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During calendar year 1981, 254,559 instrument operations were recorded at the Minneapolis -St. Paul International Airport. An additional 84,204 instrument operations were recorded at the other airports, and as overflights, within the Minneapolis Approach Control airspace, for a total of 338,763 instrument operations. Any one of the effects, when considered on an individual basis, could be accommodated with minimal adverse effect. However, when the large volume of IFR flights is considered, the accumulation of all IFR accommodations required to provide safe flight would have a substantial adverse effect on IFR operations, procedures, and minimum flight altitudes. Study for Visual Flight Rules (VFR) effect disclosed that the proposal would be beyond all known airport traffic pattern airspace areas. However, at 990' above ground level, the proposed structure would penetrate altitudes considered to be available for VFR enroute operations. The proposed site is located approximately 6,000' south of Highway 55, a major highway to the northwest of Minneapolis, and approximately 5,800' south of the Soo Line Railroad. Both the highway and railroad provide routes which can be utilized as visual reference landmarks available to pilots for navigation by pilotage. Another factor which influences the concentration of aircraft in the vicinity of the proposal is the Minneapolis Terminal Control Area (TCA). The proposal would be located beneath the TCA in an area where the TCA floor is at 4,000' AMSL. The Minneapolis -St. Paul area has several airports which generate a large volume of VFR air traffic. A survey of airports within a 30 nautical mile radius of the proposal disclosed more than 2,000 based aircraft, with 897 aircraft based at the two nearest airports, Flying Cloud and Crystal. The proposed site is located within two statute miles of direct transition routes between several area airports. Some of the direct routes involved are between the following locations: Airlake Industrial Park - Riverbend Aero Airports; Le Sueur - Gateway North Airports; Belle Plaine - Gateway North Airports; Sons Private Commercial Airport - Gopher VORTAC; Minneapolis -St. Paul International - Buffalo and Maple Lake Airports. Several flight training schools operate out of Crystal and Flying Cloud Airports utilizing the area around the proposal as a flight practice training area, adding to the congestion of the enroute traffic. The FAA conducted two traffic surveys to determine factual traffic flows in the vicinity of the proposed site. Daily weather reports were obtained for Crystal and Minneapolis -St. Paul International Airports for correlation with the survey 'results. One of the surveys was conducted to determine: 1) the volume of VFR flight plans filed by pilots who identified a route which would utilize Highway 55 or the railroad near the proposal; 2) inter -airport traffic that could pass within 5 miles of the proposal; 3) any traffic identified as circum- navigating the TCA by under -flying the 80/40 portion of the TCA. This survey Page 6 of 8 Pages Aeronautical Study No. 81-AGL-1556-OE