ASTORIA, Ore. — The Oregon Air National Guard, which regularly flies over the North Coast, is proposing new training areas for the F-15 Eagle in local airspace that might conflict with private aircraft.
A training area along the Oregon Coast from Astoria to Lincoln City, and a southwest corner of Washington state, could help the Air National Guard produce better combat pilots. But two Port of Astoria commissioners say the expanded training zone will restrict jet traffic into the Astoria Regional Airport.
The Port Commission voted Tuesday to have representation at an Air National Guard meeting in Astoria to hear public comment on the plans, known as the Oregon Airspace Initiative.
The initiative would expand warning areas west over the Pacific Ocean, from 1,000 to 50,000 feet above mean sea level. More worrisome to the port is the creation of the Eel Military Operations Area from 11,000 to 18,000 feet along the Oregon Coast from Astoria to Lincoln City, along with a small portion over southwest Washington state.
“This training airspace will help us produce the best air-to-air combat pilots, and serve our state and nation in times of peace and war,” Lt. Col. Alaric Michaelis from the Oregon Air National Guard said in a release Wednesday. “It also serves the mission of the 142nd Fighter Wing, as it provides unequaled, mission-ready aerospace superiority.”
Port commissioners said restrictions on flying at that level will affect jet traffic coming into the airport.
“They’re taking up the entire airway,” said port Commissioner James Campbell, who is also a pilot. “It doesn’t give you room to breathe.”
Commissioners and staff have said there are a lot of jets coming to the airport in Warrenton, often corporate representatives and people going to South County.
Port Commission Chairman John Raichl said there are even jets that fly in visitors to the Big Creek Fishing Club, a fishing and hunting lodge near Knappa.
Campbell said similar training zones have choked airspace in Nevada. He said the port should oppose the planned coastal training zone and two others over Central and Eastern Oregon.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, an advocacy group based in Maryland, has warned that the impact on pilots could be significant.
