KDET On The Chopping Block?

I’m amazed,that they wouldn’t take federal money. Don’t think there are a lot of developers looking to use the land.
 
I’m amazed,that they wouldn’t take federal money. Don’t think there are a lot of developers looking to use the land.

The sooner they stop taking the money, the sooner they can close the airport. Near-sighted foolish city leaders are watching Santa Monica, remembering Meigs and thinking they don’t need an airport either.
 
Near-sighted foolish city leaders are watching Santa Monica, remembering Meigs and thinking they don’t need an airport either.
Maybe nearsighted, but their sight is good enough to see money that developers put in their pockets, despite the unmarked envelopes.
 
Who exactly wants to develop downtown Detroit? Word has it that there are plenty of vacant buildings as it is. Which is worse, pumping some money into an active airport, or having a great big vacant lot?
 
Who exactly wants to develop downtown Detroit? Word has it that there are plenty of vacant buildings as it is. Which is worse, pumping some money into an active airport, or having a great big vacant lot?

Problem as seen from someone who lives thirty miles NW of DET is the neighborhood. Not even the most hardened of taxi drivers want to take their fares there.
 
Problem as seen from someone who lives thirty miles NW of DET is the neighborhood. Not even the most hardened of taxi drivers want to take their fares there.
Very true...I was just down there last week (or I should say, across the street from KDET). I had to interview a prisoner at the Ryan Correctional Facility. They told me not to bring a weapon into the jail and leave it in my trunk, but I refused to leave it in my car...I would not expect my gun to be there when I came back out...so I put it in a locker at the jail.
 
Very true...I was just down there last week (or I should say, across the street from KDET). I had to interview a prisoner at the Ryan Correctional Facility. They told me not to bring a weapon into the jail and leave it in my trunk, but I refused to leave it in my car...I would not expect my gun to be there when I came back out...so I put it in a locker at the jail.

Fully understand. The deputy I became fast friends in '06 went to the courthouse during his divorce proceedings and was told he couldn't carry because he was not on duty. OTOH, you were on duty and authorized to carry by law.. I would not want to leave my weapon in my car at any time. My worst fear would be returning to my car to find it stolen. That would really suck.

When liberals disarm our LEO's we are going to be in deep dooddo. I can go with having to leave it in a locker like my friend Mike Carolin had to. Beyond that, there is no logical reason to disarm a LEO.

Management committee:

Not trying to get political, just showing my support and respect for those who take the chance of not returning home in the same condition they left in the morning every time they go to work. It is part of accepting the job and I respect those willing to take the chance.
 
KDET has been quieter and quieter for several years now, and it wouldn't surprise me to see it close. 'Twill be a sad day for me, as I basically learned to fly there, did 99.9% of my pre-solo work in a hot* little 150 out of a now long-defunct flight school that turned into the Great Lakes Pilot Shop, which has also since closed. Yes, the neighborhood is terrible, but I was never afraid to leave my car INSIDE the fence at the airport, and not too afraid to drive to the airport from where I lived in St. Clair Shores. I grew up in that neighborhood and was sad to see it deteriorate, but most of Detroit has gone that way.

@steingar : there has been plenty of development (and even gentrification) in the Detroit downtown area in the past decade. I knew someone, a neighbor at my condo, who actually moved down there to be a part of it. Detroit is not my idea of a great place to live, but it has areas that are relatively safe (e.g. the area around Wayne State) and it is making some progress toward becoming a real cultural center again.

*Some here know what I mean by "hot". Suffice it to say that neither I nor my CFI had any idea at the time.
 
Detroit is booming. Not everything and every area is perfect, but I guess you see this in every city. There must also be a reason, why Detroit makes it constantly on travel lists these days. ;) Just recently Lonely Planet voted Detroit second for Best in Travel 2018 - Top Cities (worldwide).
 
Problem as seen from someone who lives thirty miles NW of DET is the neighborhood. Not even the most hardened of taxi drivers want to take their fares there.

I think I’m glad I stayed on the inside of the fence when I stopped in DET last summer. I heard the neighborhood around the airport was rough but didn’t think it was as bad as the picture you paint!
 
I’m amazed,that they wouldn’t take federal money. Don’t think there are a lot of developers looking to use the land.

It's a big chunk of contiguous land in one hand. While there is lots of cheap land in Detroit, most of it is subdivided or has environmental liabilities.

Detroit can't keep their schools and fire stations open. I can see that maintaining an airport for 'the Rich' is not high on their list of priorities.
 
I've landed ar DET a couple times (I'm from Detroit and have family there). I will say that the taxiways are full of weeds and the placehad an abandoned feel to it. I know some folks who fly gliders out of there and I hate to see airports close but I'm not surprised.
 
Looks like I need to go to Warren, MI for business. Is KDET going to be my best choice?
 
Looks like I need to go to Warren, MI for business. Is KDET going to be my best choice?
Probably. D98 up the road is another option. Went there several years ago and it was looking pretty derelict.
 
Probably. D98 up the road is another option. Went there several years ago and it was looking pretty derelict.
D98 is pretty far from Warren. If not KDET, I would recommend KVLL (Troy-Oakland). (Disclaimer: I used to be based there.)
 
D98 is pretty far from Warren. If not KDET, I would recommend KVLL (Troy-Oakland). (Disclaimer: I used to be based there.)
Why the disclaimer? That would seem to be a credential.
 
One of my Air Force buddies has been trying to sell his house in Detroit for 5 years.
 
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