For the first time in 15 years, Hanscom Air Field closed its operating
budget in the black and reported unprecedented revenues of $3.6 million. At the
same time, more planes flew in and out of Hanscom. That was the news from Airport Director Barbara Patzner during her
annual report to the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission on Tuesday, March 20, in
Lincoln Town Hall. The revenue record for fiscal 2000, some 21.7 percent higher than
fiscal 1999 ($2.9 million) is the result of across-the-board increases in
hangar, ground/land, and terminal leases, along with income from fees for fuel
(nine cents per gallon) tie downs, and the Night Field Surcharge and parking and
landing charges. Shuttle America and other planes pay $.50 per 1,000 pounds to
land at the field. Massport also receives commissions on rental cars, flight schools, and
ground servicing charges. The expense side, which did go up 8.3 percent, however, is a mixed bag.
Direct field operating costs went down slightly but the amount of money Hanscom
pays Massport for services such as insurance, security, professional fees, and
administration went up 25 percent. " Our portion of ‘General and
Administration’ is the smallest of any Massport department, " said
Patzner, " but … " Even the ongoing deficit, which traditionally exceeded $2 million, is
looking good. Starting in fiscal ‘97, the red line has shrunk. " We hope
to have it under a million dollars in 2001, " added Patzner. Patzner admitted that hope could wither away if the agency amortizes
various improvement projects such as repaving runways. Flight activity Last year, the field recorded 212,371 aircraft operations, a 7.6
percent increase as compared to 1999. Single-engine planes accounted for 78.2
percent of that action, jets 9.5 percent, helicopters 3.3 percent, and the
military 0.6 percent. Twin piston planes and turboprops, which includes Shuttle
America, represented the remaining 8.4 percent. Within these categories, twin pistons and turboprops increased 61
percent as compared to 1999 and business jet activity went up almost 26
percent‹the seventh consecutive year to rise. Is more less? Aircraft activity at Hanscom Air Field in February 2001 increased
almost 7 percent as compared to last year, but produced less noise. Last month, despite the 12,928 aircraft operations between 7 a.m. and
11 p.m. and increases in activity by all categories of civilian aircraft except
for helicopters, the civilian departure EXP decreased 1.0 decibel as compared to
February 2000. " This is due primarily to decreases in fewer operations by Stage 2 jets
which are noisier, " said Massport’s Sara Arnold, who prepares the
monthly noise report. EXP, a metric that evaluates changes in the fleet mix and number of
operations, distinguishes civilian noise from military noise and indicates
changes in total noise exposure which reflect changes in the Day-Night Sound
Level (Ldn). Night flights between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. were also down slightly but
noise complaints increased 70 percent going from 376 to 640.