Thu, Nov 26 2009
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New airport tower provides 10-mile unobstructed view Asked why Joplin needs air traffic control, Molinaro said there are several reasons. Joplin had 29,000 takeoffs and landings last year. St. Joseph had 32,000, and Columbia and Manhattan had 28,000 each.
“It’s not just the number (of takeoffs and landings),” he said. “It’s also the type of aircraft and the complexity of the airspace.” Airplanes and jets of all sizes that fly through the airspace over and around Joplin to larger airports must be kept at appropriate distances by flight controllers, Molinaro said. Holland said the local controllers monitor aircraft flying not just over Joplin, but also those in eastern Kansas and western Missouri that are outside the range of controllers in Kansas City. Stockam said a number of corporate jets and a variety of planes and jets are flown by hobbyists or private pilots out of the Joplin airport. The city also is planning for passenger service to restart soon at the airport after the pullout this summer by Air Midwest and the selection of Great Lakes Aviation to provide subsidized passenger flights between Joplin and Kansas City. Those passenger jets fly faster than small airplanes, which poses a safety concern, Stockam said. A Great Lakes spokesman did not return telephone and e-mail messages this week seeking comment on whether advance tickets are being purchased by Joplin customers and whether the airline is on track to start service in Joplin as scheduled on Sept. 8. The service will be subsidized by the federal Department of Transportation. The new tower was a separate project from the construction of a new $15 million terminal building at the airport that is due to open next month, Stockam said. Disabled visitors who want to attend the tower’s open house should be aware that the upper floor of the tower cannot be reached by elevator. That is because an elevator shaft would have obstructed the view on that floor, and controllers need a 360-degree view, Stockam said. Visitors can reach the tower by taking Missouri Highway 171 to Colonial Drive, east of the airport, and turning north for a half-mile. There is a chain-link fence at the gate at the tower’s entrance. Tower replacement Steve Stockam, manager of the Joplin Regional Airport, said the new tower replaces one that was built in 1952 or 1953. The completion date of the old tower is not clear in airport records, he said. 
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