News Summary

OXFORD — A grant from the Federal Aviation Administration will help fund taxiway lighting and other improvements at the Miami University Airport.

The regional airport, located about 3 miles west of the campus at 7101 Fairfield Road, received $107,825 of more than $3.7 million in grants awarded to eight Ohio airports, U.S. Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) announced Monday, May 5.

The university will provide about $12,000 to completely fund three projects — installing an automatic weather observation system, installing new taxiway lighting and a miscellaneous study for future improvements, said Adolph Haislar, senior associate vice president of finance and business services at Miami.

Haislar said airports receive federal and state grants in varying amounts each year based on need and the potential economic benefit to the region. If the university ever decided to close the airport, any grant money would have to be paid back, Haislar said.

Miami's airport features a 4,000-foot runway that is used by small commercial and private aircraft. Local business travelers, parents of students, guest speakers at the university and pilots who fly for recreation all use the airport throughout the year, said Bill Stout, the university's chief pilot and airport operations director.

Stout said the grant-funded study will take into account engineering and geographic factors for installing a Global Positioning System. The GPS would assist pilots landing in low visibility conditions, Stout said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2122 or rwilson@coxohio.com.

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