Will The Cincinnati GA Airport Be Repaired Or Redeveloped?

There seems to be no question that the runway at Cincinnati's Blue Ash Airport needs some major repair. Peter Bronson writes in the Cincinnati Enquirer that, while driving over the bumps, dips and potholes doesn't seem too rough, it's a different story trying to land a small plane.

"Coming in at 120 mph, it's a liability issue," said Bill Christian, owner of Schmidt Aviation flying school tells the Enquirer.  "The prop spin kicks up dirt and chunks of asphalt that can nick your propeller," Christian said.

Cincinnati Airports Manager Dan Dickten, tells the Enquirer that the runway will be repaired this year, but not resurfaced. "State tests showed the runway still has plenty of life left," he says. Maintenance, he says, is not being neglected.

The runway is pushing 30 years old, almost 10 years past its lifespan.

Already, the Enquirer reports, airplane owners are leaving Blue Ash in droves. They cite poor maintenance and a lack of certainty about the strip's future. And the irony is, the city of Cincinnati, which owns the airport, is sitting on $450,000 in maintenance funds.

Hoo boy, here come the questions.

The $450,000 in FAA money can be spent on the condition that the city keep Blue Ash open for another 20 years. But Cincinnati won't touch the funding and plans to allow $150,000 in annual FAA grants to revert back to the federal government.

Part of the problem could be Cincinnati's own desperate cash crunch. The airport sits on 230 acres of prime real estate within the suburb of Blue Ash. The smaller town worked out a deal to purchase the land from the Cincinnati Airports Authority for $20 million. Cincinnati countered with a price of $36 million. "That might as well be $300 million," Blue Ash City Manager Marvin Thompson said. "Everyone thinks Blue Ash has unlimited money. But things are tight for us right now, too."

For its part, Cincinnati's Dickten says the city has no plans to sell Blue Ash Airport, in spite of what he acknowledges is a burning desire to convert the property into cash. "There is no intention I am aware of to close the airport or not maintain it," Dickten says.

Blue Ash City Manager Marvin Thompson isn't so sure. "A lot of people are wondering, and we're among them," he says.

In the meantime, users say the runway continues to crumble. "It's just common sense that you shouldn't allow the runway to get that way." Christian wants to expand his business. "But we can't do anything because we don't know what city will own it. We've been held hostage here for the past 25 years. We're like West Berlin in East Germany." Catch-22?

FMI: www.blueash.com