Pilots fear NASCAR track could cramp flying time, fun

ARLINGTON — With the workday over, the ultralight pilots begin pulling into the gravel parking lot and heading for their hangars.

By 6 p.m., many are in the air, piloting the noisy aircraft that resemble giant tricycles with wings over the rush-hour traffic and acres of fallow farmland that surround the Arlington Airport. From the air, the pilots can see the nearby site that one day could be home to a sprawling, 75,000-seat motor speedway.

Pilots at the city-owned general-aviation Arlington Airport think their convenient and unique airfield will lose its small-town flavor if local officials and a Florida company go ahead with a proposed NASCAR racetrack across the street. The experiences of small airports near other NASCAR tracks around the country indicate the pilots' fears aren't unfounded.

When racetrack developer International Speedway Corp. (ISC) said last month that Snohomish County was its preferred site for a major Northwest speedway, one of the main selling points was the Arlington Airport.

While auto racing is an earthbound sport, drivers, racing teams and some fans fly to NASCAR races in private jets. It's not unusual for some big race weekends to draw hundreds of planes to small airports near a NASCAR track.

"The only way to move those guys around the country is to use ... private aviation," said Lee Combs, senior vice president of corporate development for ISC.

The 1,153-acre Arlington Airport doesn't see many jets. Gliders, old biplanes, refurbished military planes and ultralights frequent the airport's uncontrolled airspace.

Each summer, the airport hosts the popular Arlington Northwest Experimental Aircraft Association Fly-In, a weekend air show and display of all types of general-aviation aircraft, from home-built kit planes to modern jets.

The eclectic mix at the fly-in, one of the nation's largest such shows, is in keeping with the airport's informal feel. It's a place where planes built within the confines of suburban garages and workshops take wing for the first time.

"It's just a conglomeration, a melting pot of fliers," said Archie Butler, a flight instructor at the airport. "It's very unique."

Directors at airports near NASCAR tracks in other parts of the country say that atmosphere couldn't co-exist with the hundreds of planes that converge on their airports two or three times a year for big races.

Racetrack events are so pervasive that the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama has taken over the Talladega Municipal Airport, leasing it from the city. "It just changes from one world to another that day," said Roy Adams, the Talladega airport manager.

Adams' airport usually employs five people. On race weekends, he hires 35 more, recruiting retired pilots and students from a nearby college.

The Daytona Beach, Fla., airport routinely closes a 6,000-foot runway on race weekends to make way for airplane parking.

At Concord Regional Airport in North Carolina, the airport director keeps fuel trucks on standby because the airport sells more fuel on race weekends than it can hold in its tanks. Air congestion is so bad, the Federal Aviation Administration issues special flight-pattern regulations.

"It does a lot for an area," said Dick Lewis, aviation director in Concord, which is near Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte. "There is an inconvenience, definitely, to the pilots, because some of that stuff just doesn't mix."

That's what pilots in Arlington fear. Despite assurances that the airport would be affected only a few weekends of the year, those who use the airport are concerned that would be enough to change the atmosphere.

ISC officials told a legislative committee in Olympia last week they expect to hold their two or three big race weekends on a Marysville-area track in July, August or September. August, they said, is their best bet for the dry weather they need for stock-car racing. Recreational pilots count on those same weekends for clear summer weather.

"We need fair weather to fly, and it's our best time for instruction," said Roy Babcock, a pilot, airplane mechanic and flight instructor in Arlington. "It's hard to watch it happen. I've been here seven or eight years, and to just watch our fun and our income disappear is just horrible."

Arlington and airport officials stress that they would try to minimize the impact of a NASCAR track on the Arlington Airport, but they don't deny it would bring change.

"It would change the culture at the airport," said Kristin Banfield, Arlington's assistant city administrator.

The development of a track contradicts the airport's master plan, which the Arlington City Council and airport board of directors approved in 2002. The plan prohibits development in the flight path that would include dense gatherings of people.

The FAA would impose a temporary flight restriction within three miles of the track when a certain number of people were at an event, said Mike Fergus, a spokesman for the agency. Although the FAA didn't want to release the specific number for security reasons, the track at full capacity would exceed it by a wide margin. Smaller events would not require flight restrictions.

When restrictions were in place, the airport would have to route planes over residential areas to the east and west of the airport and bar ultralights from the entire airspace.

The state Department of Transportation's Aviation Division is looking into the track plans, said spokeswoman Nisha Hanchinamani, because the track "might be incompatible" with the airport. "It's the job of our department to make sure that the airport is protected," she said.

The track could be considered incompatible if it changed the business practices or operations of the airport or created a safety hazard, according to the state's guidelines.

Though the state could weigh in, Hanchinamani said the decision would be in the hands of local land-use officials in Marysville and Snohomish County.

"I think that we work with our neighbors ... and we'll just work through those issues," said Mary Swenson, chief administrative officer for Marysville.

The Arlington Airport Commission adopted a resolution in June to oppose the track.

ISC's Combs said airport directors usually see the races as a positive thing. They "love it when the races show up," he said. It's exciting, and fans often come to the airport seeking autographs from drivers. They sell a lot of fuel, he said, so it's a good business opportunity.

Swenson pointed out that the track could draw development to the airport's planned business park.

Adams, the airport manager in Talladega, enjoys the NASCAR crowd, though it makes for "a busy weekend." His airport is usually home to about 35 planes. He parks 10 times that many on race weekends and charges each $20 a day. On a normal weekend, Adams sells 2,000 gallons of fuel. On a race weekend, he sells 30,000 gallons.

Plans to refurbish about 100 ultralight hangars at Arlington are on hold while their owner, pilot Bruce Angell, determines the proposed speedway's impact. Ultralighters may have to move to Skagit County or Darrington airports if the track is built, he said.

"Recreational pilots ... have continued to move out of areas where it's difficult to fly," he said. "Arlington is a rural, recreational, general-aviation airport, and that's gonna change. And that's too bad."

Emily Heffter: 425-783-0624 or eheffter@seattletimes.com