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So what made Site H the top contender for a new UNC-led airport in that consultant's study three years ago?

We got a copy of the 2005 T&B study this week. It helped me understand what many residents have been telling us since we began reporting about the airport authority recently.

The consultants assigned points in 11 categories. They included distance from UNC Hospitals and the nearest airport, zoning, social and environmental impacts, and room for expansion, among other criteria. The maximum possible score was 78.

Site H, in White Cross, scored 60. The study said it was 11 miles west of UNC, just outside the 30 minute travel time from Burlington-Alamance Regional Airport, 15 minutes from UNC Hospitals and had room for an expanded runway and terminal in the future.

(The study also said its zoning would allow an airport with a special use permit -- we'll have to call county Planning Director Craig Benedict back again Monday. In interviewing him for our story tomorrow, he told me some of the rules have changed since a failed 1982 airport project and that he and the county attorney are now researching what existing zoning categories an airport might be able to fit into)

The next highest-scoring sites were an upgraded Horace Williams Airport with 57 points (UNC says keeping Horace Williams is not an option with Carollina North), followed by Site 9, near Site H, with 53 points.

But the top scorer? Raleigh-Durham International Airport with 68 points.

We asked to speak with Chancellor Holden Thorp this week about the airport issue. He was out of town and unavailable, a spokesman said. We'll try again next week.