By PAUL DELANEY
Staff Reporter 

Behind the scenes of Skyfest prep

Both Fairchild and Spokane International Airport must maintain regular operations

 

Last updated 8/3/2017 at 8:50am



The rigorous security that exists in order to find one’s way inside the gates of Fairchild Air Force Base gets a little makeover during events like last weekend’s Skyfest.

That’s not to say much changes below the surface when the very active military base opens the doors to the public.

“We’ve been preparing for six months, even longer than that to make sure we are ready,” Skyfest coordinator, Maj. Rich Hennies said.

Only certain areas of Fairchild are open during the show, which generally attracts an estimated 200,000 people over the two day run. The base was still analyzing numbers Monday and did not have a final count.

“Other areas, we are still a military base and have to keep those locked down,” Hennies said.

Security details lined the streets on two different entrances to Fairchild, home of the 92nd Air Rewfueling Wing — the main gate most everyone sees, plus access at Graham Road on the base’s western edge.

Preparation for the show is immense and Hennies was quick to point out that personnel are still all over the world on their mission of keeping aircraft in flight with the KC-135 flying gas stations.

“Trying to do this every year would just put too much strain,” on the approximate 3,000 military members on the base.

Fairchild is not the only place that sees its operations change for Skyfest. Neighboring Spokane International Airport (SIA) also has to conduct normal operations, despite the influx of activity just a few miles away at the base.

There is substantial pre-planning that goes into preparing for the airshow, Todd Woodard, director of marketing and public affairs at SIA wrote in an email.

“Here at SIA we focus on keeping the disruptions to a minimum, while at the same time offering Fairchild our full support for this important community event,” Woodard said.

That includes establishment of temporary flight restrictions (TFR). “We work with Spokane Air Traffic Control (ATC) and Fairchild in the planning stages to establish the size, location and times for the TFR.”

Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.

 

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