Roberts Field

For the Liberian airport near Monrovia, see Roberts International Airport.
Roberts Field
Redmond Municipal Airport
(former Redmond Army Airfield)

USGS 2006 orthophoto
IATA: RDM – ICAO: KRDM – FAA LID: RDM
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner City of Redmond
Serves Redmond, Oregon
Elevation AMSL 3,080 ft / 939 m
Coordinates 44°15′15″N 121°08′59″W / 44.25417°N 121.14972°WCoordinates: 44°15′15″N 121°08′59″W / 44.25417°N 121.14972°W
Website www.FlyRDM.com
Map
RDM

Location in Oregon

Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
4/22 7,038 2,145 Asphalt
10/28 7,006 2,135 Asphalt
Helipads
Number Length Surface
ft m
H1 48 15 Concrete
Statistics (2011)
Aircraft operations 48,693
Based aircraft 75
Sources: FAA,[1] airport website[2]

Roberts Field (IATA: RDM, ICAO: KRDM, FAA LID: RDM) (Redmond Municipal Airport) is in Deschutes County, Oregon a mile southeast of Redmond, which owns it.[1]

It is the main commercial airport in central Oregon, with nonstop regional airline flights to several hubs in the western U.S. The airfield serves Redmond as well as nearby Bend, Oregon. It is also the home of the Lancair factory as well as being a base for aerial firefighting aircraft operated by private airtanker companies. The United States Forest Service (USFS) Redmond Air Center is located on the airport and supports regional firefighting operations with this federal facility providing training and housing for smokejumper teams along with fuel, water and fire retardant for airtanker aircraft at its ramps along the north side of the airfield.

The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 called it a primary commercial service airport.[3] Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 235,192 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008,[4] 221,463 in 2009 and 226,400 in 2010.[5]

History

Built in the 1920s, passenger flights arrived at the airport in 1940.[6] During World War II the airfield was used by the United States Army Air Forces as a bomber base. After the war the federal government sold the airport to the city for $1.[6]

Passenger service

Terminal and ramp, with central Cascade Range in the distance, Dec 2010
Roberts Field manager Carrie Novick and USFS Redmond Air Center manager Dan Torrence, members of their staff, and Jamin and Jeshua Marshall (of Larry and His Flask) meet Sen. Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential primary campaign

United Airlines was the only airline serving Redmond during the late 1940s. In 1947, United was operating Douglas DC-3 flights into the airport on a daily routing of Portland, OR - Redmond, OR - Klamath Falls, OR - Sacramento - San Francisco - Monterey, CA - Santa Barbara, CA - Los Angeles.[7] By 1959, United was operating Convair 340 propliner service into the airport on a daily round trip routing of Seattle - Portland - Redmond - Klamath Falls - Sacramento - San Francisco.[8]

United would subsequently end all service to Redmond[9] and by 1960 West Coast Airlines was serving the airport with Douglas DC-3 aircraft with a daily round trip routing of Portland, OR - Salem, OR - Redmond, OR - Klamath Falls, OR - Lakeview, OR - Burns, OR - Boise.[10] West Coast Airlines would eventually merge with Bonanza Air Lines and Pacific Air Lines to form Air West which then became Hughes Airwest. In 1972, Hughes Airwest was operating Fairchild F-27 turboprop service from the airport with nonstop flights to Portland (PDX) and direct, no change of plane flights to Sacramento (SMF), San Francisco (SFO) and Seattle (SEA).[11] By 1975, Hughes Airwest had introduced jet service into Redmond with the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 with nonstop service to Portland (PDX) and direct, no change of plane flights to San Francisco (SFO) and Los Angeles (LAX) via intermediate stops at smaller cities in Oregon and California.[12] In 1980, Hughes Airwest was operating four DC-9 jet flights a day from Redmond with direct one stop service twice a day to San Francisco (SFO) via Redding (RDD) and also on a direct one stop basis to Seattle (SEA) twice a day via Eugene (EUG).[13] Hughes Airwest was then merged into Republic Airlines which continued to operate jet service into Redmond. In 1981, Republic was operating nonstop McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 jet service to Portland (PDX), Eugene (EUG) and Klamath Falls (LMT) with continuing direct service to San Francisco (SFO) and Seattle (SEA).[14]

Other airlines that operated scheduled jet service to Redmond over the years included Alaska Airlines with Boeing 727-200s to Los Angeles (LAX) and Seattle (SEA), Pacific Express with British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Elevens to Portland (PDX) and San Francisco (SFO) as well as other destinations, Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) with British Aerospace BAe 146-200s to San Francisco (SFO) and Reno Air with McDonnell Douglas MD-80s to San Jose (SJC).

