'Recreational' flying takes hit at Oceanside
A memo from the Oceanside city attorney details why hangar renters can't sell fun rides in airplanes or helicopters at Oceanside Municipal Airport. The memo, which explains the provisions that were part of a recent court agreement, was sent to Oceanside Councilman Rock Chavez.
"This provision is meant to prevent and discourage recreational flying in the immediate vicinity of the airport and surrounding neighborhoods," says City Attorney Anita C. Willis in the memo. The provision is contained in an agreement reached between the city and a group called Oceanside Citizens Against the Airport resulting from a court case filed in San Diego Superior Court.
That's not to say that commercial operators can't do it. However, such businesses require City Council approval. Currently no such approvals have been requested or granted.
So if you have an airplane or helicopter in a hangar at Oceanside, and were thinking of doing a little barnstorming to help make that next aircraft payment, forget about it.
Legislative update
A.B.332: Airport land-use commissions. This bill has passed both houses and was signed by the governor September 12. It significantly strengthens airport land-use law in California.
A.B.694: Use tax: vehicles, vessels, and aircraft. This bill failed in the Senate and was moved to the inactive file September 12. It expanded present tax liability of vehicles, vessels, and aircraft.
S.B.1059: Taxation: aircraft of historical significance. This bill requires owners of historic aircraft to show proof of an aircraft's participation in a public event in order to be exempt from property tax. The bill passed both houses and was approved by the governor September 28.
AOPA attacks TFR over nuclear plant
AOPA told San Luis Obispo County officials that implementing a temporary flight restriction (TFR) area over the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant is unwarranted. Backed by the San Luis Obispo Mothers For Peace anti-nuclear group, the county board of supervisors has recommended imposing a TFR two nautical miles in radius and 2,000 feet high over a proposed spent-fuel storage facility to be built at Diablo Canyon. AOPA officials cited a December 2002 study by the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) concluding that a large Boeing 767-400 commercial airliner striking a "dry cask" container of the type proposed for Diablo Canyon filled with spent fuel would not release radiation. The casks are generally about 15 to 20 feet tall with walls approximately two feet thick and weighing in excess of 200,000 pounds each.
Healdsburg to get 19 hangars
Healdsburg Municipal Airport will get $650,000 for 19 new hangars, and an airport manager, according to plans recently approved. The city will get a return on hangar rentals and other proposed fees. In the meantime, the FAA will kick in $429,000 in grants for safety improvements, but with that money comes the standard requirement that the airport continue to operate for another 20 years. The Healdsburg City Council has approved the plan but said the hangar expansion depends on a successful environmental review.
Apple Valley negotiations begin
The Town of Apple Valley has begun negotiations with San Bernardino County that could lead to the town acquiring Apple Valley Airport. The county currently owns it. AOPA Support Network volunteer Don Meserve is monitoring the negotiations. If successful, Apple Valley could gain a GA airport capable of handling a considerable amount of private and corporate traffic as well as flight-training programs. It might also serve as a base for law enforcement and medical aircraft.
Are we speaking the correct language?
Nearly 100 trees, some of them 80 feet tall, will be planted in the safety zone of the Reid-Hillview of Santa Clara County Airport by a shopping center renovator under orders from the San Jose planning department. State, county, and city airport officials all have told the planning department of the risk of obstructions so near the airport, but apparently city planners have their own views of aviation safety risks: The Eastridge Mall must continue with plans to put the trees in the south parking lots as a condition for approval of the mall's renovation. A land use plan written in 1974 also calls for the parking lot area to be kept clear of obstacles in the event a pilot has difficulty landing at Reid-Hillview. AOPA volunteers are working to resolve the matter in the best interests of neighbors, pilots, and passengers of Reid-Hillview.
Hangar project back on track at San Martin
Agreement has been reached by the San Martin Neighborhood Alliance and Santa Clara County that will allow the building of 100 hangars starting in January. Neighbors' concerns about a proposed runway extension, noise, and the visibility of a 500,000-gallon water tank needed for fire protection of the new hangars have been addressed.
The county has received an FAA grant of $580,000 for electronic gates, security fencing, and installation of an ASOS weather reporting station. Bids were scheduled to be out for the ASOS by the time you read this, with installation set for spring 2004.
Construction at CRQ a mixed blessing?
Construction on new hangars and facilities at Carlsbad's McClellan-Palomar Airport could begin in spring 2004 if approved. Normally any airport growth is good, and this may serve to attract more corporate jets to the airport, but is there a downside? AOPA and its Airport Support Network volunteers are looking into the plans to see if they include new hangars at the expense of tiedown spots for smaller general aviation aircraft.
Centennial of Flight events in California
Dec. 17 — Riverside. Flabob Airport will host an open house, fly-in, and mass balloon launch. The balloons will take to the sky, weather permitting, at 7:35 a.m., the precise time the Wright Brothers made the first powered flight. "We are hoping that a large number of pilots will exercise their right to fly and visit Flabob Airport on December 17," said Tom Wathen, president of the Wathen Foundation, which owns Flabob. All activities at Flabob are open to the public, free of charge. For more information, call 909/683-2309, ext. 104.
Dec. 17 — Sacramento. The day's events start with a breakfast at Mather Airport with historical displays and activities. Tickets are $25. A gala luncheon (tickets are $50) will take place in a hangar at Sacramento International Airport. The breakfast and the luncheon follow a Wright Flyer replica flight contest for youngsters. A one-fifth-scale model of the Wright Flyer will be on display as well as a 1903 Knox truck and a 1903 Ford automobile. For information, visit the Web site ( www.sacairports.org) or call 916/874-0791.
"Calendar" is updated weekly on the Web ( www.aopa.org/pilot/calendar/). Weekend flying destinations are posted each Friday in AOPA ePilot.
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