Undated photo showing San Diego International Airport in America's Finest City.

Today marks the San Diego International Airport’s 83^rd anniversary.  In honor of the occasion, here are some interesting facts:

• The airport was dedicated on August 16, 1928, as Lindbergh Field, to honor famed aviator Charles Lindbergh.
• Another famous aviator, Amelia Earhart, participated in the grand dedication ceremony.
• San Diego’s then-mayor declared the Dedication Day a public holiday and urged businesses to close midday to witness the celebration.
• 222 military planes soared over Lindbergh Field as part of the festivities.

Interested in more SDIA history?  Check out this historic timeline on our web page.

“One final beam. One bright future.” That was the memorable slogan on a large banner hanging over the final steel beam for The Green Build Terminal 2 expansion at San Diego International Airport yesterday, before it was lifted into place at a “Topping Out” ceremony attended by over 200 Airport Authority staff, construction workers, elected officials, community leaders and media.

There are several ways to get a taste of yesterday’s excitement if you didn’t happen to be there:

• Check out more pictures from the ceremony, including shots of the beam being lifted into place by a giant crane, at this photo album on the airport’s Facebook page.
• If you’re more the Flickr type, see some shots at the airport’s Flickr page.
• If you follow the airport on Twitter, you can see some of the first pictures posted from the event at the airport’s Twitter feed.
• Read about yesterday’s ceremony in this story from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
• Learn even more about the Topping Out ceremony and its significance for The Green Build in this news release issued by the Airport Authority.

In honor of Earth Day 2011 (April 22), SDIA today launched an online counter that tracks the number of California Least Tern nests in the airport’s protected Least Tern habitat. Visit the counter at:

SDIA Least Tern Nest Counter

The California Least Tern is a federally listed endangered seabird species that nests in protected areas on the airfield. The Airport Authority works cooperatively with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Port of San Diego, the San Diego Zoological Society’s Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species and the U.S. Navy to protect the Least Tern and its habitat areas around San Diego Bay.

The Least Tern nesting season at SDIA runs from approximately April to September each year. At launch, the online counter reads “0” – as no nests have been reported at SDIA yet this season. But the counter will be updated on a weekly basis as nest counts at SDIA are recorded through the season.

The Green Build is well under way at San Diego International Airport!  I snapped this picture today that shows the construction site – and you can tell that the terminal expansion is certainly coming along. So exciting! Did you know that, in all, 5,000 tons of steel will go up to provide the structural framework for the terminal expansion?

And all the steel used in the construction comes from the United States, in support of the national economy. It starts out in the Midwest and is shaped in Arizona before coming to us in San Diego. It’s great to see The Green Build generating jobs for the regional economy … as well as pumping up an important national industry!

Have you checked out SDIA on Flickr yet? There are lots of cool photos there, including shots like this of the San Diego Children’s Choir performing for passengers on December 23.

To get to SDIA on Flickr, just go here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandiegointernationalairport

If you are a local small business in the construction industry and motivated to learn, there may be work for you at the San Diego International Airport.

JJ Hawes Inc., a small general contracting firm with 11 employees, can attest to that. Owner Jess Hawes registered with The Green Build in 2009. He took advantage of programs offered by the Airport Authority’s Small Business Development team and attended the Turner School of Construction Management (TSCM). Both programs are intended to help small businesses grow their business capacities.

A two-month course hosted at the Airport Authority, TSCM helps prepare small and emerging local businesses to take on larger jobs.  The courses are taught mainly by Turner’s senior management. It also includes an introduction to the programs offered by Small Business Development to help small and disadvantaged local businesses gain work at the airport. Finally, it provides a unique opportunity to network with other local contractors.

Jess says the course “created a new life experience.” He worked diligently to learn the ins and outs of working with the airport and successfully bid as a subcontractor to Turner/PCL/Flatiron Joint Venture, the contracting team for The Green Build. The bid package was part of  Contract 1, which includes 10 new gates at Terminal 2 West, expanded dining and shopping options, and other terminal and airfield improvements.

Jess’ job was to remove, intact, several large pieces of glass on the west end of Terminal 2 West and install temporary partitions. To avoid any impact to SDIA passengers, work was conducted from 10 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. Jess also had to remove one of the airport’s largest art pieces, Sunlight Juxtaposed, a giant glass mosaic by Joan Irving. The art has been safely stored away and will return in 2013. Right now, if you head up the escalator to the TSA security lanes at the west end of Terminal 2 West, you’ll barely notice the huge partition now in place in the west wall.

