Rancho Tehama

Airport Report

May 2010

May 5, 2010

To: Rancho Tehama Board of Directors

During the month of April 2010 there were 39 operations. There were 4 medivac operations during April 2010. The month of April 2010 was not necessarily ‘flying friendly.’ With improving weather, we should see an increase in the use of our runway.

Even with the rainy conditions during April, we still managed to get major maintenance accomplished at the Airport. The entire runway plus the Helipad at the west end of the runway and the parking area were resealed. This year we were able to put a thicker fog coat on the runway surface which should prove much more durable.

The striping was completed after the runway was sealed. Ron Gullickson and Bill Massey are getting pretty proficient at drawing a 3700 foot straight line. This process takes about 32 to 35 person hours to accomplish and this has been done with all volunteer labor.

Mowing and weed control are on an ongoing venture. Our old tractors are having a hard time this Spring, and we have had several break downs. The spaying of weeds is now an easier process since we have found several techniques for getting coverage. Since we are working with chip seal, weeds constantly grow through the chip. The actually area of the sides of the runway and the runway itself are more than 230,000 square feet (that is a little better than 5.3 acres of surface!) By continually ‘spotting’ new growth we seem to be able to stay about even with the weeds. And once again this is all being done with volunteer labor. Thanks Guys and Gals!

Sincerely,

Doug Dugger

Airport Manager