Grass runway could come to airport
By Terry Murry on Tuesday, February 28th, 2023 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – The Eastern Oregon Regional Airport in Pendleton is in the middle of a complete remodel of its terminal. In addition, work has been done to correct hot spots on runways. They are not done yet, however.
Airport Manager Dan Bandel said that the next undertaking will be to install a grass runway, which is favored by pilots of tail draggers. He said work had already been under discussion and the pilots approved of the change. The airport will seek permission for the runway from the Federal Aviation Administration.
“We’re really going to make that push with the FAA to get this approved, funded and built,” he said. “It’s locked and loaded. All we have to have is a thumbs-up from the FAA.” He said that once the approval is received the runway could be created “almost immediately.”
He’s even looking into the future to schedule a possible fly-in for tail dragger pilots.
