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Jeff K

Jeff K

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Jeff King
Sorry for the post
 
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If it's any consolation, and I know it's not, the advisory committee at my airport is exactly that - advisory. No power, nothing. Everything is run by the county (which owns the airport) and there are zero "pilot reps". There's a "tenant rep", but that person is married to the owner of a flight school on the field but works for the Class B airport 5 miles away. So, where do you think those priorities lie?

The committee is composed of the 3 (or 5) county commissioners (who've only flown commercially), an economic advisor for the county (not the airport), and so on. I've tried to organize a tenant group with zero success. So I pay my monthly hangar rent and ignore everything else.
 
After reading the attorney's opinion, I feel like you have good information. Is there a division of Michigan government that oversees municipal activity like I have in TN? Might be worth a phone call to them. Any chance in getting your local media involved? This is where making the airport a community asset is invaluable on the front end. If no one has done that leg work already, it may be a losing battle unfortunately. However, you could always fall back on "defaulting on grant assurances" if the airport has taken FAA money in the past for projects. If they are not maintaining it in a safe manner, then that certainly is something to go on.

One thing you do not mention though is why you are so concerned about all of this. Has something transpired that makes you think the airport will be ignored in the future or are you just generally concerned because of the accident that happened a few years ago? Have you given the new members an opportunity to actually do anything or are you convinced that they will be unable to do anything of value because they are not pilots? The first airport I managed had an entirely advisory board that had only one person on it with any aviation knowledge whatsoever, and they seemed to do a good job. They looked to me for suggestions about things; however, they too were only advisory and it was up to the county commissioners to make actual decisions for the airport. If this is the same issue you are facing, perhaps you could convince the City or County to allow the formation of an actual Airport Authority to oversee airport operations.
 
And to be fair, I didn't even realize there was an attached story, only the legal opinion you put forward. Only the title specifically says there is. Most people probably thought they were the same thing with two links, so you might want to change your original post if you want comments on the story as well as the legal opinion. As far as your question about "why pilots need a voice at the table at federally funded airports", if you have to ask that, then there is something wrong to begin with. On the slight other hand though, having managed airports for the past almost 8 years, what pilots want is not always realistic at an airport either. Many pilots don't know much about governmental budgets, grant assurances, and what can and cannot actually be done at an airport (or why). Nevertheless, I think it's always better to have more aviation knowledge rather than less.
 
I think you took a little of what I said out of context and/or certainly I didn't (and still don't) actually understand where you were coming from in your original post. You were trying to stir the pot up without offering very many details as to why.

If those things aren't being done then you absolutely SHOULD be laying that at the feet of the current airport manager. It's his/her job to ensure those things are getting done. Some of these other things you are describing definitely would relate to not living up to their grant assurances and you could most certainly report them to the local ADO if they've accepted grants in the past, especially if you feel it's becoming a safety issue. It would probably behoove you to read through those grant assurances:

https://www.faa.gov/airports/aip/grant_assurances/media/airport-sponsor-assurances-aip.pdf

Additionally, related to the fuel issues, is there a private FBO or is that operated by the City? Regardless, who provides the fuel? Any fuel provider I've worked with in the past typically has a decent quality control program which deals with a few things you are bringing up. You could certainly bring it to their attention as well.

I'm happy to help you and point you in the right direction with my own experiences as being an airport manager, but sorry, I do not wish to jump into a fight which does not involve me by posting comments on a local news story.
 
Yeap, things are happening... the honeymoon is over. Thanks for the advice, most I've already done but it's good to see others have the same thoughts. The clock ran out so I deleted most of my other comments.
 
Jeff K said:
Yeap, things are happening... the honeymoon is over. Thanks for the advice, most I've already done but it's good to see others have the same thoughts. The clock ran out so I deleted most of my other comments.
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As you said, "that's not how this works".
 
Hey, is this thread like the Jeopardy game show? Where they tell you the answers, and you have to guess the question?
 
Jeff K said:
...The clock ran out so I deleted most of my other comments.
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Thereby eliminating any possibility that someone else might benefit from the conversation. :rolleyes1:
 
Deleted posts and no banhammer? I feel like I've been unfriended :(

Time for some Chianti.
 
JOhnH said:
As you said, "that's not how this works".
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Sorry, I just reread some of this thread and found that it wasn't the OP that said this, but mscard88. But the point remains, that's not how it works.
 
I think we disappointed the OP because none of us would comment online (re: his newspaper article) to take up his cause. Butthurt maybe. But apparently he hasn't filled out the report yet.

butt hurt report.jpg
 
Ravioli said:
Deleted posts and no banhammer? I feel like I've been unfriended :(

Time for some Chianti.
Click to expand...

Users are always allowed to delete their own posts. We have had a number of members who have gone through and deleted posts of theirs for some reason. Often it's because their post was no longer relevant or because it started going down a path they didn't like.

I think we can say this thread has run its course.
 
Thread closed at OP's request.
 
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