Kalispell City Airport in Montana is not the domain of the rich and famous. According to a story at Daily Inter Lake.com, it’s used by local business people, search-and-rescue volunteers, hobby pilots and, local pilots argue, middle-class folks who depend on accessible runways for small aircraft.
Yet airport supporters find themselves under fire from a group calling itself the Quiet Skies Committee, neighbors of the airport in south Kalispell whose quality of life, they say, is harmed by buzzing airplanes and the threat of plane crashes on city streets. The group opposes many points in a proposal to update the city airport. One of its complaints is that ordinary citizens are not the airport users, that it’s a playground for wealthy out-of-towners.
The story quotes local pilot Scott Richardson:
“One of the things about a (general aviation) airport is it’s the common man’s airport. You can get into an airplane for $20,000, whereas a good pickup easily can cost $50,000. It’s not cheap but … these guys make it sound like you’ve got to have $10 million in the bank and that’s just not the case.”
Read the full story here.
