Peace and quiet!

[PiperGirl]

And what's even better, when you fly in and out of Chicago, mayor Daley's name is ALL OVER the airport, showing what a supporter of aviation he is and blah blah blah. Rumor has it that his house was on the final approach course to Meigs, and that was part of why he hated the airport so much. I never had the chance to land there, but it was   on the top of my "fly to" list. It was a sweet little airport.

[Stef]

hehe, so I see we really hit an emotional topic here. Somehow I get the feeling that the "other side" is a bit underrepresented here. I wonder why that is?   

Great Strip.  But would have been better if the people in the last frame were the same ones in every frame completely oblivious that they caused them selves the problems by getting rid of the airport with the "noisy planes".

Actually you're right! But on the other hand, the strip as it is now, shows that a lot of complete innocent people can be inconvenienced by the acts of a few fanatics... Ah, well, I admit, I'm just too lazy to draw the strip a second time!   

[Rooster Cruiser]

And what's even better, when you fly in and out of Chicago, mayor Daley's name is ALL OVER the airport, showing what a supporter of aviation he is and blah blah blah. Rumor has it that his house was on the final approach course to Meigs, and that was part of why he hated the airport so much. I never had the chance to land there, but it was   on the top of my "fly to" list. It was a sweet little airport.

I flew in there twice on business.  Talk about a sweet setup!  Within walking distance of Soldier Field (Bears Football Stadium), the Shedd Aquarium, and the Museum of Science and Industry.  Not to mention being right next to all the hotels and businesses of Downtown Chicago.  You didn't have to sweat all the congested freeways to get downtown to do your business.  Nowadays everyone has to land at either Midway or DuPage... both of which are a long drive away.

Yes Stef, you hit a nerve here.  Thanks for doing so.  I've emailed your strip to as many non-pilots as I could think of on my buddy lists so I won't be accused of preaching to the choir.

[Gulfstream Driver]

I was lucky enough to get in and out of Meigs before it was closed.  You could tell it was the bastard child of the Chicago airport system.  There was grass growing in the cracks on the ramp and the runway was kind of rough.  But, the FBO was nice.  

I fear for the Palm Springs airport as well.  I flew over that one a couple of years ago, and it appeared that the residential areas were built up right to the airport fence, and the thresholds on both runways were displaced about 1000 ft on either end.  

I know there are people here in Baudette that would just as soon see the airport sold for residential property.  Luckily, our airport board is made up of people that are starting to see the potential behind the airport, or at the very least see the value of keeping us as the first impression of Baudette.

[chuckar101]

Love the strip guys.  We've been having the same problem in Livermore.  We have a few more corporate jets coming in since its easier then most of the bay area airports.  There is a VOLUNTARY night curfew.  But we have this crazy lady that thinks its mandatory.  Had a couple of instructors take up their students for their night flights(didn't get dark till nine oclock) and when they got back this lady was standing by the fence taking pictures of the students and instructors along with the plane.  Just my little stoy on the subject.  Now back to work.

[AirScorp]

Again from one-six-right.. Sorry bout that but they were right about one thing:

Get the public on your side.. People tend to forget what an airport stands for when all they hear is the noise (and what a beautiful noise it is to us  )
Income, jobs, commerce, transportation.. hell, even recreation!! They need to be reminded!

You could even have this strip hung on every wall with a message like "Help us save OUR airport".. It's worth the fight even if it's lost none the less in the end.

And three things that come in mind right from here, Greece:

-The mayor of a nearby city wants to build a terminal in an airforce base.. In his campaign to win the public's approval he uses the same points I made earlier.
-A couple of pilot friends (sports aircraft/ULMs) fight right now fight to build a small strip in Patra's university right next to a hospital. Talk about noise sensitive area!!! The hospital itself gave the ok since we could be helpful in the event of transporting organs (even though that job is already catered by military helicopters).. Now we are trying to convince the Dean of the university to give the final go..
-GA pilots in Greece are trying to change the tide against them using fire alertness as a tool. And it's working! Right now many Greek air clubs are sponsored by the state to patrol the forests during fire season.

My 2 cents anyway 

[undatc]

One Six Right is an amazing film that if you haven't seen, you need to.  Even for those people that have little knowledge of aviation, it will open their eyes as to how much it actually affects and effects a community.

http://www.onesixright.com/

As for me, I saw this over the Summer in my Airport Management Class and ended up doing a fairly lengthy project on how to run an airport regarding the implementation of noise abatement procedures.  In all reality the airport, which is usually held liable for noise complaints, can be characterized as the whipping boy when it comes to noise as they cannot control when aircraft come and go, and have little say in what type of aircraft can use their field.

In many cases its a damned if you do, damned if you don't game that airports have to play.

[Mike]

Thanks for the kudos guys!

Like I wrote in my blog, this subject has effected me my whole pilot career so far.

Let's hope the strips somehow floats into the right hands and causes more "controversy" . . . 

[Rooster Cruiser]

One Six Right is an amazing film that if you haven't seen, you need to.  Even for those people that have little knowledge of aviation, it will open their eyes as to how much it actually affects and effects a community.

I stopped in at a pilot shop at SNA yesterday before I picked up my airplane from the shop.  In addition to the usual VFR charts and a recent copy of the FAR/AIM, I went ahead and purchased One Six Right.  What a show!  It was a good reminder to me of why I started flying in the first place.

