WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — As more aircraft utilize Winter Haven Regional Airport, leaders are working on ways to enhance safety through the use of new technology.
Since becoming a flight instructor at Winter Haven Regional Airport two years ago, Patrick Blackwelder has witnessed aviation really take off.
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“Winter Haven went from being more of a hobbyist airport to a full-on training hub. With multiple flight schools here and the various flight schools in the area, it just gets so congested and so overwhelmed,” said Blackwelder.
Winter Haven’s airport has gone from 55,000 flights annually to an average of 80,000 flights. The airport currently shares a frequency with five other airports.
“If we’re on the same frequency, I may have to wait 15-20 seconds. Those are valuable seconds to make my call and hope that everyone else hears me on top of everyone talking on top of each other,” said Blackwelder.
With increased air traffic comes safety concerns.
“Obviously the worst you could have would be any type of collision, which we had a couple years ago. Very unfortunate. So that would be the absolute worst,” said Blackwelder.
In 2023, a mid-air collision killed four people, including a student pilot and instructor. Airport leaders are urging the FAA to allocate a separate frequency, as they account for 40 percent of the traffic on the channel.
“When you get several aircraft in the sky and let’s say they are using runway five, which is our primary, well there are other airports on that frequency that have a runway five as well,” said Winter Haven Regional Airport Director, Troy Heidel.
The airport will soon have the nation’s first FAA-approved digital remote tower system. It will feature a 360-degree camera and sensor array that can automatically detect and predict air traffic.
“The great thing about this system is it can pick up air traffic a little easier, that you can’t really see with the naked eye and it puts a green box around this traffic,” Heidel said.
The tower will be operated remotely at Bartow Executive Airport. Using new technology for safer take-offs and landings.
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