Hollywood Burbank Airport has started soil testing at the site of a proposed new terminal building. Airport spokeswoman Lucy Burghdorf said testing started after the Burbank-Glendale Pasadena Airport Authority commission on Feb. 6 awarded a $155,000 contract to EFI Global, in Humble, Texas. The authority plans to build a 14-gate, 355,000-square-foot replacement terminal on 49 acres along Hollywood Way north of the existing 14-gate terminal, which was built in 1930. The new terminal would open in 2022 at the earliest. In November, Burbank voters gave their backing to the new terminal at Hollywood Burbank by passing Measure B with 69 percent support. The property selected for the new terminal had once been the site of the Skunk Works facility of Lockheed Martin Corp. and where it performed soil and groundwater remediation work. The soil testing will be used in preparing a human health risk assessment. “We don’t expect to find anything and that is because Lockheed from 1988 to 1996 conducted studies under the guidance the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board,” Burghdorf said. The soil testing and risk assessment reports are expected to be completed by May, she added. While all that work is being done, the airport authority is moving ahead with a plan required by the Federal Aviation Administration depicting the current and future layout of the airport buildings. The authority needs conditional approval of that plan by the FAA for it to be the basis of an environmental study under the National Environmental Policy Act, like one already done for the city of Burbank under the California Environmental Quality Act. The airport layout plan is expected to be completed by September, Burghdorf said. The NEPA assessment can take up to 18 months to finish, she added. To keep the public involved, the airport later this summer and into the fall will host six workshops to take input on what it thinks should be included in the replacement terminal and take a role in designing it, Burghdorf said. One example of a feature to be debated is whether to have passenger boarding bridges connecting the terminal to the jets outside. The current terminal does not use the bridges, also known as jetways, but instead has stairs that passengers use to board the planes. “People love walking up and down the stairs at the back and front (of aircraft),” Burghdorf said. “There are other people saying I don’t want to get wet when it rains, I don’t want to climb steps anymore. Some people are advocating for jet bridges as you see in most airports in the country.” Navigating Change Award David McBride, director of the NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center, received the Navigating Change Award from the Antelope Valley Board of Trade at its annual Business Outlook Conference on Feb. 24. McBride won the award for overseeing atmospheric flight research to support NASA studies. “Through his leadership, our community has continued to receive economic benefits and global exposure for companies in the Antelope Valley,” said Kelly Hanley, president of the Board of Trade, in introducing McBride to the crowd of more than 500 attendees. McBride said that he accepted the award on behalf of the great people doing great work at the flight research center that celebrated its 70th anniversary in September. “I get to talk with communities all over the world and I’m proud of the work we do here in Antelope Valley,” McBride said. NASA Armstrong is based at Edwards Air Force and leases hangar space in Palmdale for its five environmental and space science aircraft. The Board of Trade has been giving the Navigating Change award since 2011. Prior recipients include real estate developer Scott Ehrlich, aviation pioneer Burt Rutan and former general manager of the Mojave Air & Space Port Stuart Witt. Digital Test Flight Northrop Grumman Corp. flew its first test flight with a helicopter using a digital cockpit developed at the company’s facility in Woodland Hills. The integrated avionics for the UH-60V Black Hawk helicopter upgrades older analog gauges with digital electronic instrument displays. The debut flight occurred on Jan. 19 in Huntsville, Ala. Northrop partnered with the prime contractor Redstone Defense Systems, a joint venture between Yulista Aviation Inc. and Science and Engineering Services Inc., in Columbia, Md., and the U.S. Army Prototype Integration Facility on the upgrades. Ike Song, vice president of mission solutions at Northrop Grumman, said accomplishing the first flight of the UH-60V reaffirms the open, safe and secure cockpit systems that will enable the most advanced capabilities for warfighters. “We remain committed to delivering an affordable, low-risk solution that provides long-term value and flexibility to customers,” Song said in a prepared statement. Staff Reporter Mark R. Madler can be reached at (818) 316-3126 or [email protected].