Plant 42 improvements alluring

Work could attract more commercial cargo flights

Plans are under way next year to add lights, resurface runways, and buy and install the latest in firefighting training equipment, said Lt. Col. Peter Drinkwater, the installation's commander.

In addition to those plans, a separate multimillion project to improve the taxiways from Palmdale Regional Airport to Runway 22 in 1997-98 would make it possible for bigger commercial aircraft to fly here, Drinkwater said.

The taxiway improvements would allow 737s and similar-sized aircraft to fly out of Palmdale Regional Airport, the lieutenant colonel said.

Changes to a joint-use agreement between the Air Force and the Los Angeles Department of Airports to allow cargo to be hauled to and from the Palmdale terminal could have a quick impact, he said.

The changes would let some companies considering cargo, or cargo and passenger loads to have a chance to approach the airports department with proposals, Drinkwater said. The agreement is expected to be signed by early 1996.

The agreement also will cover costs of using taxiways by Rockwell International, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works and Northrop Grumman Corp. Set fees would help reduce costs for the Aerospace Alliance - a coalition of those three aircraft companies - and help it compete for commercial aircraft modification and maintenance contracts in addition to military ones, Drinkwater said.

Runway 25 will be re-striped, and Runway 22, which is mainly used by the Palmdale airport, will be resurfaced, Drinkwater said. Both projects are expected to be finished in mid-1996.

The airports department is funding installation of new runway lighting as part of the joint-use agreement that will help commercial pilots landing aircraft at Palmdale Regional Airport.

The lighting on Runway 22 will be similar to what was recently installed on Runway 25, which includes radio-activated lighting during the hours the tower is closed, Drinkwater said.

Besides these improvements, both runways will receive "precision approach path indicator lighting," which makes the runway visible at night by lighting both sides.

All of the projects on Runway 22 are scheduled at the same time, which will minimize closures, said Drinkwater, who expects the improvements to meet the standards of the 21st century.

New firefighting equipment will include a propane computer controlled-burn pit, an observation tower and mock aircraft and structures, Drinkwater said.

The environmentally sound fire pit will eliminate the occasional black smoke clouds visible around Plant 42, as well as cut costs.

In addition to saving at least $100,000 a year in environmental tests and requirements with the new facility, the pit project also could attract Federal Aviation Administration funds if the agency decides to use the facility as a regional testing facility, Drinkwater said.

The aircraft-rescue firefighters at Plant 42 have used the L-1011, which recently was removed from the end of the runways near the Lockheed facility, for fire training and use of the extraction equipment.

The aircraft also has allowed firefighters to practice using the ladder truck and to train for any situation they could face on the runway, Drinkwater said.