The Black Hawk UH-60 helicopters coming to Seward for maintenance work at Kill Devil Aviation won’t be landing at the airport.
The Seward City Council on Feb. 17 updated the company’s special use permit to allow the helicopters to land at the business at 1253 280th Road, just south of the airport, following a public hearing at which business owner Steve Helmandollar of Elkhorn and the Seward Airport Manager Greg Whisler spoke.
When the council gave conditional permission for the business south of the Seward Airport in September, the plan detailed how the aircraft would land at the airport and be “tugged” or towed to and from the company’s hangar outside the airport property via Highway 15.
But Federal Aviation Administration rules for the airport prohibit private business operations on the airport property, so Helmandollar proposed landing the helicopters on site instead.
Tim Dworak, the city’s building, zoning and code enforcement director, endorsed the move, noting that helicopters regularly land at Memorial Hospital and occasionally at the high school.
“It is safer than towing out to the highway and back onto the lot,” Dworak said.
Whisler said the Airport Authority Board would like to have the helicopters land and take off at the airport, but must follow the FAA restrictions about business activity. The airport receives grant funding from the FAA.
Mayor Josh Eickmeier said the landing of the helicopters adjacent to the airport will require good communication about air traffic between Kill Devil Aviation and the airport.
Whisler said of the 80 airports in Nebraska, only Lincoln, Omaha and Grand Island have air traffic controllers to monitor traffic within their airspace.
The Seward Airport and others across the country follow standard traffic protocols to monitor aircraft and flight patterns, Whisler said.
Helmandollar said he and the pilots draw upon their military experience to manage the risk involved with flying the 18,000-pound Black Hawks.
He said they have looked at how the helicopters’ landing “downwash” could affect cars and buildings near the landing site and the area has sufficient space.
Kill Devil Aviation will serve an emerging market of non-military users of the famous military helicopter. One manufacturer’s website notes the helicopter’s use in aerial firefighting, search and rescue, heavy load lifting and passenger travel.
In other action, the council:
• Appointed Jackson Jenkins and Preston Kuskie to the Seward Volunteer Fire Department.
• Forwarded a property damage claim from St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church to its insurance company.
• Accepted annual reports from Library Director Becky Baker and Fire Chief Tyler Mifflin.
• Approved the addition of eight off-street parking stalls on the east side of North Third Street between Moffitt and Roberts streets where a four-plex apartment building is to be constructed and a second fourplex is being discussed.
• Approved a $26,318 agreement with Thiele Geotech Inc. for geotechnical engineering services for the wastewater treatment facility as part of plans to incorporate expanded service to the DARI, LLC, plant now under construction in the Rail Campus.
• Approved payment of $127,926 for flagging services provided by BNSF Railway during work on Worthman Boulevard in the Rail Campus.
• Revised the recently adopted cemetery fees and policies to reflect the city’s holiday fees and when overtime payments would be necessary based on the city’s summer and winter work hours.
• Approved a proposal for Erickson Sullivan Architects to provide design services for the south entrance of the Seward Civic Center.
• et in executive session to discuss real estate interests for 30 minutes.
