The development proposal at Hanscom Field is outlined in red (see closer view below). Lincoln’s approximate town border is indicated by the green dotted line.
A proposal to add 27 hangars and make other changes at Hanscom Field is the subject of two events on Monday, Feb. 6: a site walk at 3 p.m. and a virtual “consultation session” at 6:30 p.m.
The proposal for the area between Hartwell Road and Taxiway R in Bedford follows a land swap and access agreement between Massport, which owns a 26-acre North Airfield parcel, and Runway Realty Ventures (RRV), owner of an adjoining 18-acre parcel formerly owned by the U.S. Navy. It calls for adding about 408,000 square feet of new hangar space for aircraft parking and storage and renovating the existing Navy hangar building. Details of the proposal are contained in the Environmental Notification Form filed by the developers with the state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs as required by the Mass. Environmental Policy Act (MEPA).
Some aircraft now fly in and out empty to pick up and drop off operators who can’t secure aircraft storage space at Hanscom, the proposal says. “This practice results in extra flights (referred to as ‘ferry flights’) that would otherwise not be required with aircraft stored at Hanscom. By providing aircraft parking and storage on-airport, the project will relieve pressure from Logan in accordance with Massport’s long-term planning objective aimed at using regional airports to satisfy the current and future demand for general aviation services.”
A closer view of the development proposal.
The land swap agreement approved by Massport in October (starting on page 12 of the meeting minutes) will allow RRV to reconfigure taxiway R for larger and heavier aircraft, and to build a new taxiway and service road. RRV will be responsible for funding “upgrades and improvements to the Hanscom Field taxiway infrastructure to support design Group III aircraft above 100,000 pounds and/or design Group IV aircraft, as requested by RRV.”
Taxiway R can now accommodate Group III aircraft such as the Boeing 737-700, the Airbus A-320, and the Embraer ERJ 190-100, which have maximum capacities of 108 to 180 passengers and ranges of 2,000 to 3,700 miles, according to SKYbrary.aero. If the expansion proposal is approved, it will be able to accommodate Group IV planes including the Boeing 767 and the Airbus A-310, both of which can carry up to about 250 passengers and have ranges of 6,000 to 7,500 miles.
Save Our Heritage, which works to preserve historically important sites in Concord, Bedford, Lincoln, and Lexington and has fought Hanscom expansion for years, posted an alert to supporters summarizing the proposal. The Bedford Citizen also ran articles on February 1 and February 3.
Massport (the Massachusetts Port Authority) owns and operates Logan Airport, Hanscom Field, Worcester Regional Airport, and public terminals in the Port of Boston. Hanscom Field, New England’s second-busiest airport and the FAA’s designated general aviation reliever for Logan, is used for private corporate aviation, recreational flying, pilot training, and air charter, cargo, commuter service, and air ambulance flights. It has three fixed-base operators (FBOs) that provide fueling, maintenance, and cleaning services for airplanes. Linear Air and Magellan Jets regularly operate out of Hanscom.
The walk-through on Monday at 3 p.m. starts across from Edge Sports Center at 191 Hartwell Rd. in Bedford, and the virtual session at 6:30 p.m. can be accessed here. The public comment period deadline is Tuesday, Feb. 14. Comments may be submitted via the MEPA Public Comments Portal or via email to alexander.strysky@mass.gov.
The three towns that contain parts of Hanscom Field (Bedford, Lincoln and Concord) do not have any permitting authority in the matter, though the land swap must be approved by the FAA and Gov. Maura Healy, and the FAA must also sign off on the revised airport layout plan.
I wish I were clearer about the purpose of the expansion. Parking airplanes, or initiating large plane regular flights. The former might be helpful, the latter is clearly of concern. The intent of these changes is not clear from the article. Perhaps the actual goal was never stated.
The goal is to provide hangar space for corporate jets so that they can fly in and out of Hanscom with their handful of wealthy passengers. Fueling operations and storage will also be provided. The 27 hangars provide almost half a million square feet (adding 80% more to what already exists on field), and can hold 50-100 jet aircraft. Add the noise, pollution, traffic (jet and vehicle), carbon-intensive activity, all the paved ramp space (37 acres) and removal of trees and it’s hard to see how this is not a disaster for neighborhoods and property owners around the airport.