Tag Archives: politics

Forms for Funding Airports

Posted on by
7

Thoughts on FAA Form 1800-31.

On Saturday, I received FAA form 1800-31 in the mail. Titled “Airport Activity Survey (by Selected Air Carriers),” it’s headed up with the following description as part of its Paperwork Reduction Act notice:

Submission of this form is voluntary. The purpose of this collection is to capture passenger enplanement data to be used to allocate Federal funds to eligble airports. The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour and 30 minutes per response.

The form requests me to enter the names, states, airports, and airport identifiers for all airports where I picked up passengers for on demand commercial operations. For each airport listed, I need to provide a count of the passengers I picked up.

To gather this information, I’ll need to go through my aircraft logs for 2007 and look at each flight conducted. If it was a revenue flight, I need to note where I picked up the passengers and how many passengers I picked up. I then need to tally these for each airport and summarize it on the form. Ninety minutes sounds about right for this chore.

Although this task is voluntary — frankly, I don’t think I bothered last year — I’m looking forward to doing it this year. It might be the bean counter in me — once an accountant, always an accountant. But there are two good reasons why it interests me more this year:

  • A line-by-line review of my log books helps me to remember individual flights. I’m in the process of drawing together material for a book about my flight experiences and I’m sure I’ll be reminded of a few flights that are interesting enough to write about.
  • I’m curious to learn which airports I did the most business at last year. I’m pretty damn sure it wasn’t Wickenburg. Hell, I picked up more passengers in Buckeye in one day than I did during a whole year at Wickenburg.

Not Wickenburg? you may ask. How can that be? Aren’t you based there?

Yes, I’m based at Wickenburg. But sadly, very little of my business originates here. The vast majority of my revenue comes from flights out of Deer Valley, Scottsdale, and Sky Harbor, with the big revenue charters originating in places like Page and Yuma. Try as I might to market my services here in Wickenburg, the population simply isn’t interested. I’m probably too costly for most of the fixed income folks who live here, while the folks who don’t worry about money would prefer a pickup from a turbine helicopter based in Scottsdale. (How’s that for ironic?)

I’ve actually gotten to the point where I don’t bother marketing much in Wickenburg anymore. Sure, my original tri-fold brochure is still out there. Why not? I have about 10,000 copies of it left. It emphasized my Wickenburg tours and, when I realized that my market was in the Phoenix area, I had it redesigned to emphasize tours from there. The leftover copies of the original are in my hangar, slowly making their way out into brochure racks around town.

And this year, I pulled the plug on my local Yellow Pages ad.

I’m even in the process of turning off my local phone number, preferring my cell phone for all communications with current and future clients.

Hermosa RanchIt’s odd, in a way. I’m the only aircraft charter operator based in Wickenburg. The town has a very nice little airport that recently got a bunch of funding from the Federal Government that added 1000 feet to its runway. But when finally given the opportunity to set up an office on airport property, I turned it down. I, like many other business owners (or potential business owners) here, have learned that dealing with the Town can be a nightmare of bullshit politics conducted by men who get their kicks controlling this insignificant corner of the world. They have no regard for the future of the airport — a fact they’ve made clear by allowing housing on three of the airport’s four sides, including less than 4000 feet from the approach end of Runway 23. Why would anyone in their right mind put up a building or hangar or anything else at an airport that’s likely to be closed in 10 or 15 years due to residential encroachment and the accompanying complaints? Or, for that matter, sign a land lease agreement that can be cancelled at any time on the whim of the Mayor or a Council member?

So my business languishing, as far as Wickenburg is concerned, but doing quite well everywhere else. And that’s unfortunate for Wickenburg. Not only is the Town losing out on sales tax revenue generated by my scenic tours, but FAA Form 1800-31 will not indicate Wickenburg as one of my major operating airports.

And if the only charter operator based in Wickenburg has more passenger operations at other airports, then how many passenger operations will be recorded for Wickenburg’s final tally? And how will that affect future airport funding?

I’m learning not to care.

2008 Presidential Election: State Your Case

Posted on by
5

Here’s your chance to sound off.

In a previous post, I mentioned how I could not decide between Hillary and Barack. In the same post, I warned hardcore Republicans not to try to turn the comments into a Democrat-bashing party because I’d simply delete off-topic comments. I also promised to give them a chance to state their case.

