Accomplishments

CALPILOTS was formed in 1949 when the Founding Fathers became concerned about the growing developer encroachment on the state’s general aviation airports – yes, it has been a long time, and the fight continues.

Join us in our fight to save our California Airports.  These would include but not limited to Reid Hillview, Santa Monica, Delano and Banning; yes, there are more.  We are in the process of using airport metrics to determine those airports with the greatest risk of closing.  Join today and donate to CalPilot’s.

There are too many accomplishments to list, so let us summarize and review some important activities over the years. CalPilot’s has:

1. Appeared or officially communicated on airport controversies at Porterville, Los Banos, Chico, Santa Rosa, Taft, Trona, Stovepipe Wells, Oceanside, Torrance, Hawthorne, San Luis Obispo, Dunsmuir, Columbia, Turlock, Delano, Nevada County, Oxnard, French Valley, Gravelly Valley, Corning, San Diego, Brown Field, Santa Maria, San Carlos, Mather Field, Borrego Springs, Brawley, El Toro Marine Base, Van Nuys, Burbank, South Lake Tahoe, Truckee, Petaluma, Modesto, Paso Robles, Coalinga, Bakersfield Municipal, Westover (Jackson), Reid Hillview, Buchanan Field, King City, Long Beach, Shelter Cove, Santa Monica, Agua Dulce, Compton, Watsonville, Half Moon Bay, Oceano, Bryon, Hemet, Elk Grove, Big Bear, Stockton, Palo Alto, San Diego Lindberg, Santa Monica, McClellen-Palomar, Gillespie Field, Montgomery Field, Tulare, Hayward, Tracy, Temecula, and Byron.
2. Organized 56 statewide airport/pilot groups which are responsible for the protection of their airports. We assisted 34 state airport groups form tax exempt 501 (c)(3) California nonprofit corporations as chapters of CALPILOTS, as well as another 24 which did not require nonprofit status
3. Provided and continue to provide training for city and county airport land use planners on how to plan for compatible land use around their airports.
4. Filed more than a dozen (pro bono) lawsuits to protect airports from developers’ housing encroachments; most recently City of Indio (Bermuda Dunes Airport) which was funded. Search City of Indio.
5. Formed a Political Action Committee (PAC) to help pass airport-beneficial legislation and support aviation-friendly candidates
6. CalTrans Airport Land Use Handbook – which is used as a guide to creating reasonable land compatibility around airports, to mitigate noise and safety issues associated with airports - our relationship continues. CalPilots contributed to the changes in the latest publication dated 2011.
7. Continued to provide land use counseling to city and county officials
8. Gained approval a Petition to the FAA to adopt a “Drivers Ed” type of sanction program for   inadvertent violations rather than license suspension
9. Gained approval from the California Board of Equalization for historical aircraft tax exemption which it tried to eliminate in 2003.
10. Assisted two CalPilots Chapters in negotiating contracts to assume airport management responsibility after the airport sponsors were unable to effectively do so (Turlock and Shelter Cove)
11. Continued to provide legal advice to airport/pilot organizations.
12. Provided statewide airport/pilot presentations on the importance of, and the issues facing our state general aviation airports.
13. Legislation/TSA/FAA Against AB2501/AB700, fought Burbank Part 161 Study (FAA decided against it), wrote augments against TSA’s LASP, SD 8F, and Maintenance Over Sight Proposal, wrote argument against FAA’s Airport Order 5190.6B which affected through-the-fence operations (currently being changed) Against AB48
14. Power Plants – The California Pilots Association has become the nationwide leader on airport power plant incompatibility issues. Power Plant companies are quietly trying to position themselves on, or very near to, airport land without consideration for the safety of general aviation aircraft operations – see Bythe, (Gillespie Airport, Miramar Marine Naval Air Station [Quail Brush Power Plant]) Modesto, French Valley, Hayward - (Appeal to the Environmental Appeals Board 3/22/10), and Byron. CalPilots has been used in an advisory role from multiple out of state organizations facing the same power plant issues and is the first to work with the FAA to analyze plumes and toxic stack releases by power plants. These efforts resulted in the FAA:
15. Adding a new page in the FAA AIM 7-5-15
16. FAA funding to develop The Mitre Plume model
17. Newsletter – The California Pilot Association’s newsletter is full of state related articles and is professional quality and past issues can be viewed on our web site.
18. Web Site - You can use our web site search function to inquire about your airport.
19. Annual Aerospace and Aviation Day - Every year CalPilot’s participates in this annual meeting held in Sacramento, CA to maintain our relationship with State Legislatures educating them on the value of General Aviation and our airports.

We think you will agree that becoming a member of the California Pilots Association is in yours, and your airports’ best interest. We invite you to join us in the promotion, preservation and protection of our state’s general aviation airports and your flight privileges.  Join us now! Make a donation.