That’s the question posted — with a heavy dose of sarcasm — by Jolie Lucas in a blog at Forbes.com, in which she spells out the myriad reasons GA is vital to every community. Check it out here.
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Janice Wood is editor of General Aviation News.
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You know, even the entertaining this question makes me wonder about the backbone of American citizens today.
For the sake of argument, let’s parse the question “Why don’t we just close down all those little airports”, and see what is thought of the premise, then:
“Why don’t we …? Who da heck is ‘we’?
“… just close down …” Under what legal authority will closing down a going business concern fall under? Would seizing lawfully owned property occur under the dubious concept of “eminent domain”.
“… all those little airports?” What constitutes a ‘little’ airport?
If “we the people” would pull our collective heads out of our %^*, and stand up for our Constitutional rights to keep property, none of this would be an issue.
… wake up, America …
If the disaster in Japan teaches us anything it is that airports large and small are vital during a disaster when rail, roads and bridges are gone. The remote areas of Japan would get faster disaster response if there was an airport near the towns that at least a large helicopter could get into.
Nice article. Equally cynical: why don’t we close down all those little marinas/race tracks/golf courses/horse trails/bike paths & trails/playgrounds/swimming pools/ski slopes/etc. Do we really need them? Why don’t sport aviators have the same right to pursue their hobby as any others? How many other public recreation facilities tax their users directly, as pilots are through 21.8 cents per gallon on fuel? If that’s not enough and municipalities still don’t see the value of the airport, why not privatize them? Some of the most modern and active airports in the country are privately held by people who actually use them, i.e. pilots. Many failing airports are run by commissions without a single local pilot, no wonder they fail.