I first flew into VNY about 35 years ago as a passenger when my dad bought his first airplane.  I remember the East/West runway (not mentioned but visible in the old photos), and I also remember the Air National Guard base on the northwest side.  Both are gone now.  I first started flying lessons back in 1985 at Hawthorne airport, and Van Nuys was an occasional destination for years up until this day.  I'll never forget hearing VNY Tower on the radio, "Continue downwind 16R, follow the Tomahawk ahead of you 1/2 mile, you are #13 for landing."

Sad to say that those days are gone now.  The place has become very corporatized.  Sure, you can still bring your kids down to the fence to gawp at the pretty airplanes, but today the price of admission through that fence has become so high that no one does it just for a lark anymore.  Most of the kids I have seen in the past peering through the fence would be chased away by security today.

An unintended consequence has been the aging of the pilot population in the USA.  You can see this very clearly in the movie, where only two of the pilots interviewed were under the age of 30 (both were good looking female Helo pilots  ).  I recently read somewhere that the median age for a pilot in the USA is now 39 years and climbing.  No wonder the airlines are bitching about a shortage of pilots.  How will we keep aviation alive if it becomes such an exclusive club that we can't let in that wide-eyed kid through the gates or the fence to ask us a few questions about what we love?

[FlyboyGil]

  How will we keep aviation alive if it becomes such an exclusive club that we can't let in that wide-eyed kid through the gates or the fence to ask us a few questions about what we love?

HEAR!! HEAR!! Thunderous Applause, standing ovation!!   The future of aviation is in the younger generation!! Here in Sarnia our standard left downwind of runway 23 was changed to a right downwind because a retirement trailer park was off the left side of the runway. Now Right Downwind puts us over a part of the city by the lake. Our planes are hardly noisey. They complained about the noise, which is funny cause other than airshows once every 2 years, the biggest and noisiest planes to come in and out of Sarnia are nothing more than Dash 8's , and they don't even use runway 23! Whats going to happen in the future? Civilization is slowly creeping in around the airport.

[AirScorp]

Then I'd better find a way to come work and fly in the US before even that last paradise of aviation is totally ruined.
It's my dream after all! It's just I'm totally clueless about visas and making enough money.. Guess I'd better get that university degree after all!

[BrianGMFS]

Nice change-up on the strip, guys!  I imagined maybe the packages were being mishandled by our favorite inept aviator, and reeled at the thought of Billy's kidney being mistaken for mail-order steak.

My company had a pop up charter last night to fly an Organ Harvest Team from Burlington VT to Albany NY, wait till they were done and then fly back with the Doc's and organs to Burlington.... second time in a month we've had one of those runs.


Brian

[PiperGirl]

  How will we keep aviation alive if it becomes such an exclusive club that we can't let in that wide-eyed kid through the gates or the fence to ask us a few questions about what we love?

A couple of days ago, a mom walked in with her 4 boys, and asked if they could have a demo flight in our school simulators. I didn't have any one available right then, but was able to schedule a time for them. I was super busy in the office, but they looked so excited, so I asked if they wanted to go see a real airplane, and see our airport. I took the around, and showed them the planes and stuff, then let them sit in a 152, and explained how things work a bit. You should have seen the look in their eyes! I didn't think it was that big of an event, but to them, WOW! They were so excited about seeing the plane, getting to sit in it. One of the boys really wanted to be a pilot when he grows up, and another one wants to be an aircraft mechanic. It was a great reminder about how cool aviation really is, and that we can't let it become an exclusive club...

[Fabo]

  How will we keep aviation alive if it becomes such an exclusive club that we can't let in that wide-eyed kid through the gates or the fence to ask us a few questions about what we love?

A couple of days ago, a mom walked in with her 4 boys, and asked if they could have a demo flight in our school simulators. I didn't have any one available right then, but was able to schedule a time for them. I was super busy in the office, but they looked so excited, so I asked if they wanted to go see a real airplane, and see our airport. I took the around, and showed them the planes and stuff, then let them sit in a 152, and explained how things work a bit. You should have seen the look in their eyes! I didn't think it was that big of an event, but to them, WOW! They were so excited about seeing the plane, getting to sit in it. One of the boys really wanted to be a pilot when he grows up, and another one wants to be an aircraft mechanic. It was a great reminder about how cool aviation really is, and that we can't let it become an exclusive club...

Yes yes... some of us geekos go as far as reading checklists in a car (coincidental hitchiker-girl had a big show of us for sure!)... Well after seeing simulated T154 departure cabin workflow in grounded Cessna 172 I was not really surprised

[Jupeli]

I thought I'd bring this topic up as I think I have something to say.
I myself live pretty close to EFTP (Tampere-Pirkkala) airport and Finnish F-18:s, Vinkas and other planes are often flying pretty low there. Of course they make a lot of noise but hey! You get used to it after a while. I just can't understand those morons who buy a house near an airport and next day come to complain about the noise. I mean do people really think it would be peace and quiet near an airport or that they would be somehow privileged? At least the airport was there first! If you ask me, those people should have bought their house somewhere else or just stop complaining and enjoy all the good things aviation is bringing to us.

Just my $0,02...