Lake in the Hills airport is still flying high

Every Saturday morning, when the weather cooperates, the students of Blue Skies flight school take off from Lake in the Hills airport.

“It is an absolutely perfect location for a flight school like mine,” said Mike Carzoli, Blue Skies owner. “We are in a pretty big population, but we are right in the western edge of that population where … they are more out in the country.”

Blue Skies has been contributing to Saturday traffic at the airport since 1993, when Carzoli started the school. They add an extra component to an airport that is primarily a reliever airport for Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. Reliever airports provide additional capacity to primary commercial airports.

Carzoli said the flight school sees a mixture of students who want to go on to become commercial pilots and those who want to do some flying on the side of their job. Graduates of the school can rent out planes from the airport.

“There are a lot of people who have always wanted to learn how to fly, and now they’re in a position in their life where they can do it,” he said.

The airport hasn’t always been available for such use. It was established in 1957 as the Crystal Lake Airport and remained privately owned for 25 years. The Lake in the Hills Village Board acquired the airport in 1984.

Recently, airport administrators have aimed to address growing safety concerns pointed out by the FAA. The airport took on an Airport Safety Improvement program, with projects currently scheduled through 2013 and preliminarily scheduled through 2019.

The FAA granted the airport a temporary waiver that allows it to continue to function while the safety standards are brought into FAA compliance.

In 2010, the airport completed a construction project that moved Pyott Road east to provide a larger buffer between the street and air traffic.

They’ve reached substantial completion on a parallel taxiway, which increases the space between the runway and taxiway. A wildlife hazard assessment, which aims to provide the information necessary to lessen the likelihood of animals interfering with planes, was completed recently and now is being analyzed.

Projects to extend perimeter fencing and create a new aircraft parking apron are scheduled for the coming years.

“The FAA recently revised its funding, and we are reviewing our program to see how that impacts our projects,” said Manny Gomez, airport manager.

After those projects are complete, an additional 13 projects are scheduled through 2019. Those include building a new replacement fuel facility, constructing a new terminal building, and redoing and widening the runway. For a complete list, visit www.lith.org/airportimprovements.html.

Gomez said it’s important to keep the airport up to date. A recent study found the airport has an annual economic impact of $17 million.

“It definitely adds to the economy,” he said.