That’s what this post is about.

What are your thoughts about the candidates? Which do you prefer? Tell us what you think, even if you want to talk about people who are no longer running.

I’ll start the ball rolling with a statement that’s sure to get under a few people’s skin:

I’m voting for a Democrat because I’m tired of seeing religion pushed in our school systems, I don’t think marriage is more important than the current situation in Iraq or the country’s debt, and I’m tired of being lied to by the government.

I’ll add a few more controversial things, just to keep the subject hot:

  • I’m glad Mitt Romney dropped out. He gave me the creeps and I don’t think he was in touch with reality. Besides, with FIVE sons, you think one of them could be in Iraq where people are still dying daily?
  • I liked John Edwards the best, but I guess the haircut really turned a lot of people off. And he really was a bit too angry about big business and lobbyists.
  • I don’t think Huckabee is serious. At least I hope not. But I admit that he was great fun on all the television shows he appeared on.
  • It’s a pity Bloomberg didn’t run. He’d certainly fix up the country’s financial problems.
  • I think Guiliani was a bad joke. He was running on the same platform George W used to get in in 2004: fear. Fortunately, a few of us have woken up since then. And honestly: if the guy was dumb enough to put his terror command center in the only building that was ever attacked, what other idiotic mistakes would he have made on a much grander scale?
  • I like McCain, even though he’s a Republican. If he wasn’t a Republican, I might even vote for him. But, as I said elsewhere, I’m not interested in any Republican in the White House for another four years.

Okay folks, the comments are yours. Just remember three basic rules:

  • No stating “facts” unless they are facts that can be backed up. (You can link to articles.)
  • No nasty comments directed at me or other commenters. If you think we’re stupid, keep it to yourself. Just state your case without getting personal.
  • Remember, what you say here really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. So don’t let the discussion get your blood pressure up. It ain’t worth it.

Have fun.

Hillary vs. Barack

Posted on by
2

A Slate piece makes sense of it all.

I’ll start this piece right now by declaring that I cannot, in good faith, vote to put another Republican in office. But rather than go into a laundry list of why I feel that way, I’ll get on with what I really want to discuss: which Democrat should I vote for?

(And if you feed a desperate need to use this post’s comments to bash all Democrats in favor of Republicans, please don’t waste your time — I will delete such comments. I’ll give you an opportunity soon, in another post, to civilly state your case.)

I’ve been watching the race for president — both sides — pretty closely. And even though it’s down to just two Democrats, I really can’t decide which one I think would make a better president.

And yes, that’s what it all comes down to. It’s not which one I like better. This isn’t supposed to be a popularity contest. It’s more like there are multiple applicants for a job and the American people need to decide which one would do the job better. Sure, you might prefer one of them as a beer drinking buddy, but since drinking beer is not one of the duties of the president, who cares?

I didn’t really do my homework other than to visit GlassBooth.org, which I recommend to anyone interested in seeing how their opinions stack up against the candidates’. I figured I’d wait until some candidates dropped out. After all, in the beginning, we had 10 candidates on each side! My most recent visit to GlassBooth.org tells me that Hillary is slightly ahead of Barack in matching my views (75% vs. 74%) — still too close to call.

But the other day, while flying, I listened to a handful of Slate podcasts. One of them, titled “American Idols: International Edition: Foreign Press Fails to Make Fun of U.S. Election System Shocker!” included a quote that really hit home:

At Germany’s Spiegel, Gabor Steingart lays it out: “Barack Obama is the man of hope. Hillary Clinton is the woman of secret fears. He inspires. She reassures. He is inventive. She is reliable. He seems soft. She’s hard as nails. He’ll win if the sun’s shining. She’ll win if there’s a storm brewing.”

I realized that this is exactly how I feel about the two candidates.

I believe that Hillary has the experience needed to do a good job as President. (White House time as First Lady does count!) I also think that having Bill Clinton around to help is a good thing. And I think it would be a great thing to have a female president. But, at the same time, I worry about her motivations and her ability to get things done facing the rabid (and unearned) hate that Republicans seem to feel for her.

Barack seems to have plenty of charisma, which is certainly a nice thing. And I think it would be great to have a black president. But I worry about his experience and what seems to be softness. Is he too idealistic to handle the reality of getting this country back on its feet? I think the Republicans and their media outlet, Fox News, will make short work of him, forcing him to struggle constantly to maintain his image and get anything done.

