The Federal Aviation Administration wants to decommission a regional aircraft navigational station because of the Synergics Fourmile Ridge Wind Energy Project that is planned for the Avilton area. Twenty-four wind turbines would be constructed within 1.5 to 3.5 miles of the Grantsville (GRV) VHF omnidirectional range (VOR)/distance measuring equipment (DME) facility.
Garrett County Airport manager Ed Kelley, the Maryland Aviation Administration officials, and others have voiced their opposition to eliminating the station.
“The decommission of the GRV VOR would leave Garrett County and Cumberland [airports] without a ground-based approach and would eliminate numerous instrument procedures, including six instrumental approach procedures, nine standard arrival routes, four victor airways, and one remote communication outlet,” Kelley stated in a letter on Feb. 13 to Melinda George, FFA Operations Support Group, Atlanta, Ga. “The loss of procedures and services could severely impact the safety of general, commercial, emergency, and military aviation within the now served VOR/DME.”
VOR/DME refers to a combined radio navigation station for aircraft, which consists of two beacons that are placed together.
VOR is a type of short-range radio navigation system that enables pilots to determine their position and stay on course by receiving very high frequency (VHF) radio signals transmitted by a network of fixed ground radio beacons with a receiver unit.
DME operates in the ultra-high frequency (UHF) band and provides pilots with distance information through airborne and ground equipment.
Kelley noted in his letter that pilots operating under visual flight rules who utilize the VOR/DME for training, practice, and proficiency will be forced into other corridors served by only one navigational aid.
He also indicated that while Garrett County is an “ideal spot” for wind turbines, Fourmile Ridge and other projects will and do affect the safety and economic outlook of the Garrett County Airport.
“Local economic growth and commerce could be lost by the proposed decommissioning, causing additional economic hardships to Garrett and Allegany county airports,” Kelley wrote. “This region cannot afford to lose critical, all-weather, en route, and terminal access to the National Airspace System.”
