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Jackson County Airport (33V) in Walden, Colorado, announced the completion of the full reconstruction of the airport’s runway 4/22. The project ensures the long-term safety and efficiency for aviation users across Colorado’s North Park region and enhances critical emergency access to the area.

The Colorado Department of Transportation’s Division of Aeronautics, in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), has released the groundbreaking Colorado Alternatively Powered Aircraft Airport Infrastructure Study. This forward-looking report provides a preliminary assessment of the potential infrastructure needed to support the growing use of battery/electric aircraft at Colorado’s public-use airports.

On behalf of the undersigned national and state aviation advocacy organizations, we respectfully urge you to reconsider the proposed permanent reclassification of Runway 06/24 at Northern Colorado Regional Airport (KFNL) as a taxiway. Instead, we ask that you recommit to maintaining this runway as an active runway in alignment with the FNL 2020 Master Plan and its accompanying Airport Layout Plan (ALP).

Funded entirely by aviation fuel taxes, CDOT's aeronautics division helps with airport infrastructure projects

At the request of USBR Upper Colorado Region Director Wayne Pullan and the Colorado Seaplane Initiative, national and state aviation advocacy organizations jointly urge a Resource Management Plan (RMP) revision to permit seaplane operations on Navajo and McPhee Reservoirs. Representing hundreds of thousands of aviators, they highlight seaplanes’ century-long service and benefits to public safety, emergency response, and recreation. Seaplanes are trained to avoid conflicts with other water users and have significantly lower fatality rates than boating. With only 200 seaplanes in Colorado versus over 500,000 boats, their impact on aquatic invasive species is minimal. The Seaplane Pilots Association also offers targeted AIS inspection training. Denying access to seaplanes, unlike other recreation, is unwarranted and discriminatory. The groups respectfully request that USBR revise the RMP to restore fair and safe access for seaplanes on these public waters.

The undersigned national and Colorado aviation advocacy organizations, representing nearly 10,000 Colorado members, urge Longmont city leaders to carefully reconsider proposed landing fees at Vance Brand Airport. While framed as supporting airport sustainability, such fees often deter general aviation activity, reducing overall revenue and economic benefit. FAA policy views landing fees as a last resort, and most U.S. airports avoid them due to their negative effects. Noise complaints, cited by fee advocates, come overwhelmingly from a small number of residents, and recent studies show no detectable lead pollution from piston aircraft. Based aircraft already contribute financially through fuel, taxes, and leases. The airport supports 448 jobs and $73.6M in business revenue. Alternative revenue sources should be explored first, including hangar utilization, leases, and events.

What initially began as complaints about airport noise suddenly has become a pitched battle over saving one of Boulder’s most valuable transportation, public safety, scientific research and economic vitality resources … all in pursuit of a red herring.

A series of studies commissioned by the town of Superior, Colorado, found virtually no evidence of airborne and surface lead contamination in three towns nearby Jefferson County’s Rocky Mountain Metro Airport (KBJC – also known as Jeffco Airport). But it took a Freedom of Information request to bring the test results to light. In all but one case, the levels found at the sites were too low to register. Air and surface swab samples were taken from indoor and outdoor locations in Superior, Louisville, and Lafayette, Colorado, between May and November last year.

A memo from the FAA, recently obtained by CBS Colorado, reports the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport as having more safety incidents than any other airport in the country. The June memo explains that RMMA "...currently leads the National Airspace System (NAS) in the number of Potentially Significant Events (PSEs), which include both runway incursions and airborne safety incidents."

Aims Community College Aviation Professor William Standerfer will be inducted into the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame next month, recognizing his decades of contributions to flight safety, education and community service.

The AOPA Foundation opened its scholarship application window on October 6 and unveiled a new, streamlined process that shortens wait times and helps current and future pilots put their scholarships to work faster.