Airport of the Month - Project Spotlight

A small investment can result in a big improvement. In 2020, a simple project at the Fergus Falls Municipal Airport added considerably to airport safety by relocating a taxiway.

Coincidentally, this was the oldest pavement on the airport and very much needed of replacement making the project very cost effective, a good two for one deal.

In simple terms, the taxiway was too close to Runway 17/35. FAA language is more complicated, but the result was the same. Advisory Circular 150/5300-13A defines the Runway Object Free Area (OFA) as being provided to "enhance the safety of aircraft operations by being free of objects." The taxiway in question was clearly within the OFA for Runway 17/35 so it was replaced by new pavement at a better location.

Aerial application is one of the major activities at Fergus Falls. Both the old and new taxiways connected the operations area used by the sprayers to the rest of the taxiway system and hence to the runways.

Although relatively short, this was a busy piece of asphalt during the growing season. The agricultural operator's area was part of the original airport which was once the domain of Gustav Imm.

Imm arrived in Fergus Falls in 1927 long before there were Object Free Areas or even the FAA. He owned a Waco dealership and was flying from a field near Murdock, Minnesota.

Imm wanted a bigger market for his flying service and rented a field four miles south of Fergus Falls. It proved too small for his purpose, but some locals had been trying unsuccessfully to get started in the aviation business at the site of the current municipal airport. Gus rented the place. In 1930, he built a hangar from which he operated a barnstorming business called the "North West Air Tour."

That fall a severe ice storm caused a lot of damage in North Dakota and Northwestern Minnesota. It was a disaster for many, but an opportunity for Imm to expand his business.

Fergus Falls is the home of Otter Tail Power Co. Some of its facilities were damaged by the storm and they hired Imm to fly a company engineer to inspect the high lines. This led to a regular contract for Imm and a chance to pioneer a new use for airplanes. The power company paid by the mile. After flying a route, an engineer would get out a map to measure the distance Imm had flown to certify his bill. Today, line inspection is done mostly by drones, but airplanes and later helicopters with real pilots did the work for many years using methods developed by Imm.

In 1937, Imm moved to St. Paul then later to California, where he flew tow planes at an Army training school for glider pilots during World War II. Gustov Imm was a 1990 inductee of the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame.

In the 21st century, the airport Imm started is a first-class facility. Runway 13/31 is 5,500 feet long with an ILS and approach lighting system. Runway 17/35 is 3,300 feet long and is now free of "objects." There's a big aircraft parking apron. A nice arrival/departure building also houses a full service FBO. Both jet fuel and Avgas are available 24/7 and a variety of ground transportation options are available including rental cars.