Because I’m registered as independent, I couldn’t vote in the Arizona primary. So I allowed my fellow liberals to make the decision for me. That was okay. And whoever turns out to be the final Democratic candidate will also be fine with me. I think either of them would be a good leader.

But it’s interesting that it took the quote of a German journalist to clear my mind about this.

Between Hillary and Barack, which do you think would make a better president and why? Use the Comments link or form to share your thoughts. Just remember to keep it civil.

Defining "Tragedy"

Posted on by
2

More humor from the ‘Net.

Here’s another funny I got from a friend. I don’t know where he got it, but if this belongs to someone who doesn’t want it shared, let me know and I’ll pull it down.

George Bush and Dick Cheney, while visiting a primary school class, found themselves in the middle of a discussion related to words and their meanings.

The teacher asked both men if they would like to lead the discussion of the word “tragedy.” So Mr. Cheney asks the class for an example of a “tragedy.”

One little boy stood up and offered: “If my best friend, who lives on a farm, is playing in the field and a runaway tractor comes along and knocks him dead, that would be a tragedy.”

“No,” said Mr. Cheney, “that would be an accident.”

A little girl raised her hand: “If a school bus carrying 50 children drove over a cliff, killing everyone inside, that would be a tragedy.”

“I’m afraid not,” explained Mr. Bush. “That’s what we would call a great loss.”

The room goes silent. No other children volunteered.

Mr. Bush searched the room. “Isn’t there someone here who can give me an example of a tragedy?”

Finally at the back of the room little Johnny raises his hand. In a stern voice he says, “If a plane carrying the President and Vice President of the United States were struck by a missile and blown to smithereens that would be a tragedy.”

“Fantastic!” exclaimed both men nearly in unison. Mr. Cheney continued “That’s right. And can you tell me why that would be a tragedy?”

“Well,” says little Johnny, “because it sure as hell wouldn’t be a great loss, and it probably wouldn’t be an accident either.”

Noise

Posted on by
8

When will they learn? If they live near an airport, they’re going to hear aircraft noise.

Yesterday, while wandering Las Vegas Boulevard with my husband, taking in the outrageous sights of the mega-casinos with my husband, I got a phone call from the guy I sold my FBO business to. He’s still there and apparently only calls me when he has something to annoy me about.

Yesterday was noise. “A guy called and said you flew over his house three times yesterday.”

I explained patiently that that was not possible. I’d left Wickenburg at 7 AM that day and hadn’t been back.

The conversation didn’t take long to turn ugly. Apparently the complainer didn’t think it was important to provide his name and phone number or even the location of his house. Perhaps he thinks I shouldn’t overfly any house anywhere in the world. I told the FBO guy that it obviously wasn’t me and that I wasn’t about to take the rap for every helicopter pilot in Arizona who happened to fly near some unidentified guy’s house in Wickenburg. I told him that it wasn’t his problem — he ran the fuel concession and had no other management responsibilities at the airport — and that he should have the complainer call me directly.

But that wasn’t enough for the FBO guy. He started recycling earlier parts of the same conversation. He said he might have to take it to the Town — clearly some kind of threat in his mind. I told him to go ahead. I told him that I was following FAA regulations regarding minimum flight altitudes. I added that as a business owner, it wasn’t in my best interest to annoy the public. This guy obviously had some kind of axe to grind and he was attempting to grind it with me.

But that still wasn’t enough for this FBO guy. I had no idea what he wanted me to say because he never suggested anything. He just kept recycling points from earlier in the conversation. We’d still be talking if I hadn’t cut it short by saying goodbye and hanging up.

He called back moments later. I pushed the Ignore button on my phone. He left a text message saying it was last week, not this week. Yes, let’s get the facts after we make the complaint. And make sure the facts fit the story.

I texted back, telling him to have the complainer contact me directly. That’s the last I heard from him.

One Complainer I Do Know

There’s only one guy in town who has ever complained to me about noise — and I’ve been flying helicopters out of Wickenburg since 2000. It’s a guy who lives in the Country Club area, which is conveniently located just southeast of the approach for Runway 23 (see satellite image below). He showed up at the airport one day right after I landed, steaming and ready to make a fight. He complained that I’d flown over his house too low and that I should not fly over Country Club when I came into the airport.

