Del. Airpark receives 5-million dollar boost

A project, now eleven years in the making, is one step closer to completion. Upgrades to the Delaware Airpark received a grant worth $5,813,539 on Wednesday.

We’re told the grant will go towards the second to last step of a 13-phase project to ensure the park meets FAA guidelines. One major structural upgrade includes building a new runway stretching 75 feet wide and about 4,200 feet long.

According to First Officer Dave Harding, a pilot with UPS Airlines, the park originally built for private ownership and smaller planes.

“The airport was much smaller, difficult to find from the air and posed several challenges to land.” Explains First Officer Harding.

Lori Pagnanelli is a manager at the Harrisburg ADO. Her office manages airport improvement program funds for New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Pagnanelli says the Delaware Airpark is safe but the funds help the park prepare for any future opportunities.

“What we’re doing right now is we’re just looking at trying to have whatever type of planes we’re going to be using and try to accommodate accordingly.” Says Pagnanelli.

First officer Harding tells 47 ABC the expansion will not only aid the park but also help young professional pilot students currently enrolled at Delaware State University’s (DSU) aviation program.

According to DSU public information officer Carlos Holmes, the school’s aviation program is the primary user of Delaware Airpark.

Harding gradated from DSU’s aviation program himself and says it opened a world of opportunities for him.

“I’m a young man who came down from New York City to Delaware…the main thing I knew was that Delaware, there’s no sales tax, other than that it’s a big mystery.” He says. “Through these doors, I was move on and fly to five of the seven continents with the military and also UPS.”

Authorities say as of right now, there are no plans to bring commercial flights to the airpark.

The project is expected to be completed by 2017, according to Pagnanelli.