All-Star Game expected to bring increased air traffic
Pilots, Fixed Base Operators (FBOs) and other airport users should expect increased air traffic at King County International Airport – Boeing Field (KCIA) for about a week in early July, before, during and after the Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Game in Seattle. The All-Star Week starts with an MLB All-Star Celebrity Softball Game on July 8 and wraps up on July 11 with the All-Star game. Air traffic is expected to be heavy from around July 5 to July 12.
“The teams fly their players in via private jet to play,” said Sean Moran. “There’s going to be increased traffic activity for a full week.”
KCIA doesn’t get a schedule of aircraft coming in. Some players may fly via Sea-Tac Airport. However, many players as well as support staff, management teams, sponsors and others are expected to fly into KCIA.
“It’s going to be almost an equivalent to the Microsoft CEO Summit,” Moran said.
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Airport management of Microsoft CEO Summit a success
The annual Microsoft CEO Summit brings together CEOs and leaders from companies around the world. This year’s Summit was May 9 – 11.
“We had over 100 airplanes come in over the course of four days,” Moran said. “The airport provided additional parking space for the FBOs to accommodate the extra air traffic. It went off without a hitch.”
Photo above: Some of the airplanes at KCIA that flew in for the CEO Summit.
Save the date: The Blue Angels return this summer
The Blue Angels return to Seattle for the annual Seafair Boeing Air Show, August 4 - 6. The Boeing Seafair Air Show is a chance for fans to see aerobatics performed by various military and civilian teams, including the U.S. Navy Blue Angels.
King County International Airport will again host the Blue Angels this year. The Museum of Flight will have a viewing area throughout the show.
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The FOD Walk is set for July 22
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It's not often that most people get an opportunity to walk on an airport runway. This summer, King County International Airport is again offering employees, airport tenants and interested community members an opportunity to walk the runway and remove "Foreign Object Debris" or "FOD." The runway will be closed to air traffic during the event.
This will be the third annual "FOD" Walk. About 120 people participated last year. The event included refreshments, t-shirts and giveaways.
Save the date: Saturday, July 22
Time: 8:30 - 11 a.m., with check-in open at 7:30 a.m.
Watch for more details about how to sign up in the July edition of Plane Talk.
Photos from 2022 FOD walk show people picking up debris on the runway.
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Airport well-represented at Women in Trades Fair
Airport employees turned out in force to support this year's Women in Trades Fair, held at the Seattle Center on May 5.
Despite the drizzly day, attendance was high this year. More than 550 students were registered and more schools were present than in past years. Attendees built more than 225 bird feeders and toolboxes at the station staffed by Facilities Management and Department of Natural Resources and Parks employees, friends and families.
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Raisbeck students, airport employees share innovative projects
In an ongoing partnership with Raisbeck Aviation High School, King County International Airport (KCIA) employees visited the school earlier this spring to encourage students to consider airport careers in technology. Staff presented six workshops to tenth graders at the school.
The workshops were a part of the tenth-grade capstone project. This year the project focuses on sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and how to increase capacity for SAF production in Washington.
“If you have a knack for technology, there is a home for you at airports,” said Vanessa Chin, Innovation Section Manager for KCIA. Chin supervises employees at the airport who work in Computer Aided Design (CAD), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), data analytics, records management and business system administration.
Ella Wilson, a Roosevelt High School student and an intern at KCIA, reports to Chin.
Last summer, soon after beginning her internship, Wilson used Computer Aided Design (CAD) to help determine where the airport would park the Blue Angels jets. Last summer was the first year the Blue Angels planned to stage near the terminal for SeaFair. A video of the project was posted on the county’s Facebook page and is available on the airport's new Vimeo account.
“Ella shared her Blue Angels work that the Blue Angels used,” Chin said. “The students were blown away.”
Raisbeck students like Wilson are doing innovative work at their school, too.
“We got to tour their school,” Chin said. “They showed us their award-winning solar car.”
“These students created their own solar panels for their car,” Chin said. “They were beaming with pride. It was fun for a world-class airport to see the future of aviation.”
Photo above: Alec Chandler, Lorenzo Clara, Vanessa Chin, Eric Miller, Ella Wilson and Brent Bagley at the RAHS Robotics and Solar Car Workshop.
