Horry County: Conway airport topic of council

Myrtle Beach Online

March 17, 2008

A plan to extend the runway at Conway-Horry County Airport could take off tonight when Horry County Council discusses whether to support a feasibility study for the extension.

The study would be the first step in lengthening the 4,400-foot runway, capable of accommodating small turboprop and jet planes, to the 5,000 or 5,500 feet required to handle larger business jets.

Some officials said the extension could make the Conway airport more attractive to firms interested in doing business in western Horry County by allowing larger corporate jets to take off and land there.

'If you have a business in the western part of the county ... the CEOs that want to fly to a business and check on it are not going to want to land at the beach,' said County Council Chairwoman Liz Gilland. 'This will be a gateway to the western part of the county.'

The Conway airport's 20-year master plan, last revised in 2000, calls for eventually extending the runway. The study, which would be paid for with airport revenues, would determine whether to extend it to 5,000 or 5,500 feet, said Bob Kemp, the county's airport director.

'We want to make sure that airport is capable of handling business-type aircraft,' he said.

The study would also determine how the airport could accommodate an increase in smaller, less expensive planes called very light jets, or VLJs. Air traffic is forecast to increase as more businesses purchase these new, less expensive aircraft, Kemp said.

Kemp was unsure how much the study would cost but said it would probably take up to a year to complete. Expanding the runway would cost millions of dollars, he said, but would be eligible for state and federal money.

In the past decade, more business aircraft and charter flights have been landing at the Conway airport, said Daniel Flaherty, the director of operations for the North American Institute of Aviation, a flight school based at the airport.

In 2007, the Conway airport had around 41,000 take-offs and landings, Kemp said. Myrtle Beach International Airport had about 55,000 and Grand Strand Airport in North Myrtle Beach had about 54,000, he said.

The airport sometimes receives calls from pilots to confirm the runway length, and some of them might end up flying elsewhere because of its size, Flaherty said.

'As a pilot, the more runway you have, the better off you are,' said Flaherty, whose flight school leases the airport buildings from the county and provides services to airport customers. 'In terms of safety, I prefer a longer runway.'

Councilman Al Allen, who represents the district in which the airport is located and also runs an aviation business, said some insurance companies do not permit business jets to land on runways that are less than 5,000 feet.

An extended runway could also be a back-up away from the coast for the 9,500-foot runway at the Myrtle Beach airport, which accommodates large jetliners, and the 6,000-foot runway at Grand Strand Airport if those are damaged in storms, Allen said.

Harrison Hall, who frequently flies into the Conway airport in his nine-seater turboprop plane, said a longer runway will also allow some airplanes to take off and land with a bigger load than they can now.

'If you are operating on a 3,500-foot long runway, you can take off all day long,' said Hall, who also owns an aircraft management firm. 'But you're going to be so restricted on how heavy you can load the aircraft.'

Joanne Banks, who has lived near the airport for more than 20 years, said the airplanes do not bother her as they take off and land. She would support expanding the runway, especially if it attracts businesses to the county.

'I'd have no problem with that,' Banks said. 'As long as there's not 747s coming in.'Contact MIKE CHERNEY at 444-1765.

If you go

What | Horry County Council meeting

When | 6 p.m. today

Where | Horry County Government & Justice Center, 1301 Second Ave., Conway

Information | 915-5000

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