Posts Tagged ‘Santa Monica Airport’
Santa Monica Sues FAA to Close Airport
Santa Monica officials sue FAA to gain control of city’s airport Suit seeks declaration that the city holds title to the site containing the oldest continuously operating airport in L.A. County. (CalPilots Editor – Time for the FAA to step up and put an end to this constant airport harrassment by Santa Monica)
Read MoreAOPA calls lawsuit to close Santa Monica Airport meritless
Officials at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) say a federal lawsuit filed Oct. 31 by the City of Santa Monica against the FAA lacks “any merit in law.” In its lawsuit, the Santa Monica City Council asks the court to give the city clear title to the site of the Santa Monica Municipal…
Read MoreObservations and invitations
Attached to the main administration building at the Santa Monica Airport in Southern California is an observation deck. It’s a wide concrete structure with a curved metal railing that allows excellent views of the area, reaching from the Hollywood sign in the northeast all the way around to the Pacific Ocean on the southwest. A…
Read MoreSanta Monica Continues Attack on Airport
The job of an Airport Commission is supposed to be the promotion and protection of their airport. Unless, as in the case of the Santa Monica Airport Commission, the commission is stacked by the city with non-aviation experience anti-airport types whose real mission is to close the airport.
Santa Monica stumbles…again
Earlier this month the city council of Santa Monica, California, decided to strike a blow for economic parity by instituting landing fees at the airport. As a former city commissioner of a small city that owns an airport, I can say this about their decision: It’s short-sighted.
As an individual involved in economic development of a region, I can say this: It’s based on ignorance with a hint of malice.
And as an aviation enthusiast who has spent untold thousands of dollars in conjunction with my affection for aviation: It’s idiotic on an industrial scale.
Read MoreSanta Monica Continues its Quest to Illegally Close its Airport
AIN Blog: Goodbye SMO – The general aviation industry in the U.S. lost a key battle last night when the Santa Monica city council voted to impose higher landing fees, not just on transient aircraft but on all aircraft that use the airport. Starting August 1, even a Cessna 172 based at Santa Monica airport (SMO) flown by a local student or rental pilot will be assessed $10.96 for each landing. For training operations, that means a student pilot will end up paying $10.96 for every landing or touch-and-go. A typical business jet flying into SMO, say a Hawker 850XP, will pay $120.56, up from $45.54. Movie actor, airplane and helicopter owner-pilot Harrison Ford, who keeps his fleet at SMO, will be paying a lot more to fly from now on.
(CalPilots Editor’s Note: There are abundant monetary resources associated with the aviation community at SMO. It’s time that they organize a legal challenge of the City’s continual harassment of the airport, starting with a complete audit of all aviation related monies collected at SMO. We believe that the the City’s ongoing claim of running in deficit will be proved erroneous once the numbers are reviewed by expertise other than the current anti-airport groups).
Santa Monica – The Lunacy Continues
(CalPilots Editor’s Note: It is very interesting that this “plea” to the government emphasizes the government should protect the “Middle Class” from the an extremely small number of extremely rich people and close the airport. If you peel back the layers on this misguided effort, you will discover that it is the very rich who are behind the effort and will benefit from airport closure).
Anti-Airport Groups To Congress: Close Santa Monica Airport Control Tower – Two anti-airport groups have written to the area’s federal representatives in Congress to push for the closure of Santa Monica Airport’s (SMO) air control tower.
Read MoreThe Latest Lunacy on Noise at Santa Monica Airport
Plane Mufflers Could Relieve Some Airport Neighbors – Santa Monica Airport Commission responds to test results of a muffler that could be used by local flight schools.
If flight schools take to the idea, attaching mufflers to some of their planes planes could make life more peaceful for residents living nearSanta Monica Airport.
The city tested a German-made muffler, called QuietFlight, on a Cessna 172 in December and recorded positive results, the Santa Monica Airport Commission learned Monday night (Calpilots Editor’s Note: Please read CalPilots Response to this article at the end of this page).
Read MoreSanta Monica Airport – Visioning Process?
Fight Continues Over Airport Visioning Process – Goal of study’s Phase 3—transparency and trust—remains elusive as clock moves toward 2015.
Nearly seven months into the third phase of Santa Monica Airport’s “visioning process,” the struggle continues between the Airport Commission and city staffers over how comprehensive the process should be.
Specifically, the commission wants staff to be more assertive in studying scenarios for closing the airport in mid-2015, upon the expiration of the city’s operating agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration, or mitigating its negative impacts even sooner. (The FAA insists the 1984 agreement is binding until 2023).
Read MoreCan Santa Monica Airport Be A Benefit To The City?
As the debate continues about whether Santa Monica Airport (SMO) should be shut down or continue operating as is, one thing is for certain: what happens in thenext 30 months will determine whether or not City Hall may potentially be engaged in a litigious battle with the federal government.
