Friday, March 30, 2001

Story and photos by Richelle Turner Collins, Würzburg Bureau

Workers put the finishing touches on the new radio room in the Illesheim Airfield tower.

ILLESHEIM, Germany — Robert Rodriguez has been so busy working on Illesheim Airfield’s renovation project the past two years that he hasn’t had time to take a vacation or recline in his favorite chair.

Rodriguez, a former Army helicopter pilot, now runs the airfield on Storck Barracks that houses the AH-64 Apache helicopters. The civilian employee made it his mission to revamp the crumbling, 40-year-old airfield.

Two years and $2.2 million later, the Illesheim military community will dedicate the U.S. Army Europe’s most sophisticated heliport Friday.

"It’s outstanding," said Rodriguez, of the new airfield.

The first project was revamping the old airfield tower.

When Rodriguez first arrived in 1998, he visited the tower, which was not enclosed. Visitors had to brave the elements as they climbed the stairs to reach the area where the air traffic controllers worked.

"I had ice on my moustache before I got there," Rodriguez joked.

Now the tower is enclosed — office space, central heating, air conditioning and a new radio room have been added. The project cost $538,000.

The runway also got a $1.2 million facelift.

The old airfield was closed in the late 1980s and early ’90s because it fell victim to potholes and deterioration. Aviation units took off and landed at the nearby heliport.

The new tower at Illesheim meets the latest Federal Aviation Administration standards and regulations.

A revamped airfield means there is more space for the choppers to take off and land, and state-of-the-art lighting was installed that will make it easier and safer for Apaches to land.

A new structure was also constructed to house its new radar facility, which will enable helicopters to land during inclement weather. Previously, pilots had to fly to Giebelstadt or Katterbach. The renovated radar facility cost $325,000.

The airfield also has new fiber-optic cables and a high-tech aircraft refueling facility that is computer-operated.

"The improvements to the airfield have made this a much safer environment for our pilots to fly in," said Col. Rick Rife, commander of the 11th Aviation Regiment based in Illesheim. "We now have sophisticated equipment that allows our pilots to come in and land under instrumental control."

Pilots can land in all kinds of weather conditions, Rife added.

"You really have a premier airfield here," said Rife, who took to the air to test the new airfield.

On Thursday, work crews were putting on the finishing touches. They put together parts in the radio room, cleaned up debris outside the tower and workers were making sure the control tower worked smoothly.

Most of the pilots, crew chiefs and support personnel were busy preparing for the upcoming Warfighter exercise in Grafenwöhr, Germany.

But Rodriguez was busy making sure everything was perfect. After Friday’s ceremony, he can finally sit in his Queen Anne-style chair and perhaps take his family on a holiday.

"I’ve been very busy," Rodriguez said as he was leaving his office to visit the airfield tower. "I couldn’t have done all of this without the great crew I have here and the great command structure. It’s been tiring, but I would do it again."

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