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Rainier Flight Services aircraft, previously flown by Renton flight school students, are now based at Boeing Field. A hundred other pilots were in line for these aircraft tie-down spaces near the Museum of Flight.
In a previous article I described how Renton lost a popular flight school that was teaching Renton’s aspiring aviators to fly because Renton’s Airport Management (their landlord) didn’t want the bother of doing maintenance anymore. Renton Airport Management would prefer that a wealthy private jet owner come replace the still-usable building, even though more jet use could trigger a runway extension right into Renton High School.
Flying Magazine is now reporting on how this in turn triggered turmoil at Boeing Field.
A quote from the story explains their move. “According to Gordon Alvord, co-owner of Rainier Flight Service, the cost of doing business at KRNT(Renton) became unsustainable when the airport sponsor—the city of Renton—announced it would no longer pay for maintenance on the building the flight school leased.”
According to the article, Boeing Field prioritized allocating space for Renton’s former flight school, noting that proper training of new pilots is a “highest and best use” of space at an airport. Boeing Field management have leapfrogged the flight school ahead of one hundred other parties on the waitlist for space at Boeing Field. This has understandably created disappointments and complaints from pilots that have waited patiently for hangar and tie down space.
While not part of the “Flying article,” Renton Airport Management had previously increased Boeing Field congestion by kicking out other valuable tenants of Renton Field, in disputes also rooted in the fact that Airport Management was unwilling to properly maintain publicly owned and leased buildings.
Renton Airport Managers have recently pushed out an engineering and manufacturing of a new-generation amphibious airplane (lands on ground or water), that is much more fuel efficient than it’s predecessors. The Gweduck (pronounced “gooey duck” ) is a Renton-built, Renton-designed highly-advanced composite plane that burns a fraction of the fuel and is much quieter than earlier generations of similar planes. Building such a plane in Renton perfectly aligned with Renton’s FAA-sponsored Sustainability Management plan.
When the airport pushed out the Gweduck’s engineering office, I publically asked the question whether the Airport Director even knew that Renton Airport had an FAA-approved Airport Sustainability Plan. I got a direct answer to this question at the most recent meeting of the RAAC, when the Airport Director confirmed to the committee that he did not know that the important Sustainability document exists and that it is supposed to be foundational to his policy decisions. He speculated that he may have heard of it, and thought it might be an expired document from the 1990’s. One of the RAAC members schooled him on the FAA’s involvement creating the document 12 years ago, pressed him on the need for him to learn it, and said she’d show it to him.
The Airport Director is hired and managed by Renton Public Works Director Martin Pastucha, who left the Santa Monica Airport in turmoil, and is currently dismissing the danger to Renton’s sole-source aquifer caused by the proposed asphalt plant.
This Boeing Field hanger, number C-5, was in use by Renton’s former Gweduck prototype aircraft and engineering office, but will now be dedicated to Renton’s former flight school. Renton’s Gweduck has been moved to a different Boeing Field Hangar.
The prototype Gweduck amphibious airplane, used for FAA certification tests and design refinements, gets its annual inspection at it’s newest location on Boeing Field. Renton Airport Management passed up an opportunity to design and manufacture this exciting new aircraft in Renton, giving priority to business jet hangars. The choice conflicted with Renton’s sustainability plan, and passed up many living wage jobs for Renton residents.
Thank you for continuing to find and share information that many of us don’t have easy access to that concerns Renton. It’s so nice to be able to read well-informed local news easily.