On August 1, 2006 Horizon Air began twice daily nonstops to Los Angeles with 76-seat Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 high speed propjets. This service was reduced to one daily flight on June 24, 2008, due to rising fuel prices.[15] By 2010 this flight to LAX was eliminated altogether.[16][17] In the late 2000s, Allegiant Air flew McDonnell Douglas MD-80s to Las Vegas (LAS) twice a week as well as twice-weekly to Phoenix, Arizona's suburban airport Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport (AZA), also with MD-80s. In early 2012 Allegiant Air indicated it would fly to Oakland, California (OAK) beginning in April.[18] However, on May 23, 2012 Allegiant Air announced it would end all service to the airport on August 12.

Current service

In 2005 Delta Connection flights operated SkyWest Airlines were initiated to Salt Lake City utilizing Canadair CRJ-100 regional jets. Some United Express flights operated by SkyWest Airlines and all Alaska Airlines flights flown by Horizon Air are operated with turboprop aircraft, such as the Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia (SkyWest) and the Q400 (Horizon Air).

Horizon announced cuts to Seattle and Portland service in 2009, as it continued to phase out its smaller propjets in favor of flights operated with larger Q400's. The airline's seat capacity from Redmond is expected to remain nearly the same. United Express announced it would make its regional jet service to Denver year-round, thus giving Roberts Field passenger service to a second hub in the intermountain west in addition to the Delta Connection service to Salt Lake City.[19]

United Express then announced it would upgrade its CRJ 200 flights to Denver from weekend only to daily and also would expand service to San Francisco with EMB-120 propjets being replaced with CRJ 200 regional jets. This will increase daily seats despite the reduction from three flights per day to two. Flight time will be reduced by nearly an hour.[20]

Passenger boardings increased in the first half of 2010.[21] United resumed three Redmond-San Francisco jets a day in November 2010 after several years where they had two.[22] 2011 passenger boardings were 3% higher than 2010 (through October).[23]

In early 2013 American Eagle announced it would offer nonstop service to Los Angeles with these flights replacing the service formerly operated by Alaska Airlines. A method known as a "travel bank" was used, where local individuals, businesses, and civic entities pre-purchased travel vouchers from the airline, acting as a commitment to the required level of demand on the route, which began in June, and is served by American Eagle regional jets operated by SkyWest Airlines.[24][25][26]

Airport growth

Redmond, Oregon passenger terminal, upper deck restaurant area

Passenger terminal

A passenger terminal was built in 1950 and replaced in 1981 by a 6,000-square-foot (560 m2) terminal.[6] In 1992-93 the terminal was expanded to 23,000 square feet (2,100 m2).[6]

By late 2009 Roberts Field completed another large terminal expansion, designed by HNTB.[27]

Along with increased parking, the facility has increased its area by about 600%,[28] allowing more room for security and traveler services, as well as concessions and gate operations. While the new bi-level structure is capable of supporting jet bridges, the low frequency of full-size jets operating from the terminal, and no indication of tenant airline desire, means that these bridges are not currently included, though walking distance to and from planes has been reduced.[29][30][31]

In October 2009 most sections of the expanded passenger terminal opened for public use; the improvements include more numerous check-in counters and bathrooms, along with a two story, windowed departure lounge. Travelers also may now use covered walkways between aircraft and terminal.[32]

A year after the expansion's completion, a bar and restaurant was opened in the secure area after a contentious permitting process; efforts to add pizza and coffee outlets to the non-secure area are now underway. While there was a restaurant in the check-in hall until 2009, this is the first time in Roberts Field's history that food and drink are available in the departure gate area. If initial OLCC approval is continued, it will also become the second location in Oregon allowed to serve alcohol beginning at 5 am, following Portland's airport.[28]

USFS and aerial firefighting ramps at Roberts Field

Since the airport began displaying public art in the terminal, it has sold nearly $100,000 worth of artworks to travelers.[33]

Infrastructure

The airport upgraded its mass-casualty vehicle in 2011 due to larger commercial jets using Roberts Field; while the old unit could handle 37 patients, the new truck is prepared for an incident involving over 100.[34] In early 2012, the airport began hosting a MEDEVAC helicopter operated by Lifeflight.[35][36]

Facilities

Roberts Field covers 2,518 acres (1,019 ha) at an elevation of 3,080 feet (939 m). It has two asphalt runways: 4/22 is 7,038 by 150 feet (2,145 x 46 m) and 10/28 is 7,006 by 100 feet (2,135 x 30 m). It has one concrete helipad H1, 48 by 48 feet (15 x 15 m).[1]

