1939 — it was a very good year! Five dedicated Philadelphia businessmen who recognized the potential growth of general aviation established the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, with the purpose of making flying safe, more affordable, and fun. During that same year, on the other side of the country — in San Jose, California — Reid-Hillview Airport (RHV) began operations. Who would have imagined back then that AOPA would grow into the world's largest pilot organization and that Reid-Hillview would become one of the most controversial airport closure issues in Northern California and the nation?
During the last two decades, while AOPA has been serving a growing membership, the airport situation in Northern California has been on a decline. Much of the population growth in the San Francisco Bay area has been to the south, with "Silicon Valley" and San Jose populations increasing dramatically. San Jose International Airport (SJC), once the largest GA airport of the South Bay, is now dominated by airliners and airline passengers. A new master plan is about to be announced at SJC, and it will be no surprise to pilots when it predicts increased airline activity over the coming years and a need to reduce general aviation's use of the field. In addition, landing strips serving the region have been closed, such as the nearby Fremont Airport. All of this past, present, and future activity points to a need for a general aviation "reliever" airport to absorb the traffic. Hence, the vital need to preserve RHV airport for this purpose.
However, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors has spent the last two decades trying to close this essential airport for political reasons. A vote to close RHV would have far-reaching consequences, not only for the 500 based aircraft owners at RHV, but for all general aviation interests in the Bay area, as well as the entire structure of California's aviation transportation system. The loss of RHV would set a national precedent — something we simply could not allow to occur in light of losing an average of one GA airport a week in this country.
With this in mind, it became clear that the aviation community had to unite at the national, state, and local levels to develop a strategy that would ensure retention of the airport. It also became evident that broad-based support for the airport — outside of the aviation special interest groups — would be critical. Call it an alliance, a coalition, or a partnership if you like, but what this really boiled down to was to pull together every posible organization, individual, civic leader, and elected official who had an interest in preserving Reid-Hillview Airport. In the case of RHV, such an organization was formed almost a decade ago, with a somewhat unusual name: CRAMP, the Coalition for Responsible Airport Management and Policy.
Each partner in any issue brings something to the table and has a role to play in the outcome. In the case of local pilots, it is their down-in-the-trenches advocacy — their ability to meet with other organizations and civic leaders to pull together local support. Extremely important on the local scene is the voting power of pilots who elect city council members and, in this case, county supervisors. As an example, during the Reid-Hillview battle, aviation advocates even put up their own candidate to emphasize the pro-airport side of the issue.
AOPA's role is twofold. To ensure their support we have worked with state and local leaders. Our California regional representative, Jack Kemmerly, has been providing his vast knowledge of aviation issues to these officials in order to educate them about the needs of general aviation. Over the years, AOPA staff, including myself, have met with San Jose's mayor, Susan Hammer. Everyone's first job was to reverse the city's decision to support closure of the county-owned airport, educating them about the value of RHV as a reliever to their big airport interest in SJC.
At the national level, AOPA has been working with the Federal Aviation Administration, at the San Francisco Airport District Office and at headquarters — right up to the administrator. And, more important, we used AOPA's Expo '96 in San Jose to focus media attention on Reid-Hillview Airport. Expo also went a long way in demonstrating to local politicians the resolve and strength of a unified general aviation community.
Personally, I received much member criticism for making the decision to hold Expo in San Jose. But the economic impact of such a major convention on the Santa Clara Valley and San Jose helped to convince city officials, the local Chamber of Commerce, and others not directly involved in aviation of the importance of general aviation to their communities' economic growth.
On November 19, 1996, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors reversed its 20-year stand, voting by a 3-2 margin to retain this important reliever airport.
We all would like to believe that we can win an issue single-handedly. The reality is that no matter how large or influential any group may be, there will always be times when the issue to be dealt with requires a much greater allocation of resources or expertise than is available from a single source.
Airport closure issues such as Reid-Hillview are now, and will continue to be, one of the biggest threats to GA. Local pilots, forming groups like CRAMP and working with AOPA, can often achieve successful outcomes. There are many issues facing the pilot and aircraft owner of today, from the high cost of flying to overregulation, but all pale in comparison to the loss of one's local airport. Particularly in the case of Reid-Hillview, winning sure feels good.
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