One of the great advantages of a blog is the immediacy it offers both the reader and the writer. Unlike a traditional article published in the hard-copy version of a publication, the blog format allows for rapid feedback from readers, in the form of comments and e-mails. In my case, I can tell you with […]
Know when to crow
To at least some degree we pilot types have gotten a bad rap. More often than not I find that we’re characterized as whiners, babies, rich guys who want everybody else in town to pay for their playthings. And while I disagree entirely with that perspective, I can completely understand how we came to earn […]
When thumb twiddling makes sense
As anti-intuitive as it may seem, there are times when sitting back and twiddling your thumbs is the best course of action. At least for a little while. That’s certainly true when working to affect change at an airport. Government works slowly much of the time. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In many […]
Keeping the peace
John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County, California, is not your typical airport. At least it’s not the typical airport I come in contact with. Bracketed on both ends of two parallel runway by highways, and surrounded by densely packed commercial and residential neighbors, noise is the enemy of airport operations. As it must be. […]
Learning the ropes from a seasoned pro
In 2001 a fellow by the name of Sam Hoerter published the second edition of “The Airport Management Primer.” This document is chock full of interesting observations and unique insights. It is an absolute goldmine of information that is pertinent to the management and operation of airports large and small. For an intellectual assault on […]
A million dollars here, a million dollars there…
The issue of airport funding is always entertaining. Not because it’s of no great importance to the aviation community, but for exactly the opposite reason. It isn’t important to those who dole out the dollars. And that’s almost entertaining enough to make a responsible citizen cry. Ironic, isn’t it? ABC News produced a report for […]
In celebration of lunch at the airport
To be honest, I am not particularly fond of participating in business lunches. My method is to either work, or eat, but not to do both simultaneously. But even I can violate a personal rule now and then. So I convinced myself that the no-working-lunch thing was more of a guideline than a rule, and […]
Airport management: A search and deploy mission
Unexpectedly, and without any warning, the airport manager quits. It happens. Not often perhaps, but it happens nonetheless. More commonly the airport manager moves on to another position, or retires. It makes little difference in the operational sense. Change is a constant in business. Whomever fills the slot at the moment will be replaced at […]
First: Ask the right question
When I was a relatively young instructor I had the good fortune to call a small uncontrolled airport in central Connecticut my home base. Meriden Markham may not make the annals of aviation as a hotbed of technical achievement, innovative design, or the home of a manufacturing marvel, but I learned more about teaching, and […]