In 2011 the airport had 48,693 aircraft operations, average 133 per day: 71% general aviation, 19% air taxi, 10% airline, and 1% military. 75 aircraft were then based at this airport: 81% single-engine, 7% multi-engine, 7% helicopter, and 5% jet.[1]

Airlines and destinations

FAA airport map for KRDM

Scheduled passenger flights:

Airlines Destinations
Alaska Airlines
operated by Horizon Air 		Portland (OR), Seattle/Tacoma
American Eagle
operated by SkyWest Airlines 		Los Angeles
Delta Connection
operated by SkyWest Airlines 		Salt Lake City
United Express
operated by SkyWest Airlines 		Denver, San Francisco

Cargo Carriers

Airlines Destinations
Air Pac Airlines Portland
Ameriflight Eugene, Portland
FedEx Feeder Portland, North Bend/Coos Bay

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 FAA Airport Master Record for RDM (Form 5010 PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. Effective November 15, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Redmond Municipal Airport - Roberts Field". official site.
  3. ↑ "2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF, 2.03 MB). National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Enplanements for CY 2008" (PDF, 1.0 MB). CY 2008 Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data. Federal Aviation Administration. December 18, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Enplanements for CY 2010" (PDF, 189 KB). CY 2010 Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2011.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Airport History Timeline". City of Redmond. Retrieved October 31, 2008.
  7. ↑ http://www.timetableimages.com, Sept. 28, 1947 United Air Lines system timetable
  8. ↑ http://www.timetableimages.com, April 1, 1959 United Air Lines system timetable
  9. ↑ http://www.timetableimages.com, June 1, 1961 United Air Lines system timetable
  10. ↑ http://www.timetableimages.com, July 1, 1962 West Coast Airlines system timetable
  11. ↑ http://www.departedflights.com, July 1, 1972 Hughes Airwest system timetable
  12. ↑ http://www.departedflights.com, Oct. 26, 1975 Hughes Airwest system timetable
  13. ↑ http://www.departedflights.com, Sept. 1, 1980 Hughes Airwest system timetable
  14. ↑ http://www.departedflights.com, April 1, 1981 Republic Airlines system timetable & Oct. 25, 1981 Republic Airlines system route map
  15. ↑ "Horizon cutting one of two RDM-LAX non-stops". KTVZ.com.
  16. ↑ "Horizon Air Dropping Its Redmond-LAX Direct Flight". KTVZ.com. June 26, 2012.
  17. ↑ "Horizon Air Announces Changes to Fall Schedule" (Press release). Horizon Air. June 16, 2010. Retrieved June 16, 2010.
  18. ↑ http://www.ktvz.com/news/30269213/detail.html
  19. ↑ "With new air service, a link to East Coast". The Bulletin. October 14, 2009.
  20. ↑ http://www.ktvz.com/Global/story.asp?S=10122462
  21. ↑ "Airport boardings up in Redmond". The Bulletin. June 15, 2010.
  22. ↑ "Central Oregonians Cheer Third RDM-SFO Flight: United Express Daily Non-Stop Begins Nov. 4". KTVZ.com. June 26, 2012.
  23. ↑ "Redmond Airport boardings up". The Bulletin. November 9, 2011.
  24. ↑ "Redmond daily flights to LAX may return". KTVZ.com. March 11, 2013.
  25. ↑ "It's official: RDM-LAX flights to begin in June". KTVZ.com. April 9, 2013.
  26. ↑ "Red Carpet send-off for inaugural RDM-LAX flight". KTVZ.com. June 13, 2013.
  27. ↑ "Roberts Field Redmond Municipal Airport, Redmond, Oregon". Feinknopf Photography.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 http://www.cascadebusnews.com/index.php?m=2&s=3&id=1100&search_m=7&search_s=40
  29. ↑ "Big Plans for Airport". KOHD.com. December 14, 2007.
  30. ↑ "Redmond Airport size to double under plan". The Bulletin. April 6, 2006.
  31. ↑ "Flying high: Redmond Airport's '07 smashes records". KTVZ.com.
  32. ↑ "First impressions at the airport: quicker and easier - and huge". The Bulletin. October 21, 2009.
  33. ↑ "Redmond's Novick Flying Off to Retirement". KTVZ.com. June 26, 2012.
  34. ↑ "Redmond Airport Fire Truck Has Beer-y Past". KTVZ.com. September 7, 2011.
  35. ↑ http://www.lifeflight.org/images/stories/LFN_Redmond_base_release_PDF.pdf
  36. ↑ http://www.lifeflight.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=84&Itemid=129

External links