The Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport in Martinsburg has a new manager.
Neil Doran has been in the aviation business for ten years and now is ready to bring his expertise to Martinsburg.
Officials say it’s the longest, strongest, and the widest runway in the state of West Virginia.
Wing commander of the 167 airlift wing in Martinsburg, Colonel Shaun Perkowski, said, “When the C-5’s came here back in the mid-2000’s, we lengthened the runway, we flattened the runway, and we also provided new striping for the runway.”
The airport, in cooperation with the West Virginia Air National Guard just completed its newest project-updating the painted markings on the runway.
The main reason these arrows are here is to let the airplanes in the sky know where they can begin to touch down.
“We conduct a runway inspection everyday that we fly airplanes and are operational,” said Perkowski.
Although it may seem like a small project, keeping the marking on the runway up to date is vital to airfield safety.
Executive Director and airport manager, Neil Doran, said, “When you have a light colored asphalt that’s faded or you have a concrete that’s light in color, the contrast between the paint and the pavement can be lost over time.”
It’s having responsibilities like this that the new airport manager, Neil Doran is looking forward to overseeing.
“I’ve had a lot of jobs in the aviation industry and I felt like airport management appealed to me the most. So I’m happy to be doing it, I’m happy to be doing it here,” said Doran.
Doran said he is looking forward to using the unique topography of the airport’s location to bring the facility to new levels, and enhancing visibility for pilots is just the beginning.
“Stay tuned, we hope to have good things to report,” said Doran.
Doran said the airport is hoping to refresh the website and have a stronger social media presence within the community.