A DEPARTURE AT THE AIRPORT.

Byline: Edward Russo The Register-Guard

After rushing around the Eugene Airport for more than a decade, manager Bob Noble is ready to depart for a slower pace of life.

Noble has announced that he will leave his $97,302-a-year job after the city finds his replacement, perhaps in January. He's worked at the 2,500-acre airport for 11 years, the last six as the top administrator.

At 50, he's younger than the usual retirement age. But a comfortable Public Employees Retirement pension amassed during 30 years with the city is a strong motivator. Mainly, though, Nobel said, he wants to take better care of himself by leaving behind the 10-to-12 hour workdays.

"After 30 years of giving the city as much as I can, it's time to take a sabbatical, and get a little rest and a little more discipline around my personal life, like exercise and sleep," he said. "There are days when the busyness and the level of decision making is exhausting."

The airport, a division of the city's Public Works Department, handles about 2,000 commercial airline passengers and more than 100 general aviation flights daily.

The manager is in charge of 27 employees and annual spending of nearly $6 million, plus a building and equipment budget of mainly federal money that ranges from $3 million to $10 million a year.

The manager deals with four airlines that serve the airport, private pilots, aircraft maintenance companies, rental car outfits and other firms, plus state and federal agencies, such as the Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Security Administration.

Unlike most city departments, the airport is self sufficient. The more people who use the airport, the more money it makes. Much of the revenue comes from parking fees, landing charges paid by airlines, and rent from airport tenants.

Noble said he's "too young to sit on the couch" so he will likely get a private sector job. He may return to the University of Oregon to earn a bachelor's degree, which he started in the mid 1970s, but did not finish. Noble said he would study business or public administration.

Noble started with the city's Public Works Department in 1976 as a 20-year-old dump truck driver. He rose through the ranks, moving to the airport in 1995, initially as maintenance manager.

During Noble's time in charge, the airport built a 6,000-foot-long general aviation runway, renovated parts of the passenger terminal, installed navigational aids for foggy weather, and introduced door-to-door airport shuttle service. The airport also developed standards for private plane hangars and taxicabs that serve the airport.

Some Noble decisions weren't popular with general aviation pilots, such as the closing of the runway that intersected the airport's main landing strip. Many small plane pilots liked to use this "crosswind" runway during strong winds from the southwest and west.

But the post September 2001 air travel slowdown presented Noble with his biggest challenge, just four months after he was named permanent airport manager.

The airport lost nearly a third of its flights in the downturn as air carriers scaled back, including United Airlines, which ended its large jet service to Eugene in 2003. But the airport slowly rebounded by adding flights, including Delta Connection, which began service to Salt Lake City in 2004.

Today, the number of passengers using the airport has "bounced back" to pre Sept. 11 levels, Noble said. "We're very fortunate to have strong support from the Eugene-Springfield metro area" travelers, he said.

A six-week nationwide search to find a candidate to replace Noble ended on Nov. 13, with applications from 44 people, said Public Works spokesman Eric Jones. Public Works Director Kurt Corey hopes to interview finalists by mid-December, and make a hire by January, Jones said.

It's an opportune time for the city to find a new airport manager, Noble said. The airport needs a new master plan, including a vision for developing property, perhaps with a hotel, light industry and offices.

Rent from developed property would make the airport less vulnerable to the ups and downs of the air travel industry, Noble said.