Galaxy,
The more airports that successfully restrict aircraft of any type (for noise, approach category, weight, whatever) the more airports will try to do the same things. Sure, who cares if SMO keeps out aircraft of approach Cats C and D. And who cares if APF has banned anything noisier than stage III. And who cares if TEB has restricted aircraft to 100000lbs or less (not sure if that's the exact weight, but something like it). Who cares if a mayor can sneak in in the middle of the night and bulldoze Meigs.
How long will it be before it will start causing us problems about where we're going to park our fancy jets? How many reliever airports are truly an easy drive to Santa Monica? This is an insidious problem that isn't good for our line of work. We most definitely should care what happens at this airport, and many others!
OK, I agree with you on many things but pilots are not the bad guys here. First, a restriction to 100K or less at TEB. A fully loaded GLEX weighs in at 98K. A G550 sits at 85.5K and the new 7X is coming in light at 69K. How much bigger does Mr Billionair need? A BBJ or ACJ? My heart bleeds for him as he has to go to JFK or EWR. He might even have to ride the Augusta to the city from there. Every plane has issues.
The noisey birds. Lets see GII, Lr 20's, Sabers. They are old. They should be retired and sent south to a third world country that can support the fuel bill that goes along with owning a G-uzzler-II.
SMO and the lame city noise wackos. The feds have done nothing about it and the city just gets more and more anal about things. Last I heard that if a city took federal funds for the airport that it drew them into a lease to keep the airport open for 20 years. If the city really wants the land let them have it at the going rate for land in the area and pay back all the money they took from Uncle Sam for the previous 20 years. Mr Bush can send that money to Iraq to spend in about half a day.
Naples, another band of greedy wackos. They ran the other FBO out of business after they saw how much money he was making. What ever happened to free enterprise. We sold this country a long time ago to greedy politicians that listen to loud voices of BIG corporations instead of the whispers of a few voters. Didn't the health care industry spend 1 BILLION last ear on BLOCKING health care reform. Please save us from ourselves!
Mayor Daley from Chicago-What a piece of work there. The FAA was slow to act He had only been threatening it for 9 years. A 33K fine and repay 1 million to the feds. He should have been jailed for destruction of government property. But, a long line of Daley's with $$$ backing them. What did the outraged people of Chicago do? The re-elected him in 2007. He is now the longest running mayor of that city. Perhaps someone will help him get to the Senate or worse.
So if they don't have a place for me to park my fancy jet I will gladly fly it to a less anal place and wait out the storm.
An easy drive to reliever airports--I could care less how long they drive. They have the money-and money talks in this country. I guess their money was not spent wooing politicians to get what they want. I would be more than happy to go to LAX and wait it out there for them and tell them we are number 40 for take off. And for worrying about my job in aviation-as long as the TSA and Airlines continue on their great path we will always have a job.
I have to concern myself with other things that touch closer to home-like a CEO that would rather kill a company than negotiate a contract.