I said, “Okay, I’ll keep that in mind.”

That took the steam out of him. He had nothing else to say, so he left.

I began following Sols Wash into the airport when I arrive from the east or southeast and winds are favoring Runway 23. That path has me descending from about 700 feet AGL over town to about 300 to 400 feet at Vulture Mine Road over an empty wash area that no one lives in. So I don’t fly directly over any homes from the point where I pick up Sols Wash in downtown Wickenburg. An easy enough solution.

But a few weeks ago, I talked to Dave, another local helicopter pilot. He said he’s spent over an hour on the phone with what was likely the same guy. The guy told him that helicopters should avoid the Country Club area by flying 3 miles north or south of it on their way in. Dave pointed out that that simply wasn’t practical. Country club was about 3/4 mile from the airport. Why would anyone fly 3 miles out of their way to land at the airport?

When Dave told me about this, I pointed out that a 3-mile diversion would have us flying over other houses that weren’t within the normal aircraft traffic area. As people who buy homes close to an airport know, they’re required to sign an easement with the town that shows they understand their proximity to an airport that’s likely to generate noise. Why should we make a practice of overflying the homes of people who were smart enough to buy outside the airport influence area?

Stupid Planning, Stupid Development, Stupid Home Buyers

It all boils down to sheer stupidity.

The town takes a generous land donation years ago to build a very nice little municipal airport. At the time, the nearby Phoenix metro area is small and the town is tiny. The airport gets use primarily from a few hobbyists. But as the town grows, the planners don’t realize that more people means more airplanes. And if you want nice resorts, you’re going to get corporate jets. Blind — or perhaps I should say deaf — to the noise issues of an airport, they allow development to get ever closer to the airport. Soon, there are homes on three sides of the runway.

Then the town and planners, in their infinite wisdom, take a very large grant from the Federal Government to stretch one end of the runway 1500 feet toward the Country Club that has sprung up on its approach end. So now planes are taking off and landing 1/4 mile closer to these homes. And heck, just for the fun of it, they approve Hermosa Ranch, which will put another 34 homes right at the end of that runway, less than 3500 feet from the runway’s centerline.

The following image from GoogleMaps shows the reality of the situation. I purposely left the scale indicator in the image to show how close everything is.

Wickenburg Airport

Meanwhile, greedy developers hop onto the real estate boom and build as many homes as they can get on that land. The town obliges by changing the zoning from one house per acre to two or three or four houses per acre, just so they can cram them in.

Then the Realtors come in and sell these homes to unsuspecting — or maybe unbelieving — home buyers. I spoke to one realtor when “Traffic Pattern Acres” (our name for Black Mountain Ranch) went up for sale on the west side of the airport, right under the airport’s traffic pattern. “There’s never any planes at that airport,” he told me angrily.

Hmm. Tell that to the flight schools from the Phoenix area who use it for landing practice every day: Pan Am Flight Academy, Westwind, Embry Riddle, Silver State Helicopters, Universal Helicopters, Lufthansa, and Sabena. And what about the L39s that come up from Deer Valley for practice landings and 120-knot flybys? I bet they really rattle the china.

So people are told, “Sure, there’s an airport over there. And you need to sign this piece of paper. But the airport’s used by just a few local pilots and isn’t very busy at all. Sign on the dotted line.”

And people sign it.

And when the jets come in and out, and the flight schools practice takeoffs and landings, and Embry Riddle does an all-day spot landing competition, and the helicopters practice autorotations they start to complain.

The Mystery Complainer

I don’t know who’s been complaining about me lately. I’m pretty sure it’s the same guy. He’s the only guy that ever does. (I really do fly neighborly whenever possible.) And, if it is, I know I’m not flying over his house. (But yes, I am flying within 3 miles of it and I will continue to do so until they move the airport. Hell, I fly within 3 miles of my own house!)

But I won’t know who it is unless he comes forward and tells me where he lives. What is he afraid of? Does he think I’ll land in his backyard? How does he expect me to identify his home as a “noise sensitive” area if he doesn’t tell me where it is?

And what does he honestly expect? If he lives near an airport, he’s going to hear aircraft noise.

Period.