Houston Executive Airport, a conversion of the former Air Rice Airport near Katy, Texas, on Houston’s west side, to a business aviation facility, is up and running. According to its developers, the prior-permission requirement has come down, the airport is open to the public 24/7 and the FBO is in service, albeit from temporary facilities while the executive terminal is under construction. The initial 4,500-foot-long VFR runway, currently limited to aircraft weighing 50,000 pounds, includes pilot-controlled lighting. GPS and VOR approaches are scheduled to be in operation by late summer.