The end of SMO?

over2departure

Sounds like my first marriage.
http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-n.../santa-monica-eyes-june-2018-closure-date-smo

Santa Monica city council has agreed to consider a resolution stating its intention to close Santa Monica Airport (SMO) by June 30, 2018, or as soon as legally permitted. The council on July 26 unanimously approved a motion to consider the resolution at the August 23 meeting. “This motion helps clear the air regarding our intent, which is to close the airport as soon as is possible,” said mayor pro tempore Ted Winterer.
 
Sooner the better. It would be cool if someone was smart enough to just displace the threshold 1000' either side and just make it a 3K runway.

That would solve a lot of issues.
 
Sad, but it has been circling the drain. One Six Right is a great documentary explaining this problem.

Closing airports is not a good thing for our industry.
 
For you or for all pilots?

If it was closed to turbine aircraft, it would likely be a win for 75% of the people involved.

The runway is short and the noise abatement procedure getting out of there is ridiculous.

It's basically rotate climb as rapid as possible until you get to the end of the runway (which isn't very far due to the runway being very short), level off and pull the power way back (you're low and slow), until you get put over the beach. Then you can power back up and continue the climb.

You could lose the "privilege" of flying into there if you set off the sensor on more than one occasion. I'd much rather fly into LAX and not deal with the drama.
 
If it was closed to turbine aircraft, it would likely be a win for 75% of the people involved.

The runway is short and the noise abatement procedure getting out of there is ridiculous.

It's basically rotate climb as rapid as possible until you get to the end of the runway (which isn't very far due to the runway being very short), level off and pull the power way back (you're low and slow), until you get put over the beach. Then you can power back up and continue the climb.

You could lose the "privilege" of flying into there if you set off the sensor on more than one occasion. I'd much rather fly into LAX and not deal with the drama.

Sounds like SNA. Hate to see airports close.
 
Sounds like SNA. Hate to see airports close.

I agree! That's why I think it should be closed to turbine aircraft for the greater good. That airport has a lot of history and shouldn't be closed. We all know that it comes down to it being prime real estate that certain people want anyways.
 
My problem with these cases is that people enjoy the cheaper housing next to an airport, but then complain about the noise in proximity to the airport. My sneaking suspicion is that many, if not most, are finding out that when they go to resell that their house hasn't increased in values at the same rates of other neighborhoods, and now they're using "noise" as a subterfuge to raise their property values at the expense of the aviation community.
 
My problem with these cases is that people enjoy the cheaper housing next to an airport, but then complain about the noise in proximity to the airport. My sneaking suspicion is that many, if not most, are finding out that when they go to resell that their house hasn't increased in values at the same rates of other neighborhoods, and now they're using "noise" as a subterfuge to raise their property values at the expense of the aviation community.

It's also really annoying when people move in next to an airport that has been there since the mid 20's, and then complain about the noise.
 
On the other hand, I would've rejoiced if SNA had closed and NZJ been turned into a proper airline airport.

Agreed on the closing it to turbine aircraft idea, though. That'd nicely solve the "real" noise issue.

Kind of sad seeing what NZJ has become, with the old hangars still in place and rotting away. At NTK, one of the hangars collapsed on one end, smashing an airship that was being constructed in the hangar. Whether or not it can be fixed, I haven't heard.
 
Kind of sad seeing what NZJ has become, with the old hangars still in place and rotting away. At NTK, one of the hangars collapsed on one end, smashing an airship that was being constructed in the hangar. Whether or not it can be fixed, I haven't heard.

Not that it matters, but that "airship" was a pie in the sky idea that was never going to properly work, which was being used as a funding project to milk people out of money. That hangar was really cool, having been in it before.
 
Not that it matters, but that "airship" was a pie in the sky idea that was never going to properly work, which was being used as a funding project to milk people out of money. That hangar was really cool, having been in it before.

I had been in the other hanger next to that one and they are indeed impressive structures and marvels of engineering.
 
My problem with these cases is that people enjoy the cheaper housing next to an airport, but then complain about the noise in proximity to the airport. My sneaking suspicion is that many, if not most, are finding out that when they go to resell that their house hasn't increased in values at the same rates of other neighborhoods, and now they're using "noise" as a subterfuge to raise their property values at the expense of the aviation community.
Except that in this case it's Santa Monica. There is no "cheap" housing there. You can rent out homes there for two and three times the mortgage costs. Even the pikers in Mar Vista complain about "the smell", the noise, and claim that they "live in fear" of a plane crashing on their property. Bunch of a holes. You don't buy a home next to a dairy farm and then bitch about the smell of cow chit. Thousands of properties all over 5 counties to purchase.

Greedy developers built many of the homes simply too close to sections of the airport even when the FAA told them this was an issue. Then stupid people bought them, signed the papers with aircraft flying over head and then complain. If they could have reached an agreement just to disallow "jets" at the airport, they probably wouldn't be having many of these issues. But the City Council in truth, did not want that and instead has worked for years to just get rid of the field.

Screw aviation history and the billions of dollars, thousands of jobs and thousands of aircraft that are a part of the history here. Lets just plow it all under and build more Starbucks and Jamba Juice bars.

See ya Mr. Douglas and your little dog too.

DC3_monument_1.jpg
 
Last edited:
Butbutbut, where will Jerry park his motorcycles?

Me walking into Supermarine FBO one night:

"Hey, who was that idiot on a motorcycle that I almost ran over with my KingAir? Looked like Jerry Seinfeld."

..."Jerry Seinfeld. "

The modeling agency upstairs helped pass long FBO sits...
 
It's also really annoying when people move in next to an airport that has been there since the mid 20's, and then complain about the noise.
The fact that this problem is epidemic to everywhere that there are airports is a pretty good symptom that people are just •.
 
Back
Top