Contract 1’s Project Director, Dan McGuckin, and Security Director, Scott MacDonald, both say Jess was a great team player, “working conscientiously and going the extra step.”  He ensured that not just the art was kept safe, but that his crew went home safely at the end of each shift.

Jess plans to bid on more work – and both Turner/PCL/Flatiron and the Airport Authority hope he does!

To get a closer look at Jess’ work, check out the cool time-lapse video above.

The Big Belly solar-powered trash compactor ... curbside in front of Terminal One at San Diego International Airport.

It’s April again and you know what that means….Earth Month!  It’s time to celebrate what we do here at the airport to be environmentally friendly – and to give some thought to what else we can do.

And guess what?  For the seventh time in the last eight years, the Airport Authority has been awarded a Recycler of the Year award from the City of San Diego.  Here are some of the things we’re doing that helped us earn the award for the fourth year in a row:

• In 2009, the Airport Authority acquired the Big Belly Solar-Powered Trash and Recycling Compactor that uses renewable energy to turn public spaces into clean, eco-friendly zones.

• In July of 2009, the Airport Authority partnered with HMS Host and the City of San Diego Environmental Services Department in an effort to recycle coffee grounds from airport concessions, including Starbucks and McDonald’s. The coffee grounds are transported to the City of San Diego’s Miramar Greenery.  During the first six months of the program, we recycled over 35,000 pounds of coffee grounds!

• The Quarterly E-waste Collection Events held by our Environmental Affairs Department have seen lots of success.  During 2009, approximately 15,500 pounds of e-waste was collected!

Sunday, April 18 is when San Diego celebrates the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day with Earth Fair in Balboa Park, the largest Earth Day celebration in the nation. Earth Day itself falls on Thursday, April 22.

But it’s the simple gestures, repeated every day by all of us, that make a significant impact collectively.  Together, we contribute to preserving the planet and its riches for future generations!

Many thanks to Mayra in Environmental Affairs for her help with this post and her continued commitment to the environment.

Just in time for the Winter Olympics wrapping up in Vancouver, a new Olympic-themed exhibit is now open at San Diego International Airport, sponsored by the San Diego Hall of Champions in Balboa Park and the United State Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA.  See more pictures from the exhibit at http://bit.ly/b3liSs. Or head to the Terminal 2 West baggage claim area and see the exhibit for yourself, right under the Spirit of St. Louis replica.

See how one of the nation’s largest Volunteer Airport Ambassador teams helps make life easier for passengers at San Diego International Airport.

Home Treat Alert! The mulitmedia feature above may not be accessible at work. But you can view the Ambassablog at home & check it out there.

A 'worm's eye view' of the Federal Aviation Administration's Airport Traffic Control Tower at San Diego International Airport

Do you ever have one of those days when you just can’t believe what you have to do for your job … or have you ever walked into work, sat at your desk and asked yourself, “Why Me?” Well, there isn’t enough room in this post to describe what my job duties were one day a few months ago; I had to take pictures for proof, as you can see:

I knew that lead-in would reel you all in!

I recently had the chance to visit the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airport Traffic Control Tower at San Diego International Airport. You know – the tower you can see on the other side of the runway from the terminals.

I went over to collect information for a project I’m working on and was offered the opportunity to go out on the tower’s catwalk … and – voilà! – this Ambassablog post was born. Do I know when to latch onto a great opportunity when I’m presented with one, or what? While taking pictures, I learned all kinds of interesting tidbits of information from the air traffic controllers.

This stuff just doesn’t happen every day … well, not for me anyway! I’d like to thank the air traffic controllers that work in the tower – they play such an important role in running an airport.

And, since I like to have an “educational” spin to my posts, I’m including this link of way cool stuff for those of you who are curious about what they do up there in that bubble at the top of the world.

I hope you all enjoy the view as much as I did. It always amazes me what a beautiful city we live in. And, Mom, the picture with the flag, below, is for you. Don’t worry – my feet were planted squarely on the ground for that shot!

SDIA Airport Traffic Control Tower

Filed under: Airport Employees, Aviation education, Aviation Industry, DENNISE (Information Technology Department), Get to Know Your Airport, Slideshows ]]> http://goodwillambassablog.wordpress.com/2010/02/02/top-of-the-tower/feed/ 2 Steve Worms eye view FAA Seal dennise Tower