Prescott gets Radar!

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Being a ERAU prescott grad, there was always talk of getting radar at PRC. Well it is going to happen.

The following is what I just read:

Prescott (AZ) Love Field To Get Major Upgrades
It has taken a while, but Ernest A. Love Field (PRC) will be getting
major
upgrades soon. Radar, long a dream of both pilots and ATC, will be
installed, largely at the request of the Prescott City Council and
Embry-Riddle, which has a school there.
In addition, the 7,600 foot runway may be stretched to 9,500 feet; and
the
52-year-old terminal may be refurbished, as well. Federal grants of
collected tax money will fund most of the project. The radar, expected
to be
fully operational in 2002, will cost the city about $100,000.
Prescott handles about 350,000 operations a year, putting it at number
32 in
the nation. When GA-only operations are counted, it ranks #8, the only
airport in the Top 10 that does not yet have radar... For the WHOLE
story,
http://www.aero-news.net

[Doug Taylor]

Whew, about time!

The airspace around PRC used to be an alert area many years ago because of the high amount of training taking place.



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D o u g T a y l o r
J e t C a r e e r s

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Ok here's the problem tho with prescott... they will still be a Class D airspace, and the only reason they need radar now is to deal with Instrument approaches (similulated and real) and IFR flight plans... but since they still wont have radar seperation, this new radar is worthless. All that will happen is that you will have alot more looking in one general direction when ATC tells you you have traffic at 1 oclock and 3 miles, where before you'd be looking all over for traffic, less likely to hit the traffic that wasnt reported. (more midairs around SDL (scottsdale) airport than in PRC... and PRC has 2.5 times the operations per year, while scottsdale has the EXACT same type of radar sharing as PRC will)

The real hope is that in the next 5 years or so (once they have the new terminal built and expand 21L to 9500 and expand 21R to 6500x125) the FAA will have worked the kinks out of ADS-B in Alaska, and implement down here in AZ.