With just four months on the job, Airport Manager Dale Lusby has already hosted two events at Placerville Airport (PVF) with plans to bring life back to the historic airfield.

Like many small airfields across the country, county-owned Placerville and Georgetown (Q61) were underutilized as management shifted from one department to another, Lusby said. County employees tasked with overseeing day-to-day airport operations often lacked an aviation background, he said, leading to missed opportunities to increase activity and revenue.

Lusby took the helm in February after a series of Civil Grand Jury reports dating back to 2020. The reports reveal several issues, from a general lack of oversight, to tall trees creating a hazard at Georgetown that one report called “a disaster waiting to happen.”

“I wasn’t sure when I took on this role how it was going to be received at the county, but my manager and everyone I’ve worked with has been so supportive,” Lusby said, noting the past relationship between the county and airport users has not always been a positive one. “With my energy and enthusiasm, I think people are looking at how can we make this happen? The answer is always yes. We just have to jump through the hoops, we’ve got to get over the hurdles, and that’s been really great. Lots of support.”

The county worked with the nonprofit group California Pilots Association to address the civil grand jury recommendations when he was hired, Lusby said. In an exclusive interview with Wingman, Lusby outlined his role with El Dorado County and what he hopes to see moving forward.

Lusby is starting to rebuild trust among pilots and tenants of the airport by holding small events to foster better relationships. His first event, a meet-and-greet on April 29, saw about 65 people, he said.

A Beechcraft gathering held on June 6 coincided with the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Hangtown Chapter 512’s monthly pancake breakfast. The two events had a combined turnout of over 200 people, Lusby said, from Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and Southern California. Lusby, who is also a Beechcraft owner, said the turnout was encouraging.

“We had probably over 200 people at the airport that day, which was really exciting because over the years, the airport’s been kind of a wasteland, it’s desolate,” he said. “At that event, we had a lot of people walking up and down the ramp, which is just a good energy, an alive airport, which is nice.”

The same increase in activity that helps the airport and the county can also generate more noise complaints from residents nearby. Placerville sits atop a hill with residential development down the southwestern slope, below runway 5/23. Aircraft landing on runway 5 or departing runway 23 fly directly over the rooftops. The FAA has established noise abatement procedures for Placerville, instructing pilots to avoid noise sensitive areas, or climb above 3,400 feet above sea level before flying over neighborhoods.

Lusby said fielding noise complaints is a balancing act that every airport encounters, and the long history of the nearly 100 year old airfield is in their favor.

“A lot of it, in my opinion, is just helping the community to understand why an airport is important and how it benefits people other than just the pilots that are using it,” he said.

During the Caldor fire of 2021, Placerville Airport temporarily became the largest heliport in the nation with 39 Cal Fire helicopters based there, Lusby said. The airport continues to be a vital location for Cal Fire as well as other first responder and law enforcement agencies who operate in the remote El Dorado National Forest.

That influx of pilots and crew also helps the local economy, Lusby said. Not only is revenue generated directly from fuel sales and maintenance at the airport, but local hotels, restaurants, and businesses can also see increased revenue.

To help foster good will between the airport and the community, Lusby said he has several ideas to bring people out to the field. One way to do that is through cooperation with local organizations. He plans to work with El Dorado County Arts and Culture to host a charitable dinner at the airport.

“We’re going to tie it into aviation and then we’ll have music and some fun up here at the airport with a large group,” he said. “Most of those people are not aviators or pilots, so it’ll be a good exposure to the community of our airport.”

Additionally, Lusby is looking to partner with local colleges and high schools to create career paths in aviation and give high school credits for aviation work done at the airport.

“That’s a goal with the youth, is to give them another option to maybe say if college isn’t for you, perhaps if you love aviation, there could be some incredible career opportunities in aviation where you don’t have to go to college and you could do something you love, and this is where it starts,” he said.

Despite a perception that aviation is only for the wealthy, Lusby said the local aviation community is a mix of people.

“It’s not a rich man’s sport, it’s really open to the everyday normal person,” he said. “I think one of the things I have to do is to try to open up the door to the public to say, hey, this is something you can partake in. It’s an enjoyable hobby. It can be an extremely rewarding career if that’s the path you want to go.”

Looking forward, Lusby is also facing challenges unique to the mountain airport. Its 2,500 foot elevation on a hill provides little room for expansion and a two-lane road with a hair-pin turn is the only connection to the rest of Placerville.

Still, Lusby sees potential for an airport that has been described as “an old person’s airport.”

“My biggest thing with this airport that I want to bring in is an environment that is fun, inviting, exciting. It’s just the atmosphere that we need,” he said. “I think the trend is moving into having a much better, more exciting, fun airport here.”