Photo below: Vanessa Chin, Ella Wilson, Eric Miller, Lorenzo Clara, Brent Bagley, Alec Chandler with the solar-powered car.
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Roosevelt High School students aim high
A group of about 30 students from Seattle’s Roosevelt High School visited KCIA on May 24 for a field trip. Many were in a club called GAMA, which stands for General Aviation Manufacturers Association, where students learn more about the design and testing of aircraft. Others were in various aerospace or technology classes. One young woman wants to be a pilot. Another student, Ella Wilson, already has significant airport experience through her internship at KCIA.
Lorenzo Clara, KCIA Community Engagement Coordinator, gave a presentation about airport history. Then the students and airport staff engaged in a networking event, discussing airport careers. Kristin Cline, Finance and Administration Services Manager; Anoop Dhillon, Badging Specialist; Sean Moran, Airport Operations Manager; Barbara Ramey, Deputy Communications Manager and Matt Sykora, Airport Business Manager, participated in the career networking event. The students then took an airport tour and played an Airport Jeopardy game.
The airport has many outreach programs with schools to encourage the development of future aviation leaders.
Photo above: Lorenzo Clara, KCIA Community Engagement Coordinator, at left, tells Roosevelt High School students about the history of KCIA.
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Employees partner to clean sidewalk in Georgetown
Submitted by Chief Greg Thomas, ARFF
As part of the “One Seattle Day of Service” event on May 18, employees from King County International Airport, Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) and Modern Aviation tackled a neighborhood clean-up project in Georgetown. The task was to remove debris and trash from a sidewalk along Ellis Avenue. This sidewalk is part of the scenic trail system that traverses Georgetown. Organized by Greg Thomas, chief of Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting, and led by John Parrott, director of KCIA, and Eric Schneider, general manager of Modern Aviation in Seattle, employees converged on the site.
The group cleaned more than one quarter mile of sidewalk in three hours, removing an estimated 3,500 pounds of debris. It was hot, dirty work.
The “One Seattle Day of Service” was supported by the Seattle “Adopt-A-Street” organization.
This was a fun event and it was great to work with our partners and friends from Modern Aviation. The clean-up project makes a huge difference to the Georgetown community.
Photo above: The effort removed the equivalent of four of these truckloads of debris. The airport’s front-loader removed three full buckets of debris. All debris was composted, recycled or trashed.
Photo below: Employees from King County International Airport, Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) and Modern Aviation gathered about 3,500 pounds of debris from a sidewalk in Georgetown.
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In memory: Joel Funfar
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Joel Funfar, a longtime member of Roundtable Advisory Board, passed on away on April 23. A past Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) President and the SPEEA representative on the Roundtable, Funfar was serving as a SPEEA-Area Vice President on the International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers Executive Board. A second-generation Boeing employee with 32 years of service, he was passionate about the future of aviation in King County and expanding career opportunities for the local communities.
“Joel’s friendly personality along with his dedication to the airport and the Roundtable will be greatly missed,” said John Parrott, airport director.
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Airport well-represented at WAMA conference
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KCIA was well-represented at the Washington Airport Management Association (WAMA) annual conference in Spokane May 8 through May 10.
- Vanessa Chin, Innovation Section Manager, and Kevin Nuechterlein, Planning, Budgeting and Monitoring Unit Lead, spoke on Equity and Social Justice Initiatives.
- Matt Sykora, Business Manager, took part in a panel on Young Professionals and Internship Success.
- Dave Decoteau, WAMA Vice President and KCIA Deputy Director, moderated several different sessions during the conference.
At left, Matt Sykora speaks at the conference.
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ICE flights resume at KCIA
U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) resumed flights into KCIA in early May using iAero Airways to transport migrant detainees. The first report about ICE flights at KCIA is available online. Since there were no flights in March or April, the report reflects that. The next report, for May, is scheduled to be posted on or before June 15.
Signature Flight Support, a Fixed Base Operator, handles ICE flights at Boeing Field. As required under a recent Executive Order, airport employees do not provide any support to the flights.
There are several online flight trackers available to the public if they are interested in tracking these flights in real time. There is a link to one of these, PublicVue, on the airport home page.
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