensure the airport remains in very good condition and that the useful life of existing infrastructure can be maximized and the airport fully leveraged as the economic development tool that it is.
During the breakout session, participants are encouraged to share their experiences. The exchange of information is encouraged and can be helpful to others who may be looking for solutions to challenges of their own or ways to improve their existing practices.
