Airport’s Room With a View : Burbank: The new $5-million tower provides updated computer equipment, a larger work space and improved visibility.
A staff of more than 20 air traffic controllers on Wednesday began moving into a new $5-million tower at Burbank Airport that replaces an aging facility sitting atop the main terminal building.
The new tower is expected to be operational today.
Federal Aviation Administration officials have long wanted to establish a new control tower location at Burbank, saying the old tower did not offer optimum visibility and was too close to the east-west runway.
The new tower is 700 feet from the runway, about 200 feet farther away than the old facility. It will give controllers a more complete view of the airport property, FAA officials said.
“We want to be able to see every inch of concrete where an airplane can be,” said FAA spokesman Fred O’Donnell. “With the expansion of the airport and the level of activity, the visibility just wasn’t what we wanted.”
Sidney Allen, FAA air traffic manager for Burbank, said the 94-foot-high facility is 40 feet higher than the old tower and will provide a more commanding view of the airport and its surroundings.
“Our sighting will be greatly enhanced in this building,” Allen said. “Before, some of the nearby buildings such as the Burbank Hilton Towers obscured our view. Now we can see the whole Valley from here. “
The existing tower and terminal will eventually be torn down to make way for a new terminal that is farther from the runway, but that project has no specific timetable, officials said.
The new facility will also provide the 23 controllers with updated computer equipment to track airplanes, a larger work space and a safer environment.
“Before, everything was crammed into this old building,” Allen said. “It was just very difficult moving around. Also, the place was too old. Whenever there was an earthquake, glass would crack or pop out. We really needed a new area.”
A new computerized system will enable controllers to better communicate with pilots, while other equipment will more accurately gauge the height of clouds during bad weather, Allen said.
The new tower will also have a conference room and individual offices for administrators, he said.
“This is a significant step forward as far as Burbank Airport is concerned,” Allen said.
The older terminal and tower, first built about 60 years ago and rebuilt after a terminal building fire in 1966, may be used for administrative offices or for a new communications center, said airport spokesperson Elly Mixsell.
“There’s a variety of uses that space could be put to, but we really have not decided yet,” Mixsell said.
