For the past week, pilots flying into the Statesboro Bulloch County Airport experienced something a little different, Air Traffic Control. The National Guards 258 Air Traffic Control Squadron, based out of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, set up a temporary Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower at the airport. The 258th is one of 10 total National Guard ATC Squadrons.
Statesboro pilots navigate in and out of the airport routinely without a control tower. In fact, there are over 20,000 airports in the U.S. that are non-towered, compared to 500 with control towers. At non-towered airports, instead of receiving instructions from an air traffic controller, aircraft pilots follow recommended operations and communications procedures for operating at an airport without a control tower.
According to Staff Sergent Casey Moorman, for a little over a week, the Statesboro Airspace (KTBR) became controlled airspace managed by the temporary Air Traffic Control Tower. This "takeover" of the airport's airspace was a cooperative agreement between the Statesboro Bulloch County Airport and the 258th.
"We were honored that they selected the Statesboro Airport for this training exercise. It speaks highly of the airport operations and strengthens our relationship with the National Guard," said David Campbell, Airport Manager. "It took a lot of preparation to host this operation. With that done, it prepares us to work with them on future missions like this."
This mission was part of their two week annual training exercise. The 258th looks for an airport that does not currently have Air Traffic Control. Forty members of the 85 member squadron traveled to Statesboro by plane alone with their equipment. The equipment came aboard a C130 aircraft. They are tasked with having the Air Traffic Control system up and running in under two hours. They had it operational in one hour and forty five minutes.
Over the week they were on site, they encouraged all types of aircraft to fly into the airport so the team could gain experience operating the portable ATC.
The team of 40 included seven air traffic controllers who work full time in this field. The remaining members were maintenance technicians, including a power crew who handled the power generation, and one of the most important crew members this week was the HVAC crew.
"The 258th has been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq for wartime service. This training allows us to come together and run through our mission from setup to operations to breakdown," said Captain Ben Kaufman.
Master Sergeant Tom Cogis is the Tower Chief Controller. He also expressed appreciation to the airport and pilots for working so closely with them for this training exercise.
Tech Sergeant Daniel Beane and Derek Robertson were the ATCs in the tower when we toured it. Local pilot and Airport Board Member, Doug Lambert, arranged the tour and joined us.
The tower is on top of an army vehicle. The roof collapses down so you can drive the vehicle on highways. Once set up, it looks like a miniature version of an ATC.
Retired Airport Manager Kathy Boykin, who began the process of hosting the 258th while she was the manager, along with her husband Roy and the airport staff, prepared lunch for the entire squadron on their final day as one final touch of Southern Hospitality. They even served corn on the cob picked fresh by Roy Boykin from his garden that morning.
"We all enjoyed visiting Statesboro. The Southern Hospitality is real. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express on the Blue Mile, which allowed us to walk to great restaurants and get a feel for the town," said Casey Mooman. "This mission was a resounding success, and the hospitality made it even better."
The Statesboro Bulloch County Airport is back operating without an ATC.
David Campbell wanted to also let everyone know they are actively planing to bring back the popular Airport Day in April of 2024. They had stopped the community event due to COVID.
