What a difference just two decades can make. The American public's acceptance of air travel and the air transportation system flourished in the 1950s, '60s, and '70s. Airports were built at a frantic pace, with numbers growing from a handful to more than 15,000. No one had heard of the "not in my backyard" syndrome. Every community wanted an airport. How things change! Today, many communities view airports as a blight on their landscape. They've lost sight of the benefits of air transportation, particularly by general aviation airplane.
GA airports are closing at an alarming rate. Federal Aviation Administration statistics show that GA airports have been closing at a rate of about 50 per year. Last year, however, that number jumped by 40 percent. Imagine — more than one airport closure every single week in our country. You've heard of the names, even if they are not in your backyard: Meigs Field (Illinois), Reid-Hillview (California), Bader Field (New Jersey), Willoughby Lost Nation (Ohio), Fall River (Massachusetts), Richards-Gebaur (Missouri), Robert Mueller and Austin Executive (Texas). These are just a handful of threatened airports, closed fields, or those slated for closure.
For years, the AOPA Airports Department, working very closely with our 11 regional representatives around the country, has endeavored to prevent airport closures. We've been successful on many, and lost a few. In most cases our victories have come by working hand-in-hand with AOPA members, who also may be part of a local or state aviation group.
But closures aren't the only issue at hand for general aviation airports. There are noise restrictions, curfews, lack of airport improvements, and restrictions to airport access, just to name a few. Whatever the problem, we usually find ourselves aware of the trouble brewing at an airport at the eleventh hour — just hours before the vote by elected officials is to take place. I can't tell you the number of phone calls I have personally received from members the day before a critical local government vote on some aspect of the airport. The question usually is, "So what can AOPA do about this?" This lack of advance warning puts all of us at a disadvantage.
For several years, your association has been exploring ways to implement an early warning system to alert us to impending problems at GA airports across the United States. Some of us are old enough to remember the "block warden" system of World War II. My father participated in this corps of volunteers who provided intelligence to the military in their neighborhood. We've also found that many of you, like the block wardens, are anxious to contribute your time and energy to defend your home airport. AOPA has put all of this together and, late last year, we announced an innovative program designed to harness the power, knowledge, and expertise of AOPA, its regional representatives, and local advocates — the AOPA Airport Support Network (see " Defending Your Asphalt," p. 55).
The goal of the Airport Support Network (ASN) is to designate an AOPA volunteer to serve as the eyes and ears for your association at every public-use airport in the United States. When our goal is reached, potentially within three years, there will be more than 5,000 volunteers. They will provide on-the-spot monitoring of airport problems and assist us in countering them before they become major issues that might lead to the demise of the airport.
Problems at GA airports arise for two primary reasons. The first is that most elected officials do not understand airports or the need for them. The second is the lack of an effective advocacy effort by those with an interest in preserving the airport. To address both of these, the ASN will supply our volunteers with a comprehensive tool kit. Tools include a number of videotapes that can be used to educate local elected officials and communities about the value of the airport and why the airport is important to those who don't fly, public relations support and assistance, manuals for organizing a grass-roots effort at their airport, and information on determining the actual economic impact of the airport. Also under development is a "best of" series of publications. These books will outline, in great detail, successful strategies for dealing with specific airport issues such as land use planning and curfews.
AOPA's Web site will include a special area set aside for Airport Support Network volunteers to share information about airport-related issues, problems, and successes. There is a section of AOPA Online that details the steps to becoming a designated ASN volunteer. At every step of the way, AOPA staff and our 11 regional representatives will provide advice and counsel to the volunteers. This program is a partnership created to preserve our general aviation airport infrastructure.
But a program like this is only as good as the people who will volunteer. Our very first appointee is a pilot who has given valuable time and energy to support his local airport, Torrance (California) Municipal. Jim Gates, AOPA 127289, has worked tirelessly on behalf of the pilots in Southern California. Like many, he has been a part of a statewide airport effort developed earlier by the California Pilots Association (CPA). AOPA and CPA have provided him with valuable strategy and legal guidance that helped to win several battles, but as Gates says, "the war continues."
Where will the pilots of tomorrow learn to fly — or, more important, what GA landing facilities will there be to serve our needs a decade from now? The AOPA Airport Support Network is needed now — and with the strong commitment of dedicated volunteers like Jim Gates, and perhaps you, we will stop the alarming trend of airport closures and